Author: Andre Coleman

Social work as a practice is of recent origin and attempts to meet the needs of people especially those in urban areas. In essence, it is a professional activity of helping individuals or communities enhance or restore their capacities to a social functioning and to create societal conditions favorable to their goals. It aims to improve the quality of human life as well as show commitment towards social justice (Ryan and Hughes, 1998). Individuals, families, communities and organizations are able to attain their full potential by seeking social work related services. The need for such services has been extended to cater for children as they are currently facing challenges that hinder their proper development. This has become the main focal point of this document.

First of all, as mentioned above, social work is aimed at improving the livelihoods of people and engaging them constructively to attain their full potential. This cuts across all generations including children. Several reasons have contributed to my desire in working within the Public Child Welfare system. The system is driven by the aim to promote the safety, wellbeing and permanency of children as well as families (Ryan and Hughes, 2006). Most children experience situations such as being deprived of parental care, abuse ranging from physical, sexual, emotional to neglect, marital conflicts, stigma related issues, unfavorable socioeconomic conditions (Weaver et al., 2006) that expose them to scenarios such as opting for prostitution.

Qualities Of A Good Child Protection Services Worker

For one to be a Child Protection Services worker, one has to meet the basic requirements which include a Bachelor’s degree in social work or a Master’s degree in social work, maintain substantial knowledge of current affairs pertaining to children’s welfare and be able to apply the knowledge acquired into structured settings.

One should be aware of the ethics and values which describe in detail the code of conduct. A commitment to the ethics and values of a Child Protection Services worker should be fully adhered to, be able to apply basic helping skills where one is able to respond to individual, group and community needs, engagement skills, observation skills, communication skills, empathy skills, resistance intervention and assessment skills. With these strengths I am able to carry out my duties as Child Welfare Protection Officer effectively and efficiently.

Challenges To Effective Child Welfare Service Provision

However, even with the above strengths, several challenges exist that compromise service delivery on the part of the child welfare services worker. Ryan and Hughes (1998) expound on these challenges to include; poor public perception of the Child Welfare Social worker. Service delivery is compromised by high staff turnover as well as lack of competent personnel in the social work institutions; vulnerability of families with complex needs thus requiring time bound complex solutions. This cannot be tackled by the few workers available; poor working conditions result in the workers having to bear with increasing caseloads without proper remuneration and flexible routines; increased caseloads with complex needs. These stem in part from the vulnerability of families where breadwinners are unable to provide sufficiently for their dependants. Complexity of these needs requires complex actions in their solutions which further demands time to solve them; reduction in the number of foster care parenting. Increased caseloads face a backlog of foster care parenting as less individuals sign up into foster care systems due to increased expenses and bureaucracies involved.

Proposed Changes To Improve The Public’s Perception Of Public Child Welfare Services

In order to improve the public perception of public child welfare services, adequate training and employment should be done to increase the number of competent personnel in these institutions. This would effectively take into account the need to improve service delivery to cater for increasing cases related to child welfare (Weaver et al., 2006).

Secondly, institutional changes that encompass policy development and implementation need to be adequately addressed to ensure systematic co-ordination in securing resources for affected families and children. Further more, compensation should be incorporated to promote foster care parenting o that foster families do not feel overburdened in taking care of the adopted children. Staff should also be compensated in situations where they have incurred extra expenses of both time and money in their quest to address underlying issues brought to them.

Permanency Planning

Weaver et al., (2006) defines permanency planning as a guiding principle intended to minimize the exit, entry and time spent in home care. It includes both legal and social efforts aimed at securing viable families for children. It further describes where a child will live after foster care.

Foster Care System

Foster care system refers to a system where a minor is taken up in a caregiver’s home. Such a caregiver is certified by the state and is referred to as a foster parent. The state and a child welfare institution engage in legal decisions affecting the minor while the foster parent contributes to the daily care of the minor and is compensated for extending such services by the state. This system is mostly short term in nature as the minor awaits permanent adoption or reunification (Ryan and Hughes, 1998)

Career Prospects

Five years after my graduation, I intend to become a social worker with a bias in child protection services. I will focus my attention mainly in child labor and female genital mutilation cases for the first three years. I will then establish an organization whose main mandate would be to address the above issues.

References

Ryan, J. and Hughes, R. (1998), Field Guides to Child Welfare (Vol II-XIII). Washington: CWLA Press

Weaver, D. et al., (2006), Retention of Public Child Welfare Workers. Berkeley: California University

“the biggest challenge we face: the growing number of our fellow citizens who lack the means material and otherwise, to participate in economic, social, cultural and political life in Britain today…It is about more than poverty and unemployment. It is about being cut off from what the rest of us regard as normal life. It is called social exclusion…” (Mandelson, 1997, p.1)

Social exclusion policies in Britain, France, Germany and The Netherlands emphasise the issue of unemployment. People, it is argued, are excluded primarily because of unemployment therefore society should focus on reintegration into the workforce as a means of extending social inclusion. (Sheppard 2006) This promotion of employment has been seen through the various New Deal initiatives, tax credits as an incentive to take up low paid employment and increased resources for childcare. However, Washington and Paylor (1998) suggest that social inclusion is a multi-dimensional disadvantage which dislocates people from the major social and occupational opportunities in society from citizenship, housing, adequate living standards and employment and Sheppard also points out that both here and elsewhere “unemployment has often been used as a practical and shorthand proxy for poverty and its effects.” (Sheppard, 2006, p.8)

As has been pointed out, in Britain employment is the route to ‘inclusion’ but as Hirsch (2006) argues poverty and social exclusion need to be tackled together. He goes on to suggest that poverty intersects with social exclusion due to labour market and social trends in Britain currently. This coupled with public policy has contributed to high poverty rates. To further this argument Hirsch further states that poverty can be looked at as an aspect of income inequality or it can be looked at in terms of exclusion. For example:

“People in poverty find it hard to participate in society because they lack resources to do so. Conversely, lack of participation exacerbates poverty, both directly (exclusion from paid work) and indirectly (exclusion from social networks enabling people to improve their lives).” (Hirsch, 2006, p.4)

This highlights aspects of poverty in terms of social exclusion. Particularly oppression and discrimination which are particular barriers preventing equal access to fundamental economic and social rights.

Davies (2008) suggests that since New Labour has come into power it has coupled policy with a ‘rights and responsibilities’ agenda. People experiencing poverty are increasingly expected to meet responsibilities in order to meet the criteria for claiming entitlements while equal emphasis is not given to protecting their rights. Dominelli (2002) also states that poor and marginalised groups like refugees and asylum seekers and many service users in the fields of mental health, substance abuse and child protection now receive much harsher and more conditional forms of treatment. This notion is upheld by Ducklow (2003) who suggests that government treats the majority of citizens by promoting individual responsibility, self-sufficiency and choice to promote a self-improving form of citizenship.

Davies (2008) goes onto state that the welfare reform Green Paper (DWP 2008) reinforces this approach by making entitlement to Jobseekers Allowance for some claimants conditional on carrying out unpaid relevant full-time work. Also the recent announcement to cut benefits of substance misusers’ who do not undertake treatment is also reinforcement. Accordingly such policy exacerbates social exclusion by limiting the people who live in poverty their access to fundamental rights. Participants in ATD Fourth World (2008) research project mentioned how the increased emphasis on responsibilities versus rights pushed people into illegality, either by making a false claim or taking cash-in-hand jobs as a means of survival. This evidence, states Davies (2008) illustrates how this leads to “people feeling marginalised by policy and decision-makers.” (Davies, 2008, p.8)

Considering these points and considering that social work is involves working with some of the most disadvantaged sections of the community it is clear that social workers must defend against oppression, discrimination and exploitation. Lister (1998) suggests that citizenship is an important value because it places emphasis on rights and social inclusion. She argues if the concept of citizenship is to be of value for the marginalised, the first step is to acknowledge its power as a force for exclusion. Lister further maintains that the extent to which social work services can be seen to invest in the life of local communities is important as it will represent a tool for the promotion of the active citizenship of marginalised individuals, groups and communities.

Sheppard (2006) proposes that the equality of citizenship rights is dependent on an implicit notion of the equality of value placed on humans in society. However, young people can find participation in society and achieving their rights as citizens more difficult. For example the Child Poverty in Scotland Report (2008) indicates that evidence from the Princes Trust Scotland suggests that the most vulnerable young people suffer from multiple forms of deprivation, that those young people who stand to gain the most from training courses experience the greatest difficulties in securing access and financial support.

“Rigid application of eligibility criteria for JSA and other benefits can work to the disadvantage of our clients and prevents them participating on Prince’s Trust courses as they can be faced with the withdrawal of benefits (the 16 hour rule). Sometimes we reluctantly have to advise young people that their interest would not be best served by participating on one of our courses as their principal means of support would be withdrawn.” (House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, 2008, p.26)

Likewise, older people can be marginalised through a variety of reasons such as disability, poverty, dementia which can also make participation in society and achieving their rights as citizens more difficult. Sayce (1998) comments the equality of citizenship also emerges in the prejudice and stigma suffered through race, gender and mental health which can affect life opportunities, negatively affect their sense of identity and encourage low self-esteem. As Thompson (2005) points out to be a citizen means having social rights and being included in mainstream social life. In this respect, states Thompson, much social work practice plays “a pivotal role promoting…the citizenship status of particular individuals, families or groups who are otherwise prone to social exclusion.” (Thompson, 2005, p.124)

As far as accessing services are concerned Dowling (1999) suggests

“social exclusion is about a lack of knowledge of alternatives. It is about assuming officials know best and when a service is denied, accepting that nothing can be done.” (Dowling, 1999, p.254)

Families living in poverty often experience difficulties in accessing their rights to services. Davies (2008) argues they also face discrimination in the form of judgements from other people based on stereotypes of people living in poverty. Prejudices and pre-conceived ideas mean people experiencing poverty are at a disadvantage. An interesting point made by Davies is that stereotypes can lead to suggestions that if you live in poverty you are likely to neglect your family. ATD Fourth World (2006) states that many disadvantaged families live with the fear of their children being taken into care due to the intervention of local authority social services. They are worried about possible interference in their lives, about their control being undermined or about their privacy being invaded. Some also believe that services were either not relevant to their needs or they were so preoccupied and overwhelmed by their difficulties they did not have the freedom of mind to look for sources of support.

