Recently in Child protection Category

by Hackney GP Michael Fitzpatrick

The old medical adage "prevention is better than cure" has been extended from infectious diseases to diverse social problems, such as obesity, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse and antisocial behaviour, all supposedly raging at epidemic proportions.

Although the conviction that early intervention yields better outcomes has a common sense appeal, it is only true if the diagnosis is correct and the preventive measures used produce the desired effects (without producing adverse consequences).

But consider obesity and teenage pregnancy. It is by no means clear that the scale of these problems is as great or the consequences as serious as the scaremongers and moralisers who have taken up crusades around these issues seem to believe. Panics about alcohol and drugs, crime and delinquency have come and gone over the years, whether or not there has been a significant recent increase in these problems. The causes are complex and simple solutions are in short supply.

Early intervention is driven by the power of wishful thinking. The notion that there is a window of opportunity before the age of three within which adults can decisively influence infantile development is an old dogma of psychoanalysis now dubiously reinforced by speculative neuroscience. Massive research into Sure Start has confirmed that the evidence for its efficacy is very weak - yet it is stronger than that for any other form of early intervention.
The downside of early intervention is that it pathologises whole communities, inevitably communities that already suffer poverty and neglect.

By replacing family and social links with therapeutic relationships between targeted individuals and professionals, early intervention further undermines personal resilience. Rather than strengthening individuals and communities, it renders them more atomised and more dependent on state support.

by Ray Jones, professor of social work, Kingston University and formerly director of social services in Wiltshire

Community Care has been ahead of the game. In a post I contributed in February it was recommended that following the 'Baby Peter' media frenzy which started a year ago this month there should be new performance indicators for children's services (and why not for adult social services as well) focussed on stability and continuity in front-line teams.

by Steve Liddicott

Anybody who has tried to make sense of paper-based records for a child who has been receiving social care services over a number of years will agree that they should be consigned to the past as quickly as possible. But to do that, the electronic systems that replace them have to be fit for purpose.

Depleted social work departments not only increase the risks to children in need of help, they harm those who work in them too, writes Camila Batmanghelidjh. It's not just to children who are being abused that we owe quality care structures. The staff working in social care also deserve better.

by Paul Lloyd

Nobody talks about bravery in social work but there are many situations in which social workers have to dig deep to use resources deep within themselves to be able to act professionally and safely. How do we address this in training and reverse the drop-out rate?

From my recollection of being a social work student and, from my experience as a practice assessor, I would argue that the importance of personal courage has never been recognised as a principle feature of professional practice as it is taught at colleges and in the field.  
However, in my role as a trade union officer I am confronted, on a daily basis, with courageous interventions carried out by social workers done so at considerable risk to their own professional and physical well-being.

writes Tim Loughton

The reaction to Baby Peter's tragic death has been a defining period in the history of English social work. The negative publicity which has arisen from this horrific case has had a disastrous impact on a public service already crippled by high vacancy rates and low public esteem. This has to be put right. It goes without saying that we need a child protection system that is second to none, but we must also ensure that it has the public's full confidence.

by an anonymous social worker

Social workers are vilified in the media, and our public image is poor. Defending ourselves blindly, however, is not going to address the array of issues that we face.
Of course recognition is needed that the workforce is overworked, underpaid and stressed. We face daily challenges that affect enormously the lives of others, sometimes of such a magnitude that it can mean life or death. We work more than our set hours, using computer systems that are not fit for purpose. And we do all this and so much more for a starting salary of about £28,000.

by Peter Beresford

The release of the names of the killers of Baby Peter and with it, additional information about the extent of their violence and offences, raises further big issues about the systemic nature of the failings that left Peter unprotected.

by Hilton Dawson

A college for social work could provide the means to raise the profession's standing and status to that of medicine and law

The report from the Social Work Task Force, Facing up to the Task, accurately reflects the serious issues facing social workers and proposes a number of ways to respond. Above all, the British Association of Social Workers is delighted that the taskforce has listened to us and is exploring the case for a new organisation to support social work which can play a role similar to that of the royal colleges that support the medical and allied professions.'
This is excellent news: a college for social work goes far beyond education; it is the means by which our profession can raise our standing and status to that enjoyed by medicine and law.

 by Allan Norman

When we represented a junior social worker who exposed the corrupt practices of her team manager, we were representing someone whose decision to speak out was not easy. The person she felt she had to expose had decades of experience as a social work practitioner; she was newly qualified. The person she felt she had to expose was in management, as were those who would consider any grievance or disciplinary matters, but she was not.

And all she was going on was her conviction that her very experienced team manager shouldn't be telling her it was acceptable to lie to the court. The emergence of her manager's criminal conviction came later. The fabrication of evidence came later still in the case. Could she feel confident that her professional career would survive intact? No.