‘We’re giving you the sack’—Social Workers’ Perspectives of Intervening in Affluent Families When There Are Concerns about Child Neglect

Abstract

Few studies have examined social workers’ perspectives of child protection interventions in cases of child neglect in affluent families in the UK. Using the findings from a qualitative study, this article explores social workers’ experiences of intervening in affluent families when there are child protection concerns. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were used to gather data from thirty child protection professionals from twelve local authorities across England. Findings from the study are used to explore the complex relational dynamics and power relationships that practitioners have to traverse when intervening with affluent parents that have the material resources to resist social work intervention. The article concludes with a discussion of the skills and knowledge that are necessary for authoritative practice.

Should we take their children? Caseworkers’ negotiations of ‘good enough’ care for children living with high-conflict parents

“…After another Norwegian study, Aadnanes (2017) observed that concerns for children of middle-class families tend to slip into a grey zone of neglect. These findings coincide with results reported for the United Kingdom, where researchers have found that caseworkers face challenges when identifying and addressing emotional neglect and neglectful parenting in affluent families (Bernard & Greenwood, 2019).…”

A qualitative study of the perspectives of designated safeguarding leads responding to child protection concerns in fee‐paying schools

“…This in turn further enabled the parents to maintain, if not intensify, the impact of their needs over the child (Luthar & Sexton, 2004). Whilst one could argue that any child therapist would have a duty to the needs of the child over the needs of the fee‐paying parents, there is a perceived conflict of interest inherent in a multidirectional relationship between the child, the parent and the practitioner, which has also been highlighted by social workers in relation to staff at fee‐paying schools (Bernard & Greenwood, 2019b).…”

“…Existing research on child neglect has primarily focused on children from economically deprived backgrounds (Brandon et al, 2014;Burgess et al, 2014;Daniel et al, 2011;Morris et al, 2018) and very little is said about the experiences of children in affluent households. As such, research has tended to focus on the relationship between poverty and child abuse and neglect (Bywaters et al, 2015;Howarth, 2007;Morris et al, 2018;Sidebotham et al, 2002;Taylor et al, 2012); what has been missing is a discussion that specifically centres on children from affluent backgrounds (Bernard & Greenwood, 2019b).…”

“…The Neglect in Affluent Families study examined how social workers intervene in families from affluent backgrounds when there are child protection concerns of neglect. The study employed a qualitative approach including focus groups and interviews with 30 expert stakeholders from across children's social care and included frontline social workers, team managers, principal social workers, designated safeguarding leads, service managers, a Head of Service for Safeguarding Standards and a Local Authority Designated Officer, across 12 of the wealthiest local authority areas in England (see Bernard, 2018;Bernard & Greenwood, 2019a, 2019b for the detailed methodology employed in this study). The results identified that the safeguarding thresholds for emotional neglect were not well understood by some staff in private schools, who faced difficulty recognising and addressing emotional neglect.…”

The Importance of Teaching Social Work as a Sociolegal Practice: An Irish Perspective

“…Recently, Bernard and Greenwood (2019) provided an interesting example of this struggle with respect to social work with affluent families. They found that social workers had to be able to articulate a clear understanding of the statutory guidance and legal framework informing the decision-making processes, since affluent families frequently had good legal knowledge and support, and thus were more likely to question their decisions.…”