This is backed up by recent research by Canvin et al (2007) which showed that, for families in poverty encounters with public services were perceived to be associated with the risk of losing resources, being misunderstood and harshly judged or ultimately losing their children. As one participant put it:

“When you’re living in poverty, you don’t answer the knock at the door. It’s never good news: it’s either the debt collector, the housing officer, the police or the social worker.” (quoted in ATD Fourth World 2004)

Further to the point about accessing services Davies (2008) suggests that families often feel let down by the services that are meant to support them, with offers of support not delivered or initial help being retracted due to lack of resources. As Davies goes on to point out “this experience makes families experiencing poverty reluctant to use any form of services.” (Davies, 2008, p.9)

In view of the above it is realised the impact that social exclusion has on service users and it is known that the most common shared characteristic of those who use social work services is that they are poor. They are also likely to experience a range of other difficulties including mental health problems, violence and experience of the criminal justice system. (Ferguson 2007) Therefore the multi-dimensions of social exclusion epitomize inequality, disadvantage and marginalisation factors that have long been the context for social work practice. Sheppard (2006) encapsulates this by suggesting

“Social workers are seeking to present the ‘world’ of the marginalised to mainstream society and the values and perspectives of mainstream society to the marginalised.” (Sheppard, 2006, p.41)

One theory in this context is emancipatory practice. This approach in social work is concerned with oppression and discrimination. Thompson (2005) suggests the focus of this approach is

“To contribute to the empowerment of clients to help them overcome the disadvantages they experience as a result of their social location and negative attitudes towards them.” (Thompson, 2005, p.67)

Empowerment according to Croft and Beresford (1994) is a participative approach and valuable because people want and have a right to be involved in decisions and actions taken in relation to them. Their view of emancipatory practice is empowerment which involves challenging oppression and making it possible for people to take charge of their own matters. It gives control to people in defining their own needs and it equips people with personal resources to take power by developing their confidence, self-esteem, assertiveness, knowledge and skills. Payne (2005) by contrast suggests the use of empowerment created an idealistic and perhaps misleading objective for practice in a period when the role of social work agencies is increasingly limited to protection or service provision. Payne further adds that we should not mistake empowerment with enablement.

“Empowerment is not limited, as enablement is, to allowing or assisting people to take actions, but it is aimed at relinquishing and transferring to them the power to control their lives permanently.” (Payne, 2005, p.302)

Smale et al (2000) argues that this approach has an implicit agenda in that the client is empowered by restricting the power of the practioners and turning them into facilitators and that they as the client recognise that they themselves know best what they need and what should be done for them.

This notion of empowerment is embodied in the IFSW (International Federation of Social Workers) definition.

“The social work profession promotes social change, problem-solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.” (IFSW 2000)

As Asquith et al (2005) point out that although the IFSW statement is general it particularly promotes change, identifies the importance of social justice and rights and working with disempowered members of society. Social work from this perspective as Asquith et al suggests, is about assisting, supporting and enabling certain sections of the community. They go on to add that for this reason, one constant in the history of social work has been its concern with those who suffer from the negative effects of social inequalities. As Ferraro (2003) indicates social work is really concerned with freeing the poor and the marginal underclass from subordination and exclusion.

Considering this in Changing Lives (Scottish Executive 2006) Statham et al (2005) identified three main functions that define what social workers do. They intervene between the state and the citizen, maximise the capacity of people using services and contribute to policies and practice that support social and personal well-being.

To maximise these functions Payne (2005) describes three different approaches to social work which he argues “is one paradigm of social work, socially constructed in the discourse between the three views” (Payne, 2005, p.13) The first approach is reflexive-therapeutic (therapeutic helping). This approach seeks the promotion of the best possible well-being and self-fulfilment for individuals, groups and communities in society. It is a process of mutual influence through which service users gain power over their personal feelings and way of life. Payne suggests this view expresses in social work the social democratic political philosophy – economic and social development go together to achieve individual and social improvement.

Secondly is socialist-collectivist (emancipatory or transformational) view. This sees social work as seeking cooperation and mutual support in society so that the most oppressed and disadvantaged people can gain power over their own lives. Payne (2005) states that value statements about social work, such as codes of ethics, represent this objective by proposing social justice as an important value. Politically this view expresses the socialist political philosophy – planned economics and social provision promote equality and social justice.

Thirdly is the individualist-reformist (maintenance or social order) view. This is termed as the maintenance approach in that social work is seen as maintaining the social order and maintaining people during periods of difficulties. This view expresses the liberal or rational economic political philosophy – that a free market economy supported by rule of law is the best way of organising societies.

In Changing Lives (2006) it is interesting to note that it refers to the development of therapeutic relationships.

“…the quality of the therapeutic relationship between social worker and individual or family is critical to achieving successful outcomes…The therapeutic approach and the working alliance that goes with it are key elements in developing a personalised approach to helping those with the most complex needs gain control of their lives and find acceptable solutions to their problems. Crucially, this is as important in compulsory aspects of services as it is in those actively sought by service users.” (Scottish Executive, 2006, p.27)

Thompson (2005) also expresses the notion of theoretical paradigms. Thompson suggests social work need a grasp of a range of theoretical perspectives and the ability to draw on these when required. For example the systems theory according to Thompson is a more sociological approach in which social work situations are understood as a series of interlocking social systems e.g. the family system and neighbourhood and community systems. It is the task of the social worker to understand the interactions of such systems and the problems that arise so that the patter of systems can be altered and the problems resolved.

One method of this theory is the community needs profiling approach. Green (2000) argues that community needs profiling should be seen as

“an umbrella term for an approach which attempts to gain information about a community, particularly its needs, and to use this as the basis for change and community development” (Green, 2000, p. 290)

He suggests that potential outcomes for social workers undertaking their own community needs profiling would give a good ‘baseline information’ such as the extent of poverty within the area, types of housing tenure, unemployment levels and the distribution of poverty in any given locality of the area. Green further states that from this information it might also be possible to identify from agency workloads whether there is a particular neighbourhood that is receiving a disproportionate level of social work intervention and that by locating this information may further highlight possible links between individual, family and community poverty and referral and contact with social work agencies.

Green suggests that from this information a more critical awareness of the social, economic and material context to working with poor individuals and families such as at the structural level whereby it gives an understanding of inequalities such as poverty and how they are reinforced. Secondly at the organisational level, the role of social work agencies and social workers in providing resources and services to tackle user need can be explored and lastly, at the interactional/psychosocial level, it aims to locate individual user problems within their structural context.

Community needs profiling outcomes for social work agencies purposes would be its contribution to policies, service provision, evaluation of services and practioners interventions. Green (2000) furthers this by suggesting that organisational benefits would include policies grounded in service user and community needs based on local research findings and social work intervention models and strategies compatible with people’s needs and more evidence-based.

In conclusion the role social work can have in responding to social exclusion is the principles of partnership and user involvement. As Lister (1998) points out they underpin a relationship in which users are perceived and treated as equal citizens.

“…user-involvement represents a more active form of social citizenship in which welfare state users are constructed as active participants rather than simply the passive bearers of rights or recipients of services.” (Lister, 1998, p.15)

Further to this if the marginalised feel that the actions and attitudes of the social workers themselves are participatory and inclusive, that their views are listened to then there should be a successful role for social work in relation to social exclusion.

TO WHAT EXTEND SHOULD SOCIAL WORK BE LED BY THE WISHES OF SERVICE USERS?Introduction

Social work involves the improvement of the human condition and positively changing how the society responds to unending problems. The profession is meant to enhance the quality of life and to ensure each individual realizes full potential in life. In pursuit of these goals social workers work with communities, groups, families, individuals more so the sick and poor. For a long period of time social workers have been providing services with less involvement of the users. They were considered receivers of the services whereas the workers were providers of services. This was seen to give little choice and autonomy to the users. On the other hand the care givers were trained to offer services to the users irrespective of how they felt about the service. Slowly, in a number of western societies there is a growing trend to change the approach. The users are given more say in the manner they want to be treated. This is understandable considering that they are suffers and know better where the shoe pinches. Their opinions have for a long period of time been overlooked by the authorities (Banks, 2006). To address this issue is both a challenge and an opportunity for delivery of better services.

Involvement of Service Users

There have been attempts in the recent past to have involvement of service users in health and care services. The consumer of social service is perceived just like a consumer of any other type of commercial service. This means that he or she is obliged to have a choice, quality service, and value for money and even an avenue to complain (Thompson, 2009). There is much emphasis on the necessity to have knowledge about the exact needs of the users based on research. It is not only advocating for participation or involvement of the users but a greater empowerment. In this the power and control of the professionals is surrendered to the users. There are given a chance to control and run the services. This form of service delivery is rear and may not be realized soon. Nevertheless attempts are being made to let the user gain more information, knowledge and skills regarding the power being bestowed on him.

Such a venture can prove challenging to the users and those trying to emancipate them. Most of the users are ignorant, disabled, unfit physically and in majority cases with a low self esteem. To involve them is delivery of service will require much assurance, patience and friendliness from the workers (Munday, 2007). It is for this reason that training has been initiated for both the users and social workers. This training enables them to better understand one another and work in collaboration.

Merits of Involvement of the Users

There are a number of reasons why the involvement of users in providing service is vital. The most important factor is to have services reflect on the preferences and needs of the users. Similarly the users also have to be able to participate in decision making regarding the delivery of the service. The latter reason is important in the sense that the users gain more control over their lives. There are also made to be flexible hence able to respond to various needs at appropriate time. Besides, the people will be able to unite as a group, identify with one another and speak with one voice. In this way they guarantee to give a new perspective and approach to tackle social issues. The involvement of the users is also essential in a sense as their input will be used in reports and other documents. As a result most of the materials meant for this purpose become understandable to other service users, members of the public and providers of services.

Though there are those who see the involvement of users as a challenge to the workers, it can actually lighten their work. Once social workers and users trust each other and work together it becomes easy to deliver the services. It is easy to satisfy someone who responds and gives directions on how he or she wants to be served. The social workers will therefore not be required to rely so much on book reading but field experiences. The more they interact with users the more they get to know them and their problems.

In most cases resources are scarce thus making social work a challenge. To some extend the involvement of users can help in proper resource allocation and avoid wastage (Byers, 2005). There are instances where social workers provide what is not needed by users. Some of the resources are expensive yet do not fully satisfy the needs of the users. It can be more prudent if the users are involved in the planning such that only useful items are provided. In countries such as Norway personal budgets have been helpful in dealing with individual needs (Munday, 2007). This approach whereby some cash is provided to individuals has been very useful. As much as some critics will term the approach as expensive; still it is a step towards empowering the users.

In addition individual needs and expectations vary with time and context. The training of the social workers needs to be updated often in order to address current circumstances. For this to be realized there must be intensive research carried out on the service users. Such a venture can prove expensive and time consuming to the social workers. Alternatively the workers have the option of researching on the users as they provide services. The knowledge and ideas gotten from users can be useful in future practice.

Barriers to Involvement

Despite these apparent positives there are obstacles to the full implementation of the plan. The most crucial is the significant minority users whose view may not be represented by the chosen few members attending meetings. It is also possible for the user representatives in the committee meetings not to effectively stand for wishes of the entire group of service users. It is therefore a challenge to have greater involvement and participation of the people. The majority of whom it may not be easy to contact.

