Mothers' Coping Strategies as Child and Family Care Service Applicants

The central position of parents, in particular, mothers, inchildcare has been the focus of much recent legislation andresearch in social work. This is evident in notions such asparental responsibility, family support and prevention. However,while family support and prevention have invited considerationof what formal and informal services can do to help familieswith difficulties, there has been less focus on what these families,particularly parents, do for themselves. This is particularlyimportant where thresholds for receipt of sustained social servicesintervention are so high, leaving families with considerableproblems and needs without access to sustained intervention.Drawing upon Coping Theory, this paper seeks to begin to answerthe question: how do these families (specifically the mother,who is generally the primary caregiver) cope? Focusing on familieswho have been service applicants, but not taken on to caseload,this paper focuses on the coping strategies employed by mothersin adversity, how these strategies vary, and how well the womenthemselves feel they have coped. Amongst the findings, therewas evidence of significant differences in problem severityand profile, as well as coping strategy, according to age ofchild; of a relationship between problem severity and ‘effortfor coping’; and that there was a strong relationshipbetween problem severity and women’s rating of their coping,although only in relation to parenting. The paper emphasizeswomen as active problem solvers in their own right, and thetheoretical importance of integrating coping with the notionof prevention.     

Family support: past, present and future challenges

Section 17 of the 1989 Children Act incorporates a new legal framework for the delivery of services to support children in their own homes, and is a crucial part of the act, both in its own right, and in terms of its significance for other aspects of child care such as child protection activity. However, while "children in need" represents a new legal phraseology, the policy and professional issues addressed by the clause have a long history. This paper traces the evolution of the current approach to family support, and provides a brief account of its impact on policy and practice.     

Volunteers, families and children in need: an evaluation of Family Friends

This paper explores the findings from a small‐scale research project that analysed the impact of Family Friends – a voluntary agency that provides support to families under stress who have children aged between 5 and 11 years. The study, funded by Family Friends, evaluated service users’ perceptions of the support they received, specifically in relation to the significance and impact of the volunteer befrienders. The research identified that there are a proportion of families in need who fail to attract services from mainstream statutory agencies. It also identified that the Family Friends voluntary agency makes a particular contribution to service provision by offering a friendly, non‐stigmatizing, caring and responsive service.     

The Common Assessment Framework: the impact of the lead professional on families and professionals as part of a continuum of care in England

This paper utilizes data gathered as part of an exploratory study to assess the costs and impact of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), to examine the impact that the lead professional role had on families and workers. The study found that both families and workers believed the lead professional to be central to the CAF process, providing a range of support, coordinating multi‐agency responses to need and acting as a single point of contact between families and workers. The paper highlights the need for consideration to be given to inter‐agency working, data sharing, training for workers and the capacity implications for those taking on the role. The extent to which the lead professional might be more integrated into the continuum of support for vulnerable children and families is also examined. The paper highlights the need to consider the lead professional's role in not only preventing the need for more intensive services, such as those provided by statutory social work, but also maintaining outcomes achieved once a child protection plan is closed, or a child is reunified with his or her birth family after a period of being in care. The implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.     

What do service users think of evaluation? Evidence from family support

Programme evaluators increasingly strive to capture how service users experience child and family welfare programmes. Yet user involvement is rare in a more routine form of evaluation: performance measurement. This paper considers how service users' perspectives can help improve the performance indicators that inform child and family service funding, management and planning. Qualitative research, conducted in family support contexts in New South Wales, Australia, identifies five user‐defined domains upon which indicators can be based. As well as showing how parents judge service quality and outcomes, the findings also show how they experience data collection, and how they prefer to participate in the routine performance measurement and monitoring that informs child and family welfare provision.     

The design and development of an instrument for assessing the quality of partnership between mother and social worker in child and family care

Partnership with parents has become a central feature of child care policy and practice. It is related to a general emphasis on the importance of parents evident in issues such as parental responsibility and family support. As such it would be extremely helpful to have an instrument which provides a measure of the quality of partnership. It would be useful both in individual cases, where it could be used to help strengthen partnerships between social workers and parents, and on a wider basis, providing authorities with data with which to assess, in general, the quality of partnership. This paper reports on the design and development of an instrument for assessing the quality of partnership with mothers. First it focuses on key conceptual elements of partnership, which are considered to be role, and role relationship (of social worker and mother), and power. The paper then identifies key dimensions to the notion of partnership, dimensions which are generally agreed, and relate to the key conceptual elements. The ways these are operationalized are described, and the use of the instrument is analysed. The findings go some way to showing the instrument has both validity and reliability, when considered in the context of practice. It is suggested that this instrument may be used both in research and in practice.     

Effective interventions to promote child and family wellness: a study of outcomes of intervention through Children's Family Centres

This paper reports research carried out in Australia designed to evaluate the impact of family support interventions by comparing the views of families and their caseworkers with respect to the perceived benefits and outcomes of the interventions in the context of changes in family functioning and parent–child relationships, and the extent to which changes led to reduced involvement in protective services. The intervention was monitored over a six‐month period using a pre‐ and post‐test design, incorporating quantitative and qualitative approaches in the methodology. The paper discusses: problem domains identified; changes in caregivers’ level of distress, problem solving and learning ability, bonding style and use of discipline; parents’ and children's cooperation with the programme; and implications of the findings for policy and research methodology.     

