Understanding 'Going Missing': issues for social work and social services

Correspondence to Malcolm Payne, Professor of Applied Community Studies, The Manchester Metropolitan University, 799 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 8RR. Summary Recent research about young people and adults who ‘gomissing’ raises important issues for social work and thesocial services. Large numbers of young people go missing eachyear, becoming vulnerable to exploitation and at risk of committingcrime and suffering from other social difficulties. Adults leavebehind families with practical and emotional difficulties. Adefinition of ‘going missing’ should focus on absencefrom social expectations and responsibilities. Five groups ofmissing person are identified: runaways, pushaways, throwaways,fallaways and takeaways, reflecting different social situationsin which going missing occurs. It is argued that going missingis one of a range of choices which people in difficulties maymake, depending on their approach to problems in their livesand the availability of opportunities. Effective local co-ordinationto focus on reasons for going missing, on reunions and returnsto residential care or home, and to provide emotional and practicalhelp to people ‘left behind’, are required, providedthat care is taken to protect people who go missing becausethey are subject to abuse and violence.     

Childcare with gloves on: protecting children and young people in residential care

Summary Abuse of young people in out-of-home care has caused internationalpublic and professional concern over the last fifteen years.Although research has been undertaken to identify factors thatare likely to contribute to a safer environment for young people,little consideration has been given to the impact of abuse scandalson workers' perceptions of what constitutes abusive behaviour.This paper presents the findings of a study undertaken in threeresidential children's units in one local authority which soughtto explore this area and considers two key findings which raiseissues for the social work profession. These are, first, thatthe perception of abusive behaviour was in the main determinedin terms of the workforce's own vulnerability to allegations.Secondly, staff found it difficult to conceive of a colleagueas a potential perpetrator of abuse. The paper concludes byevaluating recent government policy documents in the light ofthe study findings.     

Differential Assessment of Residential Group Care for Children and Young People

Summary Twelve qualitative variables frame the production of outcomesin residential group care for children and young people. Theseare used to examine contemporary themes in social care practicewith children and families. This assessment typology offerssocial workers, managers, researchers and policy-makers bothvalid and reliable baseline measures for use in evaluating residentialservices for children and young people. The typology also providescomparative interval measures for use in longitudinal evaluationsof quality. Close attention needs to be given to the impacteach of these variables has on the quality of residential groupcare services offered to children, young people and their familiesor significant others.     

The Place of Fostering in Social Work

Summary To foster children is no longer regarded as the main objectiveof the child care services. However, fostering is once againa matter of social work and public debate. The paper explainsthat more types of children are now being assessed as requiringfostering at a time when social service departments are findingit difficult to expand their number of foster homes. This greaterdemand for foster homes coincides with recent researches whichhelp to clarify the nature of fostering. Accordingly, a distinctioncan be made between 'exclusive' and 'inclusive' fosterings.It is considered that a conflict exists between popularity ofexclusive fostering and research findings which stress the valueof inclusive fostering. Research is also identifying the contributionwhich social workers can make in the fostering field. But thedesired inputs of training, low caseloads and staff stabilitypose problems for social work management. Finally, the researchfindings discussed in the paper are used to argue that the forthcomingChildren Bill is not only based on false assumptions about thebehaviour of natural parents but will also promote exclusiverather than inclusive fosterings. A plea is made that childwelfare policy be seen in a larger context of social reform     

Keyworkers Re-examined: Good practice, quality of care and empowerment in residential care of older people

Correspondence to Rosemary Bland, Department of Applied Social Science, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland Summary Social work definitions of ‘good practice’ in residentialcare which were originally developed in work with children andyoung people have also been applied to residential settingsfor other user groups, including older people. However, anylink between such elements of practice and positive outcomesfor users has not always been demonstrated. The introductionof market principles and orientations into social welfare inthe 1980s re-defined the social work ‘client’ asa ‘consumer’ with the associated power to make choicesin the area of social care. The success with which such an approachcan be applied to services for people who are very often, notin a position to exercise much choice, is debatable. Alongsidethe notion of the ‘consumer’ or ‘user’of services has grown the ideology of ‘empowerment’of people who use social work services. Drawing on findingsfrom a recent study, this article explores the contributionof the keyworker role to good practice and the empowerment ofolder people living in residential homes. It concludes that,because their understanding of the concept and practice is largelyundeveloped, the role as currently interpreted is not consonantwith good practice and tends rather to reinforce the power ofstaff.     