Another impediment is the professionals themselves. Traditionally power belonged to service providers and still most of them are reluctant to relinquish the power. There is less willingness to share power with users such that most of them are already intimidated to attend the meetings. This is especially so with regard to decision making. The professionals still want to be in control in allocation of resources. The assumption is that allowing users in decision making would prove costly to the professionals. Such a venture is also time consuming considering tight schedule of the professionals. On the other hand the teaching staff has to be made aware of the emerging trend in service delivery. As opposed to traditional practices, the current approach emphasizes on sharing of power.

In majority cases service users perceive themselves being secondary to the wishes and dictates of the professionals. This has acted as an impediment to their involvement. The users appear to be lacking in knowledge, skills and understanding (Munday, 2007). This makes them susceptible to exploitation. In some cases their physical condition does not seem to favor a meaningful participation. Their personal opinions and needs do not tally those of the professionals yet such concerns are rarely addressed by the authorities. For this barrier to be surmounted there must be training allotted to both service users and caregivers.

Apart from the people involved in social work institutions also act as a major obstacle. The established practices and structures of the organizations allow for little reforms. There is almost no room to hold discussion for power sharing. The long established tradition in institutions makes power issue a tricky affair. The administrations are also bureaucratic thus shun involvement of the users. In some cases it is the lack of clear goals by the administration. This becomes a barrier to initiate any reforms in favor of involvement. However, constant calls for awareness may help address the issue.

Time and resources also prove as obstacles to the achievement of the goals. There must be enough resources to meet the needs of the users (Trevithick, 2005). This may not be readily available hence calls for support to allow the participation of various stakeholders. Some of these seminars are costly as participants have to be well catered for. The expenses include reimbursements, transports costs and also paying the services users. Similarly, institutions pose some difficulties that need to be overcome. All the same there need to be commitment on the part of the users. Time and energy have to be sacrificed of which majority users can hardly afford.

Furthermore in most countries there is no legal provision to advocate for the rights of the users. The political willingness is also lacking (Adams, Dominelli and Payne, 2009). This makes it is difficult to push any agenda concerning users of the service. In some cases the legislation may exist but are inadequate to address the issue at hand. It therefore becomes necessary for other avenues to be explored to ensure that the concerns of users are addressed.

Finally there seem to be a language barrier between some of the users and social workers. In some cases the two speak different languages hence cannot communicate easily and effectively. Naturally this will require the services of an interpreter who may not be readily available. In addition the language of the professionals may be too technical making meaningful communication impossible. It is for this reason that professionals have to cut on the use of jargon and try to simplify their language. Sometimes it is only language that creates distance between users and social workers.

Impact of User Participation

There is much evidence to show the widespread popularity of user participation. However, the impact of participation is yet to be monitored. As much as there is willingness to allow for participation of users still institutions are rigid. The traditional systems, structures and practices are maintained. It makes it hard for any meaningful reforms to be carried out.

In addition users seem to be skeptical about current programs. According to perspectives from a number of users their views continued to be ignored. This is basically because professionals in the field are unwilling to share power. The users therefore find it difficult to find a way of having there needs prioritized. It becomes vital for them to meet together and speak in one voice.

It is due to these reasons that learning institutions are advised to take note such that they help in bringing solutions to the problem (Davies, 2008). Without a new way of looking at the problem and changing the system then the problem is likely to persist. The barriers that see to the marginalization and disregard of views of users can only be addressed by changing traditional systems.

Expectations of the Service Users

Service users expect to be heard and their problems listened to. This is in addition to the need to be valued as human beings. They crave for humane treatment, warmth, honestly, and respect. The lifestyle and cultures of the users are also to be respected. It is unfortunate that most of the social workers disregard some of these issues. There is a tendency to imagine those that are poor or aged are not entitled to the best services.

Apart from this users are also in need of understanding and to work in collaboration with social workers. There differences as individuals have to be acknowledged. Above all the need for good communication is emphasized. The communication should be clear and straight forward. All manner of ambiguity should be shunned. Moreover, professionals should try as much as possible to avoid use of jargon.

Social work education is a useful tool to enable workers not to imagine the condition of the users. A social worker has to constantly monitor the condition of the users and respond accordingly. Students on career training have to be made aware from the onset to be respectful and open to participation with users. The perspectives of users need to be kept under consideration. It will also ensure there is partnership between service users and students on a daily basis.

Service users are also important in providing knowledge and understanding. Their views and opinions need to be taken with seriousness and equal value just like those of professionals. Their experiences are essential to enable a successful involvement practice. In many instances these experiences vary from those of professionals. This is not to be seen as anything out of the ordinary. In fact it can be used as a good background to better the teaching of the subject.

There is still need for programs in social work to allow for user involvement and partnership with social workers (Wilson, Ruch, Lymbery, and Cooper 2008). The impediments outlined earlier should be done away with. The service users have identified a number of issues which have to be tackled in order for there to be an effective partnership. For instance there is need to commence a direct partnership with users. There knowledge and experience should be incorporated in the services being provided. This means a continued sustenance of the partnership between the users of the service and those providing the service.

The importance of participation of more people cannot be emphasized. This must include people with varied background and experience. The system should be in favor of inclusiveness such that there is a wide approach to challenges. Once users are able to articulate their problems and issues facing them without feeling intimidated then it would be a step forward. For this to be realized it would take more than just participation but direct effort from the concerned parties.

Each and every individual is unique. It is therefore faulty for social workers to give the same type of service to a number of users. The truth is that even for individuals, circumstances and needs change with time. Those attending to users must therefore be sensitive to individual complaints at particular times. Workers have to look at the history of patients and ensure there was no misdiagnosis. Concern for the past of the patients boosts confidence and friendship. Similarly, services can only be implemented when there is trust between professionals and the users of services. It also means the same staff should be maintained for a long as possible. An occasional change of staff gives a discontinued service to the users.

Perspective of the Workers

The social workers too have needs and also suffer from a number of work related illnesses. The most common ones are anxiety, stress and depression. Just as the users of the service, workers need support. This may be psychological, financial or spiritual. The majority however do not disclose their personal problems since they see it as a weakness on their part (Davies, 2008). They are meant to respond to the needs of others hence most of them forget the fact that they too have got needs. There are those that put the needs of others before there own. Whereas the mainstreams come to believe distress and concerns are inevitable and cannot be done away with.

It is therefore important that workers are made to understand not only the situation of the sick but their personal situations as well. On a daily basis social workers have to deal with a lot of issues most of which depend on their decisions. They not only have individuals to deal with but families, groups and communities. Furthermore the resources are scarce such that workers have to find a way to share equally. Their work is punctuated with lots of uncertainties; contradictions, risks and tension (Davis, 2008). Everyday workers face a number of challenges. It is not always smooth as they rely on their own judgment to solve some problems. This becomes even more complicated in times of crisis. The majority are denied time to spend with family and even relax with friends. All the same the workers are expected to deliver the best service to users. They need to focus and listen to whatever complaints the users put across (Levin, E., 2004).

Conclusion

It is beyond doubt that users of social services need to be involved in social work. For a long period of time they have been sidelined and their views suppressed by the authorities. In some way this involvement will help to address some of issues that users feel are being neglected. Service users need to develop a personal relationship and trust with social workers. They have to be listened to, respected and empowered. It is only when they are free with workers, confine to one another that the work will run smoothly. On the other hand it is not going to be an easy task for social workers. The expectations of users are many and varied. In order to meet all of them workers have to be skillful and experienced. Furthermore authorities have to ensure scarcity of resources and bureaucracy is dealt with. This will give ample time to the workers. All in all the two parties are to work in conjunction with one another, respect and value each other. It is not necessarily that all the wishes of service users be met but at least respect and understanding should prevail.

The fact that social work has to be done in collaboration there is need for training for both service users and workers. Once the two parties participate in training it becomes a lot easier to work together. It will not be a question of responding to the wishes of users. Some of the groups and or individuals need a lot of guidance and counseling. There are those that can hardly understand themselves and need a lot of help. Again training may not go well with most of the users. Majority will not see the usefulness of training. Others may as well ignore. Nevertheless institutions that train social workers should address the changing roles of users in social work. The graduates should be skillful and flexible enough to respond to the challenging environment.

References
Adams, R., Dominelli, L & Payne, M., 2009. Social Work: Themes, Issues and Critical Debates.3rd ed. Palgrave Macmillan.
Banks, S., 2006. Ethics and Values In Social Work. British Journal of Social Work. 37(1):161-162;
Byers, C., 2005. Towards a Meaningful involvement of People Using Service and Carers in Social Work education: developing Strategies for Good practice. School of Social Community and Health Studies. Retrieved on November 13, 2009 from http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/publications/social_work_journal/issue11/articles/byers.htm
Davies, M., (ed) 2008. The Blackwell companion to social work. Blackwell Publishers Ltd
Davis, A., 2008. What Service Users Expect From Social Work. International Conference on Social Work Education. Tblisi State University, Georgia July 1-2 2008. Retrieved on 18 November 2009 from http://www.ceimh.bham.ac.uk/documents/Ann_Georgia_presentation.pdf
Levin, E., 2004. Involving Service Users and Carers In Social Work Education. Social Care Institute for Excellence. Retrieved on November 18, 2009 from http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide04/files/guide04.pdf
Munday, B., 2007. Report on User Involvement in Personal Social services. Retrieved on 13 November 13, 2009 from http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/socialpolicies/socialrights/source/ID4758-Userinvolvementinpersonalsocialservices.pdf
Thompson, N., 2009. Understanding Social Work: Preparing for practice. Palgrave Macmillan
Trevithick, P., 2005. Social Work Skills: A Practice Handbook. 2nd Ed. Open University Press.
Wilson, K., Ruch G., Lymbery M., Cooper A. 2008. Social Work: An Introduction to Contemporary Practice. Longman.

In the reading by Bennett and Zubrzycki (2003) they write about themselves, a Polish-Australian and an Indigenous Australian who collaborated in a research project about Indigenous social work. They interviewed 6 Indigenous social workers and give details of the difficulties faced in contemporary social work practice. Those interviewed face many obstacles in their practice due to cultural issues in a profession that is dominated by another culture.

Green and Baldry (2008) argue that even though Australian social work clients are made up of many Indigenous people, the workers they deal with have their practice rooted in theories taken from European, British and Euro-American social theory. They talk about the role of social workers in past injustices inflicted on Indigenous people and the fledgling movement among social workers, especially Indigenous ones, to develop theory and practice specifically targeting the needs of Indigenous Australians.

The reading by Briskman (2007) looks at developing frameworks in response to the deficits of contemporary social work practice in five areas experienced by Indigenous Australians. These are social constructs of whiteness and “othering”, colonialist practice, racism and institutional racism, citizenship and human rights.

Wilson (1997) explores the failure of welfare departments in understanding Indigenous kinship systems and the removal of children from their extended families and lands. Wilson argues that the removal of children and placing them away from extended family is tantamount to child abuse in itself. It is also stated that welfare related interventions are best handled by Indigenous organisations as mainstream organisations use the term “culturally appropriate” without really knowing what it means.

