The Urgent Need for Reform of Child Protection

The Urgent Need for
Reform of Child Protection

The reform of child protection by so-called 'experts' has failed disastrously. Radical reform is urgently needed to re-assert the fundamentals of good practice and to restore public confidence.

At the root of the problem is a government that has undermined child protection work by introducing the Common Assessment Framework which requires social workers to gather masses of information on children not at risk of significant harm. Social workers find it difficult to focus on those at greatest risk because they are overwhelmed with computer-based work for children in need. They have a legal mandate to safeguard children and to rescue those suffering appalling treatment at the hands of their parents and a stronger focus on child protection would not only be popular with the general public but would also reduce the risk of unnecessary child deaths.

Serious weaknesses in child protection have led to shocking failures to spot abuse or dangers in high-risk cases. Reform is urgently needed to improve social work practice in the following areas.

Formal Investigations into Abuse and Neglect

Social workers have a legal duty to investigate where there are suspicions, or allegations, of abuse or neglect. This does not mean they carry out a criminal investigation but they do have a lead role in gathering evidence which may later be used in care proceedings. Unfortunately, an over-emphasis on early intervention and prevention has diverted attention away from this work.

It is well known that the competence with which the investigation is handled will crucially influence the effectiveness of subsequent work. Usually, the focus is on a single incident and some critics complain that this is unfair and causes unnecessary stress on families. However, a speedy investigation of the incident may provide the opportunity to obtain medical evidence of abuse which would be useful in legal proceedings. The social work investigation involves more than looking for physical injuries and gathering facts about the reported incident or concerns, important though this is. Judgements also have to be made about the quality of family relationships, the meaning of verbal and non-verbal communication from the child, and any other possible risk factors and underlying stresses on the family that might become apparent.

Therefore, it is essential that all authorities should have a centralised investigation team that is fully staffed and has good management back-up so that all child protection (section 47) referrals are thoroughly and promptly dealt with. Social workers in this team need to consider the dilemma of how to intervene both minimally and as early as possible and should not take crucial decisions without managerial involvement. They need a style of working and different skills from social workers who provide family support. Ideally, initial investigations should be carried out by experienced workers working in pairs, as this ensures greater objectivity.

Some cases where child maltreatment is suspected may be dealt with by the district team if it is felt the initial assessment should be carried out over a longer period of time. However, there are advantages in a specialised team carrying out initial investigations because the focus of work is more likely to be kept firmly on suspected risk of significant harm and on gathering evidence. In some cases it is good practice to arrange a joint interview with the Police to avoid the need for the child to repeat their story twice.

There is already evidence that referrals are increasing because of greater reporting of concerns since the baby Peter case. Early identification of children suffering abuse and neglect should lead to better-informed decisions and more effective interventions. Children's social work services have a lead role, with responsibility for initiating protective action through the Courts where the child is deemed to be at risk of 'significant harm'. It is important that social workers and managers have the experience and confidence to take decisive action when abuse or neglect is suspected and do not allow these cases to drift.

Long-Term Child Protection Work

In child protection much of the work involves making judgements about people's parenting abilities and intervening appropriately. The social work role has suffered recently from the increasing use of the language of 'safeguarding' which often causes confusion. It is therefore important to explain that 'child protection' refers to the 'risk of significant harm' and that the social worker aims to reduce the risks and prevent the need for the child to be taken into care.

Referrals which indicate emotional abuse or neglect present particular problems for social workers because of the difficulties in setting thresholds for intervention. In the more deprived communities social workers could be overwhelmed with work if they set the threshold too low. In some cases concerns about neglect and emotional abuse are combined with concerns about mental health problems and substance misuse by parents. Many of these families are in need of long-term social work support.

While some families will accept help on a voluntary basis others will have no choice and a Child Protection Plan, arising out of a multi-disciplinary conference, is deemed necessary. This is a good practice framework for working with families where risks have been identified and parents need sustained efforts to improve their parenting. This work makes considerable demands on the social worker in terms of establishing an effective working relationship with the family and maintaining an appropriate balance between family support and child protection. A structured, multi-agency approach, with core group meetings and review meetings is necessary. It is extremely important that social workers have the necessary skills for this work, in view of the risks to children if mistakes are made.