Understanding Adolescent Female Prostitution: A Literature Review

Correspondence to Dr Jill Jesson. Aston Business School, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B47 7ET. Summary Sexual behaviour and sexuality are currently topical issuesof concern for child care social workers. Social workers arespending more and of more of their time with children who comeinto care because of sexual abuse, or who have an involvementin the ‘rent’ scene or Prostitution. In additionmany teenage young women come into care because of social orparental concern over their lsquo;promiscuous’ behaviour.The review of research on adolescent prostitution offers severalexplanations for involvement in prostitution. which vary accordingto the discipline of the author. Explanations vary from pathologicaland personal psychology factors to the wider social aspectsof the family and local environment. This literature reviewwas used as a basis for research which examined the incidenceof female prostitution for a social services department. Thisis a relatively new field of interest and consequently thereis very little British research published on the issue of adolescentprostitution, or on under age (16) prostitution. There is nopublished research on girls in care and prostitution. We needto know much more about the reality of young people's livesbefore social workers can offer a meaningful response.     

Adolescents Who Sexually Abuse and Residential Accommodation: Issues of Risk and Vulnerability

Summary This article, arising out of quantitative and qualitative researchstudies conducted by the authors, begins with a brief overviewof current knowledge about male adolescent sexual abusers andassociated policies, procedures and services. A particular concernraised by professionals and welfare agencies, who are strugglingto develop appropriate responses to young sexual abusers, concernsthe circumstances and problems of young people who are placedin residential accommodation as a result of their sexually abusivebehaviour, often where there are also child victims of sexualabuse. The vulnerability of young sexual abusers and the riskthey pose to others is considered in the light of the findingsof qualitative research by one of the authors into the constructionand control of children and their sexualities in residentialchildren's homes. This research suggests that the inadequateways in which sexual behaviour in children's homes is perceivedand managed, serves to compound the problems of both the sexuallyabusive and non-abusive adolescents placed there. The findingsfrom both authors' research are then theorized within broaderconceptual frameworks about the nature of childhood, childhoodsexuality and institutionalization and its links with peer sexualabuse.     

The Beckford Report: A Critical Appraisal

Correspondence to Nigel Parton, Department of Behavioural Sciences, The Polytechnic, Queensgate Huddersfield HDI 3DH. Summary This paper provides a critical analysis of the Beckford Reportand its implications for social work and the personal socialservices. Four interrelated themes are explored: the relationshipbetween social work practice, statutory responsibilities andthe law; the attitudes of social workers towards children andfamilies; the social work skills required; and the assumptionsthat are made about child abuse and the role of social workers.This is then related to recent research findings in the areaof policies and decision making in child care. It concludesby arguing that the report is in great danger of misdirectingour attentions from the major issues concerned with social workwith children at risk.     

Children in Need? Listening to Children whose Parent or Carer is HIV Positive

Correspondence to Kay Tisdall, University of Edinburgh School of Social and Political Studies, Adam Ferguson Building, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LL, UK. E-mail: K.Tisdall{at}ed.ac.uk Summary International attention is being brought to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. In contrast, HIV and AIDS risk being forgottenissues for those living in Scotland. Yet in 2002, numbers ofreported infections have begun to rise. Children and young peopleare even more likely to be affected by parental HIV now, asparents live longer and are able to have more children. Verylittle is known in Scotland about affected children and whethercurrent service provision meets their needs. This research projectsought to address certain of these gaps, by gathering quantitativedata from service providers and qualitative data from interviewing28 affected children and young people. The research found adearth in policies and services, and a failure to audit need.HIV education in schools did not acknowledge that pupils mightbe living with parents who had HIV illness. Children and youngpeople tended to be very involved in the health care of theirparent but none of them received direct support from healthworkers. On the whole the children and young people did notenjoy support from statutory social workers but appreciatedthe support and activities provided by workers in the voluntarysector.     