Analysis

The readings show that despite the many definitions of social work, Indigenous Australians do not receive the service delivery they should. Although Australia has moved away from using British and American models of social work to reflect our own history (Napier & George 2001, p.79) we are still lacking in our practice frameworks with Indigenous people.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 1997 (cited in O’Connor, Wilson, Setterlund & Hughes, 2008, p.25) states that the historic colonisation, seen as invasion by Indigenous people, destroyed them, their culture and their land along with the imposing of alien laws, religion and social and economic arrangements upon them. The results of this have seen Indigenous people as the most marginalised people in Australia with many social problems including domestic violence, child care and poverty that needed to be responded to by the government (O’Connor et al. 2008, p.40).

Goldlust (cited in Briskman 2007, p.37) states that Indigenous Australians were not citizens of their country until the Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1948 granted them automatic citizenship but even so they were not given the right to vote until 1962. Anderson (cited in Whiteside, Tsey & Earles, 2011, p.114) states that even though Australia was a world leader in its welfare entitlement arrangements, Indigenous people were not able to access these benefits until the late 1960s.

When the Whitlam Labour government came into power in 1972 major social reforms took place which saw a large injection of funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs along with the dismantling of the White Australia Policy through the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (O’Connor, Wilson, Setterlund & Hughes, 2008, p.27).

One of the major problems in Indigenous communities has been the historic removal of children and their over representation in the child welfare system. It was not until the release of the Bringing Them Home: report of the national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission [HREOC] (1997) that this issue began to be addressed. There is a conflict of values among welfare workers in the child protection system. Western society see differences in the way indigenous people live as “abnormal” and therefore this signals to them that there is a problem within the family (Wilson 1997, p.452). They have no understanding of the indigenous kinship system which then results in the removal of many children unnecessarily. Wilson argues that neglect is the primary reason for welfare intervention in Indigenous communities and that social inequality directly causes neglect. Racism in schools, housing problems, general poverty and structural factors also resulted in interventions (1997, p.453). Furthermore Wilson states that welfare departments fail to consult with Indigenous families, communities and organisations regarding interventions and that culturally appropriate welfare services should be provided by Indigenous organisations (1997, pages 453-458). There is a need for more Indigenous and culturally competent social workers in Australia today. Green and Baldry contend that social work in the past has been involved in racist, patronising and unjust practices toward Indigenous people and having now apologised is seeking to learn from Indigenous Australians how to work with their communities and individuals (2008, p.389). Bennett, Zubrzycki, and Bacon (2011, p.34) discuss that there is still much to be done in teaching social work students to be culturally sensitive to Indigenous Australians:

Social work practice with Aboriginal people and communities requires significant

resources and development. While some schools of social work (e.g., University of

Western Australia and University of New South Wales) offer students core units on

working with Indigenous Australians, there is still no national core curriculum that

requires this important subject to be included across all Australian schools of social

work. Theories of Whiteness, knowledge about the ongoing practices of colonisation,

knowledge of Aboriginal English, Aboriginal languages, and Aboriginal world views

are just some of the areas that remain marginal in social work education. Yet the

social justice outcomes for Aboriginal people indicate that these communities are the

most disadvantaged and marginalised in Australia. This means that social workers,

who have a central role in the delivery of welfare services, need to be educated and

supported to work in ways that are culturally respectful, courageous, and hopeful. (Bennett, Zubrzycki & Bacon 2011, p.34)

This advice should be followed in order for social work to address the needs of Indigenous Australians adequately. Indigenous people make up a small percentage of the Australian population. Therefore the number of Indigenous social workers is minute in terms of being able to service their people and communities. They also face challenges in their role as social workers due to the very fact that they are Indigenous. Soong (cited in Bennett and Zubrzycki 2003, p.62) contends that these workers are often seen as culture brokers who mediate between two cultures. This results in them experiencing tensions caused by being caught between professional and cultural expectations that are in conflict with each other. This dichotomy should not be and Indigenous social workers need a lot more support from their peers in practice.

Reflection

As I reflect on what I have learnt in this unit I am reminded of the enormity of what will be expected of me in order to become a competent social worker in the future. The readings I have done in my chosen topic about Indigenous Australians have been of particular interest to me due to the fact that I manage an Indigenous Out of Home Care / Kinship Care service and am the mother of Indigenous children. The past injustices that have been visited upon the Indigenous communities in Australia are something that can never be changed nor forgotten but we can learn from this and move on to a future that will embrace social justice and human rights on a large scale rather than the way it is now, in a stage of infancy. I have learnt that there is a lot more to being a social worker than you would expect and that it takes a lot of grit and determination to practice justly and fairly. My beliefs and values have been challenged, especially around the whiteness theories and the position of privilege that I hold just because of the colour of my skin. The unit has raised awareness in me of the predicaments people find themselves in through no fault of their own and it has given me more compassion and the desire to go out and help those who are marginalised and in poverty. I am a natural advocator, it is something that I like to do along with it being part of my profession and I have been challenged to go out and advocate for those that are less well off more often. In regards to future learning this unit has spurred me on to want to know a lot more as this is only the start of my course. I would like to learn more about politics and sociology. Human rights is a subject that I would like to do a lot more study on as it is something that really inspires me. By the end of the course I fully expect to be a competent social worker with a strong foundation in theories both past and present. The readings I have read in the unit are able to be put to good use already in my workplace and in my life and as I go on I am expecting to change and be a better person because of what I have learnt.

Additional Reading

The reading I have chosen is called “How White is Social Work in Australia” and the full reference for this reading is as follows:

Walter, M, Taylor, S & Habibis, D (2011) ‘How White is Social Work in Australia?’,

Australian Social Work, 64: 1, 6 – 19.

I got the reading from the Deakin Library under the journal section after doing a search on Australian Social Work. This reading sheds light on my topic as it enables white people to see that there is a world of difference between them and Indigenous Australians. It also brings an awareness of how we practice “othering”, even if unconsciously so.

Critically evaluate the contributions of theory, research, legislation and policy to social work practice in relation to one aspect of practice in one of the following: Children and Families.

In this essay I am going to critically evaluate the contributions of theory, research, legislation and policy to social work practice in relation to looked after children who experience neglect. Erickson and Egeland (2002) argue that there are five types of neglect; emotional, medical, physical, mental health and educational neglect and these can all impact negatively on a child. I have chosen to concentrate on middle aged children around the ages of five to ten years of age who have experienced neglect because neglect is one of the most identified forms of child abuse and can have serious effects on children of this age (Mennon et al, 2010). According to the DfES (2014) 62% of looked after children are looked after because of abuse or neglect. Therefore it is important to evaluate how theory, research, legislation and policy can contribute to social workers understanding of neglect and how social workers can support children in overcoming these effects. I appreciate that children who become looked after due to neglect often experience other forms of abuse and these can have further negative effects on children (Mennon et al, 2010), however because this essay aims to be prescriptive rather than exhaustive I have chosen to concentrate on middle aged children who experience neglect.

Research has made a significant contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children who experience neglect. The majority of research concentrating on children who experience neglect (Mennon et al, 2010; Trickett and McBride Chang, 1995; Hildyard and Wolfe, 2002) has tended to show that the risk factors associated with neglect can significantly hinder children’s growth and development. Children who are neglected tend to live in poverty, with a lack of parental care, parents may be misusing substances, parents may have mental health problems, one parent may be experiencing domestic violence, and poor prenatal and postnatal care can all lead to a child being neglected by their parents (Pelton, 1994). Research has shown that children who are neglected tended to have the lowest academic grades (Eckenrode, Laird and Dorris). Studies have found that children of school age who were neglected showed social and behavioural problems, they were socially withdrawn, unpopular with other children and socially isolated (Erickson and Egeland, 2002 and Trickett and McBride Chang, 1995). Hildyard and Wolfe (2002) found that children who were severely neglected impacted detrimentally on children’s emotional well-being. Therefore, the factors associated with neglect can impact negatively on a child’s normal development and have adverse effects, which is why it is vital for social workers to understand the impact of neglect on children so they can target the most effective interventions to help children overcome the effects.

However, it could be argued that there is a lack of research that specifically relates to children who are looked after and experience neglect. Many children who are neglected who are involved with child protection services will have interventions targeted at them in order to prevent neglect from continuing and children do not always become looked after. For example, a child who is being neglected because their parents have substance misuse problems may not end up being taken in to care because the parents seek help for their problems. Or a parent who is being abused may move away from the abusive partner which enhances their ability to parent the child. Much of the research tends to concentrate on how social workers in child protection services can help families where children are experiencing neglect. Arguably therefore there is a lack of research which specifically looks at how the two compounding issues of neglect and being looked after impacts on children.

Despite this, the research exploring the effects of neglect on children help social workers understand the impact of neglect on children who are looked after and how this hinders their development which they can then consider when undertaking assessments. This can then help social workers decide what intervention is needed to promote a child’s health and well-being. Attachment theory for instance is invaluable in understanding why looked after children experience some of the adverse effects that they do (Trickett and McBride Chang, 1995). Howe argues that attachment theory is “very useful to child welfare and adoption workers” (1995: 136) because it can explain children’s behaviour which can help social workers target the most effective interventions (Howe, 2005). Attachment theory, developed by John Bowlby, argued that children need “secure attachments to their mother in order for them to be stable individuals in later life” (Dunk-west, 2013: 42). Attachment theory suggests that children who grow up without a secure caregiver have difficulty forming stable social relationships in later life. The lack of a warm and secure relationship with a caregiver during early childhood can lead to a child experiencing adverse effects, such as delinquent behaviour and depression (Howe, 1995).

Therefore children who have been neglected are likely to have insecure attachments because of the lack of care and nurturance they received growing up (Hildyard and Wolfe, 2002). Attachment theory can therefore contribute significantly to social work practice because it helps social workers in their assessments to understand the child’s needs. It also helps social workers understand the need to place looked after children who have experienced neglect in stable placements so they can develop secure attachments to their new caregivers (Howe, 2005; Cocker and Allain, 2008). This can support the emotional and social development of children and is central in building resilience (Crawford and Walker, 2007). To ensure placements are stable and secure attachments can develop; social workers must carry out good quality assessments and develop robust care plans (Cocker and Allain, 2008). Social workers must then frequently assess children in their new placements and assess the quality of their new attachments with their new caregivers, continually updating the care plan to ensure they are supporting the child’s social and emotional development (Cocker and Allain, 2008).

However, Dunk-West (2013) argues that whilst attachment theory is important, it is vital to assess children within their social contexts. The inequalities looked after children face can be more effectively explained by using an ecological approach. Walter (2007) argued in his study that a combination of risks and multiple stressors can lead to adverse effects for looked after children and therefore a holistic approach such as the ecological model can help social workers to do that. Using Brofenbrenner’s (1979) theory for example, within the micro system a social worker could assess that a looked after child who has been neglected is highly likely to have had very little parental support and there may have been family conflict and this could have been because of characteristics within the exo system of a child’s life. Their exo system is likely to have been characterized by poverty and living in a deprived neighbourhood. For example, parents may argue because of the stress of living in poverty or engage in excessive drinking or drug taking to try and cope with the stress of living in poverty which then affects their ability to parent effectively and provide children with adequate support or supervision.

