Working with the whole family: What case files tell us about social work practices

Abstract

Practice theories to support child protection social work in the United Kingdom, as in the United States and Australia, are being squeezed out by a focus on performance targets and procedural timescales. This study examines an innovative programme designed to reverse this trend initiated by an English local government authority. The programme aimed to embed systemic family practice in situations where children are deemed to be at risk of harm. The findings, derived from an analysis of a case file sample, indicate that the social worker interaction with family members is predicated on who is living with the child in conjunction with the risk status of the case file. Conversely, practitioner interactions with family members are divorced from family structure and the lived experiences of kin relationships. This study concludes by examining why, despite training in systemic family practice, it was problematic for social workers to integrate it into their encounters with families.

Making fathers relevant: How practitioners include both parents in talk about parenting programmes

“…As other studies have argued, engagement needs to be understood as more nuanced than simply viewing it as a problem located in fathers or practitioners (Brandon et al, 2017), although the circumstances of families continues to be gendered, for example, the influence of residency status in contact with child protection services (Laird, Morris, Archard, & Clawson, 2017). However, the interactional pattern identified in the data was consistent across all calls, regardless of whether the referred parent was male or female.…”

“…This raises questions about the relationship between interaction, practice, and gender. As other studies have argued, engagement needs to be understood as more nuanced than simply viewing it as a problem located in fathers or practitioners (Brandon et al, ), although the circumstances of families continues to be gendered, for example, the influence of residency status in contact with child protection services (Laird, Morris, Archard, & Clawson, ). Further research would be needed to investigate other examples of practice at an interactional level, such as directly with fathers or with male practitioners.…”

Grandparents matter: Optimizing grandparents' involvement after child safety concerns

“…Reflecting the points highlighted above, Laird et al () argued that excluding key family members from involvement in decision‐making in child protection can be “profoundly problematic” (p. 1326).…”

“…Laird et al () and others identify that very busy social workers appear to ration their time by focusing on family members who are most accessible, when what is required is time allocated to build relationships, so extended families might be willing to trust workers enough to reveal family circumstances earlier and then work collaboratively with workers to safeguard children (Lonne et al, ; Lonne, Harries, & Lantz, ). Although it has been identified that grandparents, particularly in countries with minority Indigenous populations, are increasingly being included in child protection matters (Lonne et al, ), narratives from almost all participants in this study do not reflect experiences of meaningful inclusion in child protection processes.…”

“…Backhouse and Graham (2012, p. 313) revealed that grandparents in their study perceived there was also a "stigma" attached to the grandparent-as-carer role and that they were viewed as "somehow responsible for what's gone wrong" within the family. Laird, Morris, Archard, and Clawson (2017) found that heavy caseloads required social workers to ration their time by engaging family members who were most accessible, when what was required was allocated time to interact with families. After examining case files from a UK local authority for children deemed "at risk," Laird et al (2017) observed that although policies supporting extended family involvement had been implemented in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, workers' interactions with family members often were not aligned with family structures and kin relationships.…”