Stress in Social Services: Mental Wellbeing, Constraints and Job Satisfaction

Correspondence to Margaret Coffey, Liverpool Hope University College, Room AEW 098, Hope Park, Liverpool L16 9JD, UK. E-mail: coffeym{at}hope.ac.uk Summary The public sector is facing an impending shortage of staff,because young people no longer want to work in it and nearlya third of its workforce is over 50 years of age. Staff workingwithin the public sector report that stress is the biggest singlefactor affecting their decision to leave. This research notereports the findings of a recent study carried out in two socialservice departments in the north-west of England. The primaryaim of the research was to explore work-related stress, usinga ‘problem diagnosis tool’ to understand the stressorsexperienced by social services staff, and to inform the developmentof interventions aimed at reducing and/or eliminating them.This study used in-depth interviewing to develop a questionnaireincorporating a variety of measures to assess potential stressorsand mental well-being. The questionnaire response rate was 33per cent (n = 1234) and the results demonstrated statisticallysignificant differences between staffing grades. Staff workingwith children and families reported the highest levels of absenteeism,poorest well-being, and highest level of organizational constraints.Job satisfaction was low compared with established norms forvarious occupational groups. This grounded research baselineis a crucial step to inform specifically designed and targetedinterventions, which can be effectively evaluated from thisbaseline position.     

The social services response to unaccompanied children in England

In England, social services departments have a duty to provide care and protection to unaccompanied asylum seeking children from the point they arrive in the country. In recent years, research studies have identified a number of practice and policy issues of concern regarding the social services response to unaccompanied children. This paper focuses on three broad issues that emerge from the literature. The paper explores research concerns associated with (i) the referral and assessment process, (ii) the use of the child welfare legislative framework, and (iii) a number of issues arising from the provision of placements and other support offered to unaccompanied children. The findings of the research reviewed demonstrate that there are indeed clear grounds for concern. However, this paper argues that the evidence base is relatively weak and that as a result we know very little about the nature and context of the social work response to this group of children and young people.     

Child Welfare in England: Problems, Promises and Prospects

This paper discusses developments in child welfare services in England in recent years and, particularly, the role and contribution of research. It is shown that a more significant and coherent body of child welfare research has been developed, which has linked formally to the policy process. Research programmes in England have highlighted specific problems in three areas: first, moving away from a narrow focus on child protection to an approach that provides broader family support for children in need; second, the absence of policies relating to services for adolescents; and, lastly, problems in the delivery of residential care for young people. A major programme of reform has been introduced by the new Labour government, consistent with research messages. It is concluded that research has had an impact on the development of child welfare services in England, although influencing the structure of services, social work practice and outcomes for young people are highly complex issues.     

The Operation of Economic 'Laws' within Social Work: A Critical Appraisal

Summary In planning and administering social work services, economictheory has had a strong impact in recent years. The authorsexamine the application of economic theory, in particular pricingtheory (as used by Judge and others), to social work services.They conclude that there is an ideological function in applyingmicroeconomic theory to social work and that there are seriouslimitations in the contribution that such economic theory canmake to resolving social problems.     

What do children think about their social worker? A Q‐method study of children's services

Understanding how children experience social work interventions is an important part of gauging whether what is provided is genuinely helpful. In this paper, we describe the findings from a research project using Q‐method, aimed at understanding what children involved with statutory services think about their social workers and how they experience the time they spend together. Using a pre‐existing practice framework, we explored skills including empathy, collaboration, and purposefulness from the point of view of children and young people. The participants in our study (n = 22) were insightful observers of social work practice, able to describe not only how they experienced time spent with their workers but also inferring differences in motivation and approach. In addition, workers who were described in similar terms by different young people were nevertheless experienced differently. This suggests not an archetypal “good social worker”—instead, there are skills that are good for specific children at specific times within the context of specific relationships.     

Cognitive-Behavioural Social Work with Children

Correspondence to: Dr Tammie Ronen, The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel Summary The paper aims to explore the complex and important links betweeninterventions with children, cognitive therapy, and social work.Although children comprise about half of the referrals to socialwork services, they do not generally receive direct treatmentin these settings. Social workers are involved with childrenin the roles of mediator or counsellor and as the supervisorwho is concerned with the placement of the child in appropriatesettings. When the need for direct therapeutic interventionarises, children are usually referred to educational or clinicalpsychologists. Social work as a profession has been foundedupon a psychodynamic approach; however, social workers havealways been concerned with effective treatments, the definitionof clear goals, and the clarification of client needs. Thesefeatures link social work to cognitive-behavioural therapy.Cognitive therapy, although not frequently used with children,is presented in this paper as a means for conducting directinterventions with children which fulfil social work's basictargets and needs.     

Government, Social Services Departments and the Health of Children and Young People: Which Way Forward?