Furthermore, within the macro system looked after children are aware that society perceives them as a group of children that are deemed as at risk (Walter, 2007). For example, in Care and Prejudice (2009) an Ofsted study that interviewed three hundred children in care found that half the children in their study felt that the public held negative stereotypes about them, such as being delinquent and troublemakers. Looked after children felt heavily discriminated against and felt that this impacted on their ability to do well academically, build friendships and gain employment (Care and Prejudice, 2009). Therefore, it could be argued using an ecological approach that looked after children who experience neglect have poorer outcomes than other children because of the multiple social and environmental factors that impact on parents capacity to parent effectively (McAuley and Davis, 2009).

It could be argued that attachment theory is matriarchal in nature. For example, Bowlby’s work in particular which was developed in the 1950s is arguably sexist because the primary caregiver is assumed to be the mother (Beckett, 2006). Yet more recent work on attachment theory has reframed attachment as not meaning attachment to the mother. In modern society as more women have entered the labour market, children are increasingly taken care of by multiple figures; this can include the father, childminders or grandparents (Dunk West, 2013; Nicolsen et al, 2006). Children tend to attach and bond to multiple key figures, male and female (Beckett, 2006).

Despite this, research does tend to demonstrate how fathers are marginalized by social workers in children services and are poorly engaged. This can be particularly detrimental for children who are looked after because social workers potentially lose a valuable asset for children (Brigid and Taylor, 2000). Brigid and Taylor (2000) also argued that legislation and policy does not contribute effectively enough to guide social workers in how to challenge traditional gender assumptions, nor does legislation give clear guidance for engaging fathers. For instance, it was only from 2003 that fathers who were not married to the mother of their child acquired parental responsibility automatically even if he was on the birth certificate. Prior to this change in legislation a father could only acquire parental responsibility by a written agreement with the mother or by applying to court (Cocker and Allain, 2008). Therefore, it could be argued that the earlier work of attachment theory has heavily influenced social workers in children’s services. The importance of the attachment to the mother has been persistent and as a result social workers have often marginalized fathers (Brigid and Taylor, 2000). Attachment theory has therefore arguably contributed negatively to looked after children because social workers are still heavily influenced by its matriarchal nature.

Legislation however underpins how social workers should support looked after children and therefore makes a huge contribution to looked after children who experience neglect, in particular the Children’s Act 1989 and Children’s Act 2004. Under section 22 of the Children Act 1989 there is a duty on the local authority ‘to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare’ (Branye and Carr, 2013: 291) it looks after. The Children’s Act 2004 added an additional duty on local authorities to promote the child’s educational achievements. When a child is subject to a care order or interim care order, social workers become the looked after child’s “corporate parent” and share parental responsibility with the birth parents. Therefore the local authority becomes responsible for a child’s care and achieving positive outcomes (Cocker and Allain, 2008). For example, ‘Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 states that parents have a duty to ensure their children are suitably educated’ (Cocker and Allain, 2008: 138), social workers as a corporate parent therefore share this duty with the birth parents (Cocker and Allain, 2008). As a result of this legislation looked after children are given a designated teacher who ensures they have a personal education plan which sets out developmental and educational needs and identifies targets (Cocker and Allain, 2008). Personal education plan meetings are then held twice a year to assess the child’s educational progress. Research has shown that looked after children tend to achieve lower grades at school than their peers and has therefore arguably heavily influenced legislation.

In addition, local authorities have a duty to monitor children’s developmental progress and so children receive medicals once a year. This is all part of safeguarding and promoting the child’s welfare. CAMHS involvement may also be necessary if the child has additional therapeutic needs (Cocker and Allain, 2008). The Children’s Act 2004 made it mandatory for different agencies to work collaboratively and share responsibility for vulnerable children and this includes looked after children so social workers have a duty to work with a range of professionals in order to promote the well being of children. Legislation is therefore central to working with looked after children as it mandates how social workers should support looked after children.

Despite parental responsibility being shared, the local authority can overrule birth parents but social workers must work in partnership with parents or anybody else with parental responsibility and consult them when making any decisions regarding the child’s welfare (Cocker and Allain, 2008). However, partnership working with parents in practice can be extremely difficult for social workers when parents do not agree with their decisions regarding the child. For example, a number of studies have highlighted how challenging it is for social workers to work in partnership with parents and take their wishes into account when a decision is made to permanently remove a child (Clifford and Burke, 2004; Charlton et al, 1998). Working in partnership with parents therefore becomes extremely challenging for social workers as they try to take the parent’s wishes in to account but also trying to act in the best interests of the child and gather evidence to explain why the child should not return home. Furthermore, Wigley et al’s (2006) study found that social workers often faced challenges when trying to collaborate with schools, as they either did not implement personal education plans or they did not communicate effectively with social workers which made it difficult to work in partnership with educational professionals.

In addition, social workers under Section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989 must also consult the child about their wishes before any decision is made and this is a key principle of the Children’s Act 1989. However, a number of studies have found that children felt they were not listened to by social workers. They often felt powerless and had very little say about their placements (Morgan, 2006; Wigley et al, 2006). It is vital for children to feel listened to so they can develop a sense of self-efficacy (Schofield and Beek, 2006) which Rutter (1985) suggests is a key factor in building resilience. It could be argued however that in many cases the child could not understand why they were being moved to a different placement and did not understand that social workers were trying to act in their best interests. Therefore, legislation although good in principle, is arguably not always effectively put in to social work practice in relation to looked after children.

Care Matters: Time for change (DfES, 2007) is a major policy framework for looked after children and is similar to legislation because it stresses the importance of improving the educational, health and emotional needs of children (Cocker and Allain, 2008). In particular, Care Matters suggests that educational attainment needs to be improved, looked after children should be prioritised in school admissions, health outcomes for looked after children should be improved, and placements need to be more local and stable and this can be delivered through high quality assessment and care planning (DfES, 2007). In addition, Care Matters suggests that children should be helped to engage in leisure activities and hobbies, which can help children to build their self-esteem and build support networks and friendships. Rutter (1985) suggested that a sense of self-esteem and confidence is vitally important to help children build resilience. Jaffee et al (2007) defines resilience as “achieving normal development in the face of considerable adversity”. Therefore, policy has made a vital contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children.

However, with local authorities facing a fourth year of cuts to funding and with increasing numbers of children going in to care (McNicoll and Stothart, 2014) it could be argued that it is causing increasing pressure for social workers to implement policy effectively in to practice. In particular, some local authorities arehaving to make cuts to foster placements making it increasingly difficult for social workers to find high quality placements for children who have high level and complex needs (McNicoll and Stothart, 2014). This makes it extremely challenging for social workers to find placements that are local and stable for children.

To conclude, it is evident that theory, research, legislation and policy have all made a major contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children who experience neglect. Research has heavily influenced legislation and policy, which in turn underpins social work practice in relation to looked after children. In addition, attachment theory has helped social workers to understand why looked after children may behave in the way they do and the ecological approach helps social workers to understand why looked after children experience inequalities and tend to have poorer outcomes than children in the rest of the population. These theories help social workers when carrying out their assessments and finding the most effective interventions to support looked after children who have experienced neglect. However, it is evident that policy and legislation cannot always easily be applied effectively in to practice because of the challenges of working in partnership with birth families who may oppose the child’s permanency plan and children who may not understand that the social worker is acting in their best interests. In addition, attachment theory is arguably quite matriarchal in nature and this has influenced social workers and has resulted in fathers being marginalised. Furthermore, social workers may not have the time or resources to provide the most appropriate support to looked after children and this is a weakness of the ecological approach and policy. Despite this, it is evident that theory, research, legislation and policy have all made a significant contribution to social work practice in relation to looked after children who have experienced neglect.

Case study: ‘Jenny & Eleanor’

This essay will focus on the current situation of Jenny, a single parent, and Eleanor, her six year old daughter, who currently live on a large local authority housing estate. Whilst close attention will be paid to their situation and the needs arising out of it, it is not the substantive function of this paper to prescribe specific courses of action in their case only. Rather, it is to identify and discuss the issues raised by their case, considering the appropriate social work processes, policy, and legal framework. Overall, it will be argued that there are two significant issues to be explored through the circumstances of Jenny and Eleanor’s case. Firstly, the nature and effectiveness of multi-agency working in education and the human services, and secondly, the problems faced by these professionals when adults, either deliberately or through incapacity, are not fully cooperative in ensuring the appropriate care of their child. As McCullough points out, ‘Throughout the UK, provision and means of delivering children’s services have been changing profoundly. Predominant among the reasons driving these changes is concern about the way in which children are kept safe.’ (McCullough 2007: p.27) The paper will therefore discuss these issues, taking into account how such issues may be dealt with in a context of evidence-based and anti-discriminatory practice.

In the first instance it may be helpful to include a brief synopsis of the known facts about Jenny and Eleanor’s situation, as a guide to identifying their needs. The case study reports that they are from a White British background: they live in a local authority housing estate which, it is stated, is regarded as ‘rough’, i.e. socially problematical and economically deprived. This categorization is not supported by any objective assessment, such as referral to any social scales or indices, and so appears rather unscientific and possibly discriminatory. Jenny and Eleanor have experienced five different housing placements in the last seven years. Jenny has been the victim of domestic violence, both in previous relationships and from Derek, her current partner and Eleanor’s father. Eleanor was unfortunately the witness to many of the assaults on her mother, and is herself thought to have been the subject of violence from her father. As the result of one of the assault on Jenny, Derek was awarded two year custodial sentence, and is currently expected to be released in four months time: he requested contact with Eleanor whilst in custody. Eleanor is enrolled at a local primary school, where records reveal that her attendance is low and represents a cause for concern: she has appeared withdrawn, and on occasions been violent towards other pupils. Furthermore, the school nurse has registered concerns about Eleanor’s development.

In the light of these facts, it is now up to the relevant services to make the appropriate arrangements, using such measures as the statutory and policy frameworks allow. One of the principle factors in their immediate future – the matter of Derek’s release from custody – is beyond the control of those agencies immediately involved in Jenny and Eleanor’s welfare, so it is up to them to make their dispositions accordingly in the light of this contingency. What follows is a discussion of the relevant issues as they arise out of the jurisdictions, expertise, and responsibilities of the various agencies involved. This discussion will start with the subject who is likely to be of most concern to the educational and human services, i.e. the most vulnerable individual, Eleanor. As a six year old, she is the only person in the situation who does not have self-determination, is consequently reliant on the various agencies appointed for her care: it is now up to them to ensure this is ensured. As Myers-Blair points out, ‘The basic equipment for emotional development (physical and neural) is present at birth, and in a very diffuse way emotional behaviour begins at birth, or perhaps even before.’ (Myers-Blair, 1975: p.60).