The role of the social worker is to have over-sight of the circumstances of the child and the family and to develop an understanding of what needs to change. Sometimes the social worker is able to observe problems as they arise and give immediate support and advice. Often a common-sense approach is all that is required and the social worker will tackle parenting directly. The social worker may say to parents 'I understand your difficulties but I want you to stay calm, not lose your temper, not let people into the house who harm your child, keep dangerous substances out of your child's reach' and so on. There should be opportunities for joint work with other professionals when a particular piece of work, such as a risk assessment, needs to be carried out.

This work can be emotionally demanding and stressful and line managers must therefore provide supervision that is supportive and enabling. The social worker has an over-riding duty to protect the child and the implications of this must be clearly understood by management. Clear lines of accountability are essential but bureaucracy should not undermine good practice. In child protection work professional judgement is very important and every opportunity should be provided for social workers to develop their ability to make balanced judgements about the families they see. Supervision is best done with a light touch by managers who are clear-thinking, willing to take responsibility for decision-making and understand the difficulties for social workers in working with involuntary clients.

Every Child Matters

The Every Child Matters programme was driven by a government more interested in social engineering and surveillance than in supporting good social work practice. It is over-ambitious, unrealistic and unworkable. The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to 'be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being'. It involves agencies sharing information and working together, to protect children from harm and help them achieve what they want in life. When a child is identified as vulnerable professionals are required to assess the needs of the child and share personal information about the family with other professionals. The computerised Integrated Children's System for recording this information has been a bureaucratic nightmare for social workers, resulting in the gathering of masses of meaningless data.

Problems have arisen because top-down policies have distorted the social work role and produced an enormous amount of confusion throughout children's services. This has given social workers a free rein to behave coercively because of unthinking assumptions about the protection of children. Also, government is encouraging social workers to 'nanny' families where 'concerns' are identified in order to prevent children from becoming a problem for society.

It may not be easy to differentiate between good social work practice and harassment by the 'nanny state' - but it is an important distinction. Good practice requires social workers to have a clear understanding of their statutory powers and to be as open and honest as possible about their concerns. An appropriate balance between care and control must be negotiated with the family. The role of the social worker is like that of a good parent. Very often the social worker provides support and encouragement to families struggling to cope but occasionally a more controlling approach is necessary, signalling that certain behaviour is unacceptable. However, social workers who simply appear to criticise parents, or even harass them, can appear weak and ineffectual. In some ways, they are not unlike parents who nag the child, or make threats they do not carry out, and teach the child not to respect parental authority.

Another insidious development is the increasing use of the rhetoric of social exclusion to imply that people who are different and who do not share the dominant values should be made to conform because they are 'at risk' or 'socially excluded'. Recent government proposals to introduce greater regulation of home education is a good example of its efforts to extend the 'nanny state'. Social workers must take a stand against this authoritarian trend which puts the profession in a very bad light.

Back to Basics

Grandiose ideas about all-embracing professional intervention need to be ditched and replaced with more realistic thinking. Child protection social workers should be allowed to concentrate on identifying parenting which puts a child at risk, using their legal powers correctly and working to protect and support children. Too many children are being brought into the social services system and kept under surveillance and this is stretching social work resources to breaking point. Increasingly, the social work task with children and families is collapsing under the weight of unrealistic expectations and is unable to do the very thing it was set up to do.

To summarise, the organisation of child protection work needs to undergo radical change. Good social work practice will only happen if there is a clear focus on child protection. Furthermore, the complexity of long-term work child protection work needs to be better understood so that appropriate training and managerial support can be provided.

Finally, local authorities should have a career structure that makes experienced social workers feel valued and a style of management which promotes stable, committed and supportive teams.

Hilary Searing