Child protection assessment: The point of view of service users in an Italian study

Abstract

In the Child Protection context, assessment is a very delicate phase that often indelibly marks the whole process of helping. In the Italian context, it is very important to deepen this topic: first because it is rarely studied and second because parental skills assessment is carried out by social workers almost exclusively after a request of the Local Authority. This qualitative research aimed to investigate the experiences and the feelings of 16 people assessed about parental skills; furthermore, the study aimed to focus on the quality of their relationship with social workers. The findings have largely confirmed the evidence of international literature: most of the respondents described a difficult path, characterized by strict procedures, poor listening and lack of participation. Some interviewees even think that professionals act to promote private interests, including economic ones. Parents' reflections revealed also positive experiences; respondents underlined the value of a participatory approach, characterized by transparency, constant dialogue and partnership among service users and professionals involved.

Professional Skills in Family Support: A Systematic Review

“…Professionals should have the ability to promote a positive change in the family, through the engagement and empowerment of its members (Cort and Cline 2017;Fordham et al 2012;Gladstone et al 2012;Kemp et al 2014;Leake et al 2010;Oliver and Charles 2016;. So, including clients in interventions and negotiating clear and mutually agreed-upon objectives are empowerment skills that foster active family engagement with services (Corradini and Panciroli 2021;Saia et al 2020;Tregeagle 2010;. Additionally, reinforcing clients' pro-social actions , promoting behavior changes (Forrester et al 2020), and using motivational skills (van Houte et al 2015) can also induce positive change.…”

“…100% Corradini and Panciroli (2021) Investigate the experiences and feelings of 16 individuals regarding their parenting skills.…”

“…2004;Corradini and Panciroli 2021;Nunes and Ayala 2010;Torres and López 2015;Westlake and Jones 2017;Woodcock and Tregaskis 2008). Therefore, adapting speech to the client, conveying information, engaging the client in bidirectional communication, and ensuring that the client has correctly understood the provided information are communication skills that professionals should employ in practice(Nunes and Ayala 2010;Torres and López 2015;Westlake and Jones 2017).…”

The Fate of Social Modernity

“…At the same time, public intervention in the welfare sector under study has been found to take a more authoritarian stance vis-à-vis at-risk families in recent years (Corradini and Panciroli 2021). In addition, the dominant trend since the outbreak of the financial crisis has been the reduction of budgets earmarked for child and family welfare provision (see Hajighasemi 2019, chapter 8), with a significant curtailment of those national funds that are devoted to local social service systems.…”