The immediate concerns over Eleanor’s welfare devolve upon two separate but related spheres: her school and home life. The relevant professionals must unravel the intertwining requirements and responsibilities inherent in this situation. However, as the Department for Children, Schools and Families itself acknowledges, ‘The professional background of workers is both a strength and a barrier to multi-agency working. As each profession has developed its own language and body of knowledge, it not only serves to provide a professional identity but can alienate those outside the profession who do not share their language or way of thinking. Professionals also develop a different way of working in order to achieve their aims.’ (DCSF, 2007: p.5) Obviously, all of these considerations must proceed from the basis that Eleanor is physically safe, with possible physical abuse from Derek, the previously violent partner, being the most obvious threat to this. If sufficient evidence of this threat is assembled, then the multi-agency effort is largely irrelevant, since the Local Authority, through the Social Services Directorate, will have a clear responsibility to act accordingly under sections 27 and 17 of the Children Act 1989, and remove her from the situation.

The decision as to whether any contingent arrangements involve Eleanor only, or Eleanor and Jenny, will depend on the perceived or actual threat, and Jenny’s position in relation to this. As Asen pointedly reminds us, ‘When professionals are unable to decide whether to let the children remain with its natural family or not, this indecisiveness can be abusive in its own right: it leaves the child in a situation of limbo – which in some cases can last years – further adding to the child’s emotional or physical suffering.’ (Asen, 2000: p.227) Depending upon how matters proceed in relations between Jenny and Derek, Social Services will also be responsible for the next level of care, i.e. ensuring that Eleanor is not suffering from any forms of neglect or subsidiary abuse arising out of the situation.

Assuming that this situation is being monitored, the weight of responsibility shifts back into the educational environment: this is not to say that the social worker loses control of the situation, or becomes less relevant to Eleanor’s care: quite the contrary. In fact, by virtue of the serious nature of Eleanor’s home situation, they may well become the ‘lead professional’ within the multi-agency effort, as will be discussed below. It is simply the case that the all the professionals involved effectively have their actions governed by overlapping and interlocking statutes. At present, the latter stipulate that Eleanor should be in school: that school will almost certainly be a mainstream school, i.e. not a PRU (Pupil Referral Unit) or other specialized facility: furthermore, the law provides that every professional effort should be made to ensure that Eleanor is supported in achieving the expected educational progress. This in essence is where the social work and educational efforts will interact: since achievement of the expected progress will hinge upon Eleanor’s mental and physical well-being, as well as her innate cognitive ability, the home and school environments will become linked around this effort. The essential point here is that the social services case worker will be reliant on the judgment and expertise of the school based professionals with respect to Eleanor’s learning and emotional well-being. This is very much an open-ended process: a number of successive measures and support systems will have to be put into place before any alternative or specialized provision is even considered. In the first instance, the school’s Child Protection Officer – usually the Headteacher in the context of a Primary school like Eleanor’s – will feedback directly to Social Services, if there is any evidence of abuse. The school Special Educational Needs Coordinator will subsequently be responsible for ascertaining whether or not Eleanor has any educational or emotional special needs: if so, she must have an IEP (Individual Education Plan) classified as Step One, Two or Three, depending on their severity. The latter will also determine whether or not Eleanor may require a Statutory Statement of Educational Needs (usually referred to simply as a ‘statement’). If so, she may qualify for additional support through the Local Educational Authority’s Statutory Assessment Office. This in turn will involve the Educational Psychology Service, who will have to make a formal assessment based on observation of Eleanor in a school context. If it is deemed appropriate, she will also be referred to the Primary Behaviour Support Service, the School’s Pastoral Support Service, the Family Support Service, and the Primary Mental Health Service.

What are the implications of these potential multiple referrals from a practical point of view? As the DCFS guidance advises, ‘It is the processes involved in building relationships between agencies and between providers of services and the communities they serve, which is vital, because this is where the real work has to be done. It is a real challenge to us all, not least finding the time and space to work on these issues when many services are provided from at least 8 am to 6 pm, five days a week.’ (DCSF, 2007: p2). What this euphemizes is the attempted integration of services which proceed from a series of parallel and successive statutes. This include the Children Act 1989, the Children Act 2004, the Education Act 2002, the Learning and Skills Act 2000, the Disability and Discrimination Act 1995, The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice 2001, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001, and the Data Protection Act 1998. The school based effort, into which the social worker must be integrated, is built around the role of the Inclusions Officer, who must in turn convene a school-specific inclusions team comprised of all the practitioners involved.

Whilst all of this sounds fine on paper, the practical challenges of coordinating the support and care of a child in Eleanor’s situation cannot be underestimated. Take, for example, the role of the Lead Professional itself. As the Children’s Workforce Development Council concedes, ‘A lead professional is not a job title or a new role, but a set of functions to be carried out as part of the delivery of effective integrated support.’ (CWDC, 2007: p.5). In other words, the role is titular only and attracts no timetabling facility or resources, but must run parallel – and crucially, in addition to – the practitioner’s other responsibilities. As the CWDC frankly puts it, ‘…clear communication is necessary between both services so that the individual is not overwhelmed with lead professional and caseload responsibilities. Speak to your manager to ensure that they take account of any lead professional responsibilities in setting your workload, and that your performance in delivering the lead professional functions is recognized and recorded.’ (CWDC 2007: p.2, para 3.14). This is far more than a Human Resources issue however. The whole rationale of the multi-agency movement and Every Child Matters initiative is to mitigate the kind of short-circuits, doublings-up and straightforward mismanagement which contributed to the Victoria Climbie tragedy. As McCullough reminds us, ‘In Laming’s detailed and damning report, twelve different occasions were identified when appropriate intervention by one or more of these agencies could have saved Victoria’s life…in his summing up, Laming noted that “the legislative framework for protecting children is basically sound. I conclude that the gap is not a matter of law but in its implementation.”.’ (McCullough 2007: p.28). The problem is that whilst the role of the lead practitioner is non-statutory, the responsibilities accrued by the incumbent are not. As the CWDC again concedes, ‘…There are particular implications for staff who may be working part-time in a multi-agency setting and part-time in their home agency.’ (CWDC 2007: p.2, para 3.14). Arguably then, the same issues which underlay Victoria’s death are potential factors in any such case, including Eleanor’s. The mere creation of a job title, i.e., Lead Practitioner, or mechanisms such as the Common Assessment Framework, guarantees nothing if the staff involved are overstretched, unsupported and undirected.

The fact that Jenny has cancelled two possible contact appointments so far is disappointing, and may well represent an impediment to the advancement of Eleanor’s care in the future. At present however, it does not constitute an insurmountable barrier to the coordinated effort of the multi-agency team, and definitely is not a pretext for inaction on their part. As the school has noted, Eleanor’s emotional well-being is questionable, indicating a serious potential impediment to her progress. As Meadows indicates, ‘Certain emotional states are frequent and salient, and become parts of feeling about the self, so that they can then influence a wide range of behaviours, such as perception, emotional expression, cognitive processing and social relations.’ (Meadows, 2006: p.438) Instruments in an around the curriculum, such as the SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) programme may be used to help Eleanor externalize and come to terms with the events which have shaped her experience: essentially these means must be tried in order to redress any lack of emotional support she is receiving at home. As Maslow points out, ‘…thwarting of these needs produces feelings of inferiority, of weakness, and of helplessness. These feelings in turn give rise to either basic discomfort, or else compensatory or neurotic trends.’ (Maslow, 1970: P.1) Also, as Samuels reminds us, ‘Basically, if the child’s needs are not met appropriately at each developmental level, the psyche becomes unable to adequately regulate self-esteem by the use of adequate mechanisms.’ (Samuels, 1977: p. 35).

The problem is that, whilst the statutory framework stipulates that the school is currently the focus of support for Eleanor’s needs, the latter obviously do not stop there. As Schaefer et al. observe, since behavioural problems in the home usually precede those occurring elsewhere, part of the focus has to be behaviour in the home.’ (Schaefer et al. 1984 p.96). Consequently, whilst ‘Inter-Professional Collaboration’ has to be an overriding consideration for the social worker, it is likely to be the case worker themselves who initiates much of the strategic action, such as the proposed ‘cold-call’ home visit. The focus on Eleanor does not of course mean that Jenny’s needs, as an individual or as a parent, can be overlooked. A holistic approach, encapsulated within an action plan and developed with the Family Therapy or Support Service will be required. However, for environmental as much as professional reasons, as will be discussed below, Eleanor must remain the primary concern within this case.

As this conclusion is being written, the manifest weaknesses of the supposedly revamped multi-agency framework have been revealed in the most devastating manner: through the death of a seventeen-month child, who was in the Child Protection Register’s ‘at risk’ category. Whilst any legislative or policy outcome of this tragedy is obviously some way off, some commentators have been quick to apportion responsibility to the inter-agency working framework. ‘When procedures become so exacting and time-consuming, the exercise of judgment is deemed neither necessary nor possible. Indeed, it will get you into trouble, because it is not part of the procedure.’ (Dalrymple 2008) Calls for less weight to be given to parental wishes and rights, and more to be placed on the safety of the child, are already being heard. The outcome of such debates, it may be argued, may have significant effects on the conduct of cases such as that of Jenny and Eleanor.

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There are many different structures for different organisations. I am going to be explaining the current structure of social services and am going to explain the effect of the management structure whilst looking at the main services that main sectors have to offer. I will explain the functioning of one social work setting and analyse the impact of social work with regards to a particular group. I will use a recent case for my chosen sector and evaluate the failings of the social services, who those failings effected and what has been done since to ensure it does not happen again.

http://www.nhssb.n-i.nhs.uk/structures/social_services.gif

Above is an example of how the Social Services Hierarchical structure looks. It follows the layout of a pyramid and derives into the base of staff level employees with usually the CEO or director at the top. There are many pros to having an organisation structure like this. It allows employees to see clearly who it is they need report to and makes obvious their levels of responsibility. This is critical to a social service organisation to safeguard not only themselves but their service users. A hieratical system, however, does also have its disadvantages. It promotes rivalry which could distract some who are particularly competitive. Martin, J and Fellenz, M (2010) suggest “Often Hierarchies are created not because they are functionally required but because they provide a venue for pushing unwanted people up in the organisation or for providing promotional avenue. These dysfunctional hierarchies are in fact the cause for reduced organisational effectiveness”

Another common example of organisational structures is Matrix. The matrix structure groups its employees by function and product. The design of this structure is rather flat in comparison to that of the hierarchy. They usually work under the head of a project manager but also have a functional head who they would report to. An advantage of this is that it allows employees to specialise in a specific field but can sometimes also cause confusion as to who to report to.