Protective support and supportive protection for families “in the middle”: Learning from the Irish context

This paper critically examines the relationship between statutory family support and child protection using the case study of Ireland. It builds on the work of Devaney and McGregor (2017) to offer an additional contribution to existing frameworks for practice through adapting the Hardiker Exton and Barker (1991) model of prevention. Using evidence from current Irish developments, the case for moving away from linear and simplistic differentiation of family support and child protection is made. Evidence from three main sources in Ireland is presented to develop the argument. This evidence includes the Child Care Law Reporting project (Coulter, 2015, 2018); a recent evaluation of a family support practice model called Meitheal (Rodriguez Cassidy and Devaney, 2018) and recent findings about public awareness of family support (McGregor and NicGabhainn, 2018). We argue that special attention should be paid to families “in the middle” who are in need of both support and protection and propose an adapted version of Hardiker et al. model to aid in this work. We identify what should happen at different levels for macrostructural to micropractice levels. We conclude that the learning from the Irish case study can be applied to an international context.     

Engaging on the ‘front line’: exploring how family support teams construct meaning in their work with young mothers

This paper explores the provision of family support services for young mothers within a Sure Start Children's Centre, drawing on data collected within a larger study. It identifies how the family support team attempted to build supportive relationships with young mothers between the ages of 16 and 19 years. The findings presented here draw on narrative interviews (n = 10) and focus group interviews (n = 2) with the family support team that included early years workers, family support workers and their managers. The findings captured how the participants actively resisted the stigma (Goffman 1963) of teenage motherhood in order to support young mothers in gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to care for their child. Drawing on the findings, this paper argues that the building of a supportive relationship enables a young mother to construct positive counter‐narratives about her parenting experience. This suggests that the family to offer informal early support to young mothers who are at risk of more formal intervention. However, the complexity of this task should not be underestimated because in doing this, the family support team must at all times ensure the well‐being and safety of the child.     

Suicide Prevention Training Program for Gatekeepers Working in Community Hospice Settings

Gatekeepers in community hospice settings encounter patients and caregivers struggling with suicidal thoughts. Limited guidance is available for training staff on the prevention of suicide in hospice care. This study evaluated one promising, evidence-based, suicide prevention program with a behavioral rehearsal practice session. A pre- and post-, one group design, was utilized to measure the training impact and educational needs of staff working in community hospice settings (N =39). Training increased awareness of the risk factors for suicide, as reported by nearly 80% of participants. Self-efficacy scores showed a statistically significant Increase, t(df = 35), ?9.59, p= .00 (two-tailed), from pretraining (n=36, M=2.21, SD= .65) to posttraining (n=36, M=3.03, SD=.56). Satisfaction and the need for additional devoted time for suicide prevention training were highly rated. Suicide prevention training programs can enhance self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills for gatekeepers working in community hospice settings.     

Child Welfare in the United States: Policy, Practice and Innovations in Service Delivery

Child welfare in the United States is characterized by numerous and complex problems. By reviewing child welfare policy and trends in the United States, this article aims to stimulate discussion about innovative approaches that could allow child welfare professionals, both in the US and internationally, to better meet the needs of children and families.     

Exploring spirituality among youth in foster care: findings from the Casey Field Office Mental Health Study

This study examined spiritual coping mechanisms, beliefs about spirituality and participation in spiritual activities and in other positive activities among adolescents in foster care. A multidimensional measure of spirituality was developed for face-to-face interviews with 188 youth (ages 14–17) from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds in the United States. Findings revealed 95% of youth believe in God, over 70% believe God is 'creator' and God is 'love', and 79% considered prayer a spiritual practice. Most youth said love and forgiveness help them heal. Two-thirds (67%) reported responding to 'bad or tragic things happening' by spending time alone, and over half responded by praying (59%) or sharing the problem with someone else (56%). Youth's top three spiritual goals were to follow God's plan for them, become a better person, and know their purpose in life. Based on the value youth ascribed to spiritual coping mechanisms, recommendations for policy and practice focus on the integration of spirituality into practice and caregiving for youth in foster care.     

Understanding family support provision within the context of prevention: a critical analysis of a local voluntary sector project

This paper presents a model of service process for a family support service at the preventative level as part of a wider debate about child welfare systems in the UK and beyond. The paper places the debate about the shape of preventative family support services within the policy context and uses it to critique various models of service provision, principally the ‘child rescue’ paradigm. From this, the paper explores the characteristics that constitute a complex, yet preventative, family support service. This model is then illustrated using empirical evidence collected from the evaluation of a voluntary and community sector project in the North West of England that describes the service process and some of its characteristics. The paper argues that the model of family support presented has implications for the type of service process that can effectively put the theory into practice. Finally, questions for further research are defined in relation to the implications that this model poses for professional–user relationships and for the professional forms that can deliver preventative family support.     