Summary Despite the dearth of research into the health of children andyoung people in contact with or ‘looked after’ bylocal authorities, a series of official and quasi-official reportshave begun to raise awareness of this issue. There are goodreasons to believe that this group of children will be disadvantagedin terms of health as they are in other aspects of their lives.The evidence suggests that local authorities do not live upto the standards of ‘good parents’. Current notionsof good practice are critically appraised and the article concludesthat social work is unable to do more than mitigate the effectsof Government policies which affect health and social servicesand which have lead to widening social inequalities.     

Crossing Boundaries: An Exercise in Partnership Provision

Correspondence to Bill Whyte, Department of Social Work, University of Edinburgh, Adam Ferguson Building, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LL Summary The international movement to develop school enhancement strategiesin secondary schools recognizes the important relationship betweenschool, family, and community as a crucial medium for assistingdisadvantaged children (Crowson and Boyd, 1993). These childrenare equally the responsibility of social work and other publicservices. Many local authorities in Scotland throughout the1980s established what have become known as ‘youth strategies’to improve formal co-operation between education and socialwork, health and police services. This was an attempt to ensureearly identification of young people's difficulties in the expectationof promoting social welfare, enhancing educational attainment,and preventing, among other things, school absent-eeism andthe difficulties associated with school failure. In recent years,the ambition of such strategies has been to focus on primary-agedchildren and their families, as a preventive and protectiveapproach to the damaging effects of multiple disadvantage. Thispaper reports on an innovative project which was establishedto assist pre-school children experiencing multiple disadvantageto make a successful transition from home to primary school.The importance of good collaborative service provision is highlighted, together with an exploration of parents as educators,the provision of social services in an educational settiog.and issues of multi-disciplinary provision.     

Researching social care for minority ethnic older people: implications of some Scottish research

Summary The paper explores issues raised by research on patterns ofwelfare and mutual care among older Pakistani people and theirfamilies, with particular reference to their use, or lack ofuse of social care services. Qualitative interviews were conductedwith (self-defined) minority ethnic older people, professionalsin statutory services and in minority-led community-based groups.The organization of services is discussed, with special referenceto issues of power and control, the role of the voluntary (non-profit)and statutory sectors, the debate regarding the possible needfor specialist versus generic services, and the role of minority-ledinitiatives. Secondly, issues of service staffing are examined,and the dangers of marginalizing minority services and staffreviewed, especially with reference to divisions of labour inservice provision and staff's own perspectives. Thirdly, themethodological implications of the work are explores, includingissues of linguistic and cultural communication and workingwith relatively powerless social groups, whose views are sought.Examining the views of professional social care workers is alsoproblematized, with reference to their gate-keeping role. Itis argued that user perspectives are essential to the developmentof appropriate services for minority ethnic groups. In conclusion,the need to raise these issues in other work is discussed.     

Marginalized Children as Social Actors for Social Justice in South Asia

Correspondence to: Claire O'Kane, C/o Save the Children Norway, GPO Box 3394, Jawalakhel, Kathmandu, Nepal. Summary This contribution highlights the role that marginalized girlsand boys are themselves playing in varied contexts in SouthAsia to challenge inequalities and discrimination to ensurethat the rights of all children are realized. Notions of rightsare inextricably linked to the concept of social justice whichis concerned with equality, needs and entitlements. Whilst highlightingthe role of children and young people as social actors and activecitizens, this paper also explores broader contextual and discourseissues concerning social work practice, social justice and childrights in South Asia. Case examples and ethnographic materialfrom South Asia are shared. Furthermore, the changing natureand roles of social workers and development workers when enablingchildren's own protagonism are reflected upon, and lessons drawnfor social and community work practice and policy developmentin different parts of the world.     

The motives of foster parents, their family and work circumstances

Summary In foster care research the focus is generally placed on thechildren, not on the parents who perform the foster care. Inthis article the focus is on foster parents of 10-11 year-oldchildren. They were interviewed about their motives for becomingfoster parents, which were linked to their family and work circumstances.Among the 21 foster families in the study, four different butequally frequent reasons or motives for taking care of fosterchildren from the very beginning could be distinguished: relativeswho feel responsibility for a certain child; couples who wantchildren and do not think they can have children of their own;families where the mother wants to be at home taking care ofbiological as well as foster children instead of having unskilledemployed work outside the home; and parents with grown-up childrenwho want to fill the 'empty nest' by becoming foster parents- combined with a family business at home or close to home.Changing family and work patterns in Sweden do not seem to haveinfluenced foster families as much as families in general. Theworth of acquiring more knowledge about the families involvedin foster care of children and young people in order to improvefoster care and reduce breakdowns of care is discussed.