Ealing social services offer many different services: childcare and early years, blue badge scheme, child protection and safe guarding, welfare benefits – low income, fostering and adoption and care homes. Im going to look at Child protection and safe guarding. Below is the hierarchical structure that Ealing use for their Children in need team:

Again it is clear to see who is in charge and who each employee needs to report to. At the top there are the team managers; below them is the deputy team manager. The deputy would be responsible for reporting to the team manager. Below the deputy there the social workers and senior social workers who are both responsible for reporting to the Deputy team manager. Below them there are social worker assistants who report to the social workers and senior social workers.

Ealing Social services children in need team (2011) state on their website: Children in Need team offer a social work service to families where children are deemed to be ‘in need’ as defined by section 17 of the Children Act 1989. They work predominantly with: Children whose names are on the child protection register, children deemed to be in need of family support services due to an assessed level of need and children with a disability that is not deemed to be ‘severe and profound’ – the latter are referred to the Children with Disability Team. Social workers will assess family needs and draw up a family support package with parents to enable children to be safely and effectively cared for within their families. The team are trying to improve the lives of their service users by providing a support which can be empowering. They have a responsibility to ensure children and young people who may be marginalised are safeguarded whilst promoting their welfare. They have other teams who they work in partnership with such as the Youth Offending team who try to prevent re offending among youths and provide support for victims of youth crime. These statutory organisations are funded by the government. Although these teams do the best they can to improve the lives of marginalised children and youths, mistakes can and do happen. This can lead to drastic effects on not only the service user but the organisation as a whole especially if one has not followed the code of conduct provided by the social services.

There was an enquiry made intro the death of Victoria Climbie Who died aged eight on the 25th February 2000. She died from multiple injuries. Marie-Therese Kouao was Victoria’s Aunt and career she lived with her Boyfriend Carl Manning from whom Victoria received vicious abuse from. In 1999 she was first taken to the hospital by her child-minder who suspected the girl had non accidental injuries but the doctor accepted Kouao’s story that the wounds were self-inflicted by scratching at scabies sores. The child protection authorities were alerted as a precaution. Social worker Lisa Arthurworrey and PC Karen Jones were assigned to the case and conducted a home visit . Later the same year Victoria was admitted to hospital again. This time for scaulding to her head and face. Immediately doctors suspected that these injuries were deliberately inflicted. Kouao told Arthurworrey and Jones that the injuries were due to her pouring hot water over Victoria’s head to stop her from scratching her scalp and that other injuries on her were caused by Victoria using utensils. These explanations were accepted by the child protection authorities and Victoria was collected from hospital by Kouao. Evidence reveals that Victoria was forced by Manning to sleep in the bath with just a bin liner. In the same year of 1999 Kouao advised social workers that Victoria had been sexually assaulted by Manning but withdrew her statement the next day. PC Jones was to investigate this but after no reply to the letter she sent to Kouao she took no further action. Early 2000 Victoria was again admitted to the hospital. This time for a combination of malnutrition and hypothermia and she was transferred to an intensive care ward. She died the next day. DR Nathaniel Carey, the home office pathologist examined Victoria and found 128 different injury’s and scars many of which were cigarette burns. He described what he saw as “the worst case of child abuse I’ve ever encounter.” Both Marie-Therese Kouao and Carl Manning were charged with the murder of Victoria Climbie. When they were interviewed they both claimed that Victoria was possessed. They were sentence to life in prison for what Judge Howkins described as Victoria’s “lonely drawn out death”.

The death of Victoria could have been avoided had the correct decisions been made from those assigned to protect her. There were gross failures of the system. The inquiry report confirms that there were at least 13 occasions where relevant services could have intervened and help Victoria but they failed to do so. This intervention would not have put heavy demands on staff, or required great skill so it is shocking to all that no action was ever taken. Another failure was adequacy of the system. Lord Lamming argued that “had Ealing, in my view, done the job they should have done on the second day that Victoria was in this country, it is probable that all of the other agencies would not have needed to be involved.” He also pointed out that at the time of Victoria’s case Ealing Social services were spending significantly below their Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) on services for children. Child protection services also failed Victoria by failure to implement the Children Act 1989. This was described by Laming as a “basically sound legislation”. The main aims of the Act are: to bring together private and public law in one framework; to achieve a better balance between protecting children and enabling parents to challenge state intervention; to encourage greater partnership between statutory authorities and parents; to promote the use of voluntary arrangements; to restructure the framework of the courts to facilitate management of family proceedings. Had this act have been implemented it is almost certain that Victoria’s end would not have been the tragedy that it was.

Not only did these failings have a profound effect on the service user leading to her death. It also impacted the organisation as a whole. An inquiry was called after the conviction of Kouao and Manning. There were questions that had been raised about the involvement of social workers which Carole Baptiste, the Senior social worker for Victoria’s case, failed to attend. She was tried for deliberately breaching an inquiry summons and was fined ?500. Henry (2008) states “the tragic death of Victoria Climbie, in Haringey, at the hands of her great-aunt and the woman’s boyfriend, sparked an independent inquiry by Lord Laming, a children’s bill and structural changes to social services departments across the country” A database suggested by Laming was to be introduced which will have all the necessary details of 11million children including GP’s, Schools and Social workers working with them. There was also the appointment of a children’s commissioner, the merging of council education and social services departments and the establishment of local safeguarding children boards, made up of senior council officials, social workers, police, education and health staff. The inspection of children’s services has also been brought under Ofsted’s remit. If a child protection system has different structures, systems and functioning in different areas, it has the potential to cause serious complications. Because of this there were new local government structures introduced. There was also a suggestion for a national child protection agency but this was rejected. There was also a recommendation for a new Social services structure which is below:

Ministerial Children and Families board

National Agency for Children and Families

(Children’s Commissioner for England)

Regional Office

Local Member Committee

For Children and Families

Management Board for Services

To Children and Families

Local Forum

Director of children and families’

Services

Social Services

Safeguarding Children

Other

Police

Health

Services

In conclusion the organisation structure for the Social Services is critical to the smooth running of the services they offer and to the safe guarding of their service users. If legislations and policies are not followed then the structure can fail not only the organisation but the service users. The Hierarchy system is still in place with the Social Services to date and with the changes that have been implicated to not only the structure but the organisation as whole should ensure smooth running in the future with correct decisions being made by those who need to make them.

Contribute to discharge of residents from residential care

Assessment task 1

The Te Tiriti o Waitangi is an agreement established between Maori and British government in 1840. The main function of this agreement is to provide the legislation system protection for Maori people live within New Zealand from four critical issues, which are protection, participation, partnership and permission. However, it does not have the limitation that only works for Maori people, in additionally for all regions of people that living in New Zealand, which specific requires social services.

Partnership

Social service organizations must ensure that the needs of Maori are taken into account when interacting with Maori or when creating policy that could affect Maori. One key way to do this is through consultation or even better having Maori representatives on the steering committee or their Board. Maori leadership and management should be consulted when organizational policies are being decided on in order to ensure that they allow Maori to have rangatiratanga over their taonga. Te Tiriti o Waitangi applies in social services by ensuring that all social services have a bi-cultural perspective and recognise Te Tiriti.

Protection

Social service organizations must respect the right of Maori to enjoy their taonga in social service settings. To be able to make important decisions that are in their best interests. For example Maori have the protected right to make choices (Self Manage) that best serve their culture, their people that line with tika and kawa, their traditions and customary practices.

Participation/permission

There must be service accessibility for Maori. Te Tiriti applies in social services that Maori models of well-being (Te Whare Tapa Wha or other Maori health models) are utilized rather than workers using western models when working with Maori. Maori must be free to speak Te Reo Maori and to participate in any Maori spiritual or cultural practices if they wish to do so. Having brochures in te reo for Maori clients.

All social services as well as society must respect their privacy and ask for permission before implements any action that relates to Maori people.

Assessment task 2

Discharge Planning

What people in the community would you need to liaise with throughout the discharge planning process for Miri and why?

The people in the community i need to liaise with throughout the discharge planning process for Miri are CYFS, police, and whanau hui. For CYFS, it is because of Miri is just 13 years old girl, the CYFS has responsibility of Miri. For police, it is a case of domestic violence by her mother’s partner, the police has responsibility to check protection orders and as much as possible to help Miri. For whanau hui, the family meeting or whanau hui can identify Miri’s key whanau members who involve in and they also can providing appropriate support to take care of their own and Miri. And also has school, local iwi, WINZ to involve in this case to assist the discharge planning process.

Why is it important to include other people(community, family/whanau) in the discharge planning for Miri?

The first thing for all of the other people include in the discharge planning for Miri is let them out in the community, and then relevant support from both side physically and spiritually to identified this plan, the second thing is gathered all of the relevant information to discharge, make sure all of the process can be understand and informing other agencies of plans as they may close the case, then consider about the finance, time and other resources. It is important to include other people in the discharge planning, more and more helpful people can identify the plan and help Miri go back to normal life. It is important to remember that social workers do not co-ordinate the planning of the family meeting or whA?nau hui in isolation. The co-ordination must be carried out in conjunction with key members of the family or whA?nau.

What are two things you could do to make sure the safety and well-being of Miri are your first consideration?

The first thing is Miri’s mother’s support, if her mother still has drug and alcohol problems that means Miri can not return home safely, and also need develop a safety plan for Miri if she need help. The second thing is key whanau leaders involve through the entire process so they can take responsibility of Miri’s well-being, whanau are also aware of the support structures put in place.

Management of discharge

What is the purpose of a discharge plan?

– To outline conditions or criteria for discharge

– To know where the resident will reside after discharge

– Appropriate safety and protective factors are put in place

– Provide information on all options available to the resident once discharged

What resources and other provisions would you expect to see in the discharge plan for Miri?

I expect to see Child, Youth & Family, school and whanau in the discharge plan for Miri.

How would you manage these resources and provisions?

For Child, Youth & Family i would regarding status of benefits, and for school i would regarding plan for Miri go to school like take school bus. For whanau, i would like to put all social services in place for Miri and whanau, visit whanau and Miri every once in a while.

Assessment task 3

Context/setting

Child, Youth,& Family residential home

Individual/group

Age group

Summary of reason for discharge

PG

13

She has completed three months supervised care in CYF home as required by Youth court judge because of her anger issue and hurting herself

(task 3) placement diary-(student to complete)

Student name

YUTING SHEN

workplace

T.H.

Written summary

What objectives in the residential care plan have been achieved?

For PG, she has been found the way of how to control her anger issue and known how bad it is to be angry, and she also found the reason why she is always be anger and she knows that anger would effect her judge and made mistakes.

What objectives in the residential care plan have been partially or not achieved?

Sometimes PG still lost control when things trigger her to be angry and because of this she has a little afraid of be in a group.

Name the people in the community who are significant in this discharge planning process. Why are their roles significant?