Quality of care: relationship between the perceptions of elderly home care users and their caregivers

The aim was to study the relationship between elderly home care users', and their caregivers', perceptions of the quality of care. The sample consisted of 151 matched elderly home care user-caregiver pairs in a Swedish municipality. The elderly home care users were interviewed and their caregivers filled in questionnaires using an established, theory-based instrument. Results showed that the elderly home care users evaluated most care components more favourably than their caregivers. On ratings of the various care components' subjective importance to the caretaker, the caregivers consistently scored higher than the elderly home care users. Within the subset of elderly home care users who received help at least twice a day, there were greater similarities between caregivers and caretakers. The results are related to comparable research and discussed in terms of caregivers' needs to legitimize their professional identity and actions.     

Collaborating with families in differential responses: practitioners' views

Child protection authorities in many countries are concerned with reducing the rates of investigations and with diverting at‐risk families from the child protection service system. In several countries, differential responses have been introduced into child protection law providing service providers with some choice between investigative or family support pathways, depending upon the level of risk posed in the circumstance. In this paper, we report on a study into a form of differential response known as Intervention with Parents' Agreement introduced in Queensland, Australia, in 2005. A unique feature of this differential response is that it occurs after an initial child protection investigation, although it does provide child protection services with options for providing supportive interventions to at‐risk families to prevent the further escalation of concerns. In this paper, we analyse practitioners' perceptions of factors that inhibit and promote implementation of the Intervention with Parents' Agreement. Drawing upon interviews with 25 practitioners, we identify factors that become important for securing participation after an initial investigation has occurred. We discuss the implications for the development of differential responses in child protection service systems.     

For the Sake of their Health: Older Service Users' Requirements for Social Care to Facilitate Access to Social Networks Following Hospital Discharge

Facilitating older service users’ requirements for accessto or re-engagement in social networks following hospital dischargeis recognized in social care analysis and policy as criticallyimportant. This is because of the associated benefits for restoringphysical health and psychological well-being. However, it tendsto be a neglected dimension of current social care/intermediatecare. Our paper draws on a qualitative study of voluntary sectorhospital aftercare social rehabilitation projects in five UKlocalities, which focused on addressing this issue. Throughexamining older service users’ feedback and experience,our study confirms the health benefits of social care facilitatingaccess to social networks at this crucial juncture. By providingsensitive interpersonal interaction, advocacy and ‘educational’assistance, social care workers supported older service users’re-engagement in a variety of networks. These included friendship,recreational and family groups, health care treatment programmesand locality based contacts and organizations. As a result,material, interpersonal and health care resources were accessed,which contributed to restoring and sustaining physical healthand psychological well-being. The process of such social carealso emerged as critical. This included ensuring that objectivesreflected service users’ priorities; integrating ‘low-level’home care; offering befriending; and challenging the pre-settime frame of intermediate care.     

Implementation of Child Rights in the Children's Homes in Malaysia

The objective of this study was to examine the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in the Children Homes under the Social Welfare Department (SWD) in Malaysia. Data was collected from 402 registered children who were staying in six Children Homes across the country. This study employed self‐report surveys where multiple data collection methods, such as face‐to‐face structured interviews, key informant interviews (KIIs), and documentation survey, were used. The study found that the SWD failed to comply with most of the commitments of CRC in Children Homes at its implementation level, and it is still needs based. The findings of this study present important guidelines for government and policy makers in improving child welfare services in the Children Homes in Malaysia.     

Congruence and incongruence in the perception of ‘family’ among foster parents,birth parents and their adolescent (foster) children

Over recent decades, listening to children's voices and viewing children as competent actors has gathered momentum in research as well as in practice. Acknowledging children's perspectives requires sensitive listeners who are willing, deliberately and as realistically as possible, to reconstruct children's ways of seeing. In our study, based in Norway, we investigated the views of 22 adolescents in long‐term foster care and 15 of their birth parents and 21 of their foster parents. Using Q methodology, we explored congruence and incongruence in the perception of ‘family’ among foster parents, birth parents and their adolescent (foster) children. We found three family perspectives among the adolescents. Within two of these perspectives, there seem to be more congruent understandings of the children's perspectives among the parent groups. We discuss some main implications in light of these findings. In Norway, as in many other countries, the policy of child welfare is that children first and foremost should grow up with their birth family. When out‐of‐home placements are necessary, a basic principle is that children should remain in contact with their birth family.     

Numbers of children looked after in England: a historical analysis

This paper is an analysis of the relationship between policy, practice and the rates of children looked after by local authorities in England. It examines the trends in the numbers of children looked after by local authorities in England over a period of approximately 40 years. The increase in children looked after in the decade after 1994 is shown to be the result of fewer children entering care, but those that do tend to stay longer. This two-part dynamic appears to have been the underlying determinant of the care population over a long period of time. The fact that time spent in care is such a key factor suggests that planning for children who are already looked after is a crucial determinant of the numbers in care. However, it is argued that poorly developed family support services limit current options for reducing the size of the care population. A range of effective family support services could potentially have an impact on the number of children in care in three ways: by helping to maintain more children within their families; by identifying those children who need care earlier; and by improving the chances of some children being successfully returned home.