PG’s family member can assist social worker to figure out the reasons and changes why she could discharge and the community caregivers also can report about PG’s situations and daily behaviors, and psychologist also can prove PG’s psychologist changes, and other higher level of social workers who knows PG’s situations could provide useful information like how often she hurting herself when she feels angry.hild, Youth, & Family case worker – prior to her youth court appearance; CYF was already involved with KT’s family. Doctor could provide her medical record. And there also has PG’s friends, school teacher, and neighbors are sighificant in this discharge planning process. Education providers while she is in care – they will have useful information on her school conduct and educational/academic progress

What family or whanau aspects have been considered?

For family or whanau part, PG’s parents, brother or sister who older than her, and other family or whanau who are close and helpful to her have been considered to involve in this planning process.Ability for PG to return to her family home.Key whA?nau leaders to arrange visit for PG and her whA?nau to have whakapapa re-connections and provide cultural support.Key whA?nau leaders need to put in place on-going whA?nau support with tiakitanga (nurturing) and manaakitanga (hospitality) of PG and her whA?nau. On-going whA?nau hui for support and involvement for the well-being of PG and her whA?nau.

What caregiver are available to the resident after discharge?

Psychologist is necessary because she has a little afraid of be in a group, and Physical or Mental Health needs. Youth Justice requirements. Safety from self endangerment. Those are the cares she needs

What accommodation options in the community are available to the resident?

For PG, she needs monitor and she is not enough to live independently so she needs lives with other people who is older than her, to prevent PG hurting other residents and herself during the community.

What financial, educational and vocational needs does the resident have?

PG is just 13 years old, so she needs goes to school or study at home, and learning like other kids as same age,or she can has an alternative education program, and she also has financial support from her parents to charges for medical and daily life like food.

What are the relevant legislative requirements?

Any orders made by the Youth Court judge e.g. an electronic curfew or completion of community work.

At 13 years old, PG is not legally old enough to decide about her own care, so CYF involvement is required.

How did you made sure that everything you did was always focused foremost on the current and future safety of the person being discharged from residential care?

Meeting and communication

Date

Notes/ key points of your observations and/or inputs throughout the discharge planning process

12/09/2014

Discussed with the social worker how a shared care arrangement can work, bearing in mind PG’s parent is a shift worker.

Held whA?nau hui with key whA?nau leaders. Facilitated whA?nau hui to identify whA?nau needs and help them to implement their own resources to cater for the shared care of PG.

Other notes (reflect on the discharge planning process)

Frequency of updates sent to the CYF case worker. Requirements to check youth court rulings in file, and ensure the relevant ones are completed prior to discharge.

Assessment task 4

(task 4) placement diary- (student to complete)

Contribution to managing the discharge of a resident from residential care

Date

18/09/2014

Workplace

T.H.

Questions (answer)

For this placement, what is the liaison process for dealing with significant people in the community?

All communications are made by the lead social worker.

All communications to ensure whA?nau inclusiveness. Informed consent was gained from the whA?nau to discuss issues with appropriate agencies.

How did you ensure confidentiality was respected?

Communication was done in collaboration with the lead social worker, PG, and whA?nau. All case notes securely filed & locked away. Files not left open on desks etc.

For this placement, what resources, other provisions, and arrangements are required?

Confirmation of enrollment in an alternative education program if PG can not goes to school. Ensure on-going whA?nau hui is held and facilitated by key whA?nau leaders to provide whA?nau support where required. Shared care plan to be agreed. WINZ benefits- e.g child support payments by PG’s parents.

What are the important consideration in managing these resources or arrangements?

That PG understands the requirement to attend alternative education. WhA?nau hui is an important consideration because it provides whA?nau support for PG and her whA?nau, under the guidance of key whA?nau leadership.

Date

Communication with people in the community (record observations, actions etc)

21/09/2014

Contacted the alternative education provider regarding hours, policies, student rules and other requirements.

Confirmed electronic tagging appointment with police youth liaison officer.

Contacted key whA?nau leaders and arranged on-going weekly whA?nau hui to support PG and whA?nau needs.

Sourced information about Youth Interest Groups

Following service provider standards:

Discharge checklist completed.

Management of discharge in line with standards

Notes/key points of how the discharge was managed in accordance with the workplace’s standards/requirements

Follow the services provider standards and the must has discharge checklist follow the list step by step to do the discharge planning process.

Other notes (reflect on the discharge management process)

Difficulty in checking appointment times for electronic tagging.

Time spent in checking individual aspects (such as alternative education) before discharge checklist could be signed off.

Difficulty at times making contact with whA?nau to arrange whA?nau hui.

Assessment task 5

During the process from discharge planning process, i have fully followed the Treaty of Waitangi and policies and procedures from the service such as the privacy act, the human rights, the confidentiality protocols as well as the Treaty of Waitangi. We have made the consideration of the client’s status and maintain the privacy and personal safety. I have fully analysis the client’s personal status such as health history, personal behavior, habits.

The case of PG, read more of the notes from his social worker regarding how social service theory applied in this case. Social work knowledge, skills, and values. Human development through the life span – taking into account the impact on the emotional development of PG. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Services – applying an understanding of the social service provision available. Organization and management in the social services – understanding my role in the discharge process, and the decision making structure of the organization. For example‘Quality through whose eyes, What quality social work looks like to young people in care’s by Jonelle Crawford. Providing the opportunity for PG to say what she thinks, what she needs, and what is working for her.

YUTING SHEN ID: 13010123 01-10-2014

Social services play a vital role in the prevention of cruelty to children, and their actions have been controversial in the past and will continue to be in the future. They have an immense amount of power in their hands and are able to tear apart a loving family as well as save an endangered child’s life.

The aim of this study is to analyse the extent to which social services should exercise their power in order to fulfill the duties they owe to society. In order to explore this subject, it will be necessary to critically analyse the pre existing legislation that has governed this area, and study how the law has evolved over the last century.

It is an area of law that has and will continue to develop. There are also major problems within the social services organisation itself, such as underfunding and significant staff shortages, and it will be necessary to analyse and critique its current effectiveness through the use of a number of reports.

Whilst the lack of resources is undoubtedly affecting the effectiveness of the social worker, recent reports in the media have suggested that there is a vast amount of bullying and degrading treatment within the organization itself. A case highlighted is that of

Substantial changes have been necessary in the law surrounding child abuse over the past century as high profile and prolific cases of neglect have been brought to the attention of the public by use of the media.

This is a necessary area of study due to the fact that cases are continuing to come to light. The recent case of Khyra Ishaq

Chapter One: Background to the Children Act 1989:

A common theme that seems to occur throughout history is that it takes a major event to shock the nation in order for dramatic change to occur within the law, rather than the law changing in order to prevent such occurrences in the first place.

During the 1980’s, professionals were becoming increasingly aware of the existence of child abuse in society as a result of cases such as those of Jasmine Beckford and Tyra Henley. Jasmine Beckford had previously been placed in the care of Brent Social Services for a period of two years prior to her death. However, she had only been seen by a social worker once during a period of ten months, and was left in the hands of her stepfather who battered and starved her, consequently resulting in her death at the age of four years old.

Supervision orders for children at risk were first introduced in The Children and Young Persons Act 1932. Previously, there was precious little legislation available to protect children in need. This was a substantial addition to the law and granted protection to children who were experiencing abuse

The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 was the first attempt in statute in order to curtail the effects of child abuse and make it clear the obligations and duties of a carer. Part 1 of the Act details the role of the parent – that a child is deemed to be neglected in a matter likely to cause injury to his health if he has failed to provide food, clothing, medical aid or lodging for him, or if, having been unable to otherwise provide has failed to take steps to procure it to be provided under the enactments applicable in that relief. In addition to this, the statute also states that it is the responsibility of the court to ensure the welfare of an abused child by “taking proper steps for removing him from undesirable surroundings, and for securing that proper provision is made for his education and training”.

According to Lord Diplock, under the 1933 Act, the parent must neglect the child “intending, or at least foreseeing, that the probable consequence of neglect is that the child will suffer injury to his health”. This statement causes confusion in cases that involve neglect, however. It is clear that the 1933 Act places great importance over how the offence was committed and whether it was wilful and deliberate.

One of the failings of the act is that it gives full discretion to the courts in protecting abused children and gives them no direction whatsoever in making such a life impacting judgement. More investigation into the circumstances and needs of those at risk was needed in order to find a suitable home for such children, and the courts did not have the knowledge or abilities to re-house them.

The case of Dennis O’Neill highlighted the failings of the 1933 Act and brought further radical change to the law surrounding child abuse. Dennis, together with his younger brothers were taken into the care of their local authority on the grounds that they needed attention. He died after being taken into foster care and was found by a pathologist to be undernourished and physically abused. Dennis O’Neill was subjected to horrific attacks at the hands of his foster parents and these attacks took place on a regular basis.

This case shocked the public and political figures, who were particularly alarmed to find out that the foster father, Mr Gough, had been known to the police and had a conviction for violence. It was therefore deemed necessary for a public enquiry to be held in order to determine the exact failings made by the authorities involved, and it blamed the two local councils that dealt with the case.

It was evident that the provisions of the 1933 Act were vastly inadequate in their role of protection and that major change to this area was needed. With this in mind, the Children Act 1948 established a Children’s Committee in each local authority to carry out the functions detailed in The Children and Young Persons Act 1933. A Children’s officer also had to be appointed who had relevant experience and be assisted by an adequate number of staff. In effect, this Act established social services as it divulged responsibility away from the courts and placed it with the local authority.

The Children’s Committee was supposedly staffed by those who had experience with children and would be able to cater to their needs and find them new homes where they would be loved and cared for effectively. However, events over the past 40 years have shown that the there is a great level of difficulty in providing effective protection for children at risk.

Following Jasmine Beckford were further shocking cases of child abuse that displayed obvious neglect by social services, and this led to a difficult period for workers in this profession, who were unsure as to which approach to take upon dealing with children at risk. A balance was clearly needed, and enough information had to be acquired quickly in order to determine whether to remove a child from their home, which could have devastating consequences upon family life if the risks of abuse were unsubstantiated.

the threat of child abuse appeared to be on the increasing. The John Patten Guidelines were released in order to provide professionals with advice during a period of unrest with regards to child neglect.

The Cleveland scandal of 1987 shocked the nation to the core, and led to further changes and major additions to the law in the form of the Children Act 1989. This case differed in that it was an example of the state causing the abuse to the infants rather than their parents or guardians. A total of 121 children were diagnosed as being sexually abused by Dr Marietta Higgs and her assistant Dr Geoffrey Wyatt. Together, they used a controversial and unproven test known as RAD – reflex anal dilation. Children had to undergo an invading and degrading test on their buttocks, and the memories of which have scarred some for life. A girl who was taken into care after being diagnosed with RAD continued to have nightmares about her ordeal twenty years after the event, and claims that the two doctors ruined her childhood.

The children diagnosed under Dr Higgs regime were removed from loving families and placed into care, whilst in some cases the parents were sent to prison. This had devastating results, and destroyed happy families. Even once the parents had been cleared by the courts of any wrong doing, many felt reluctant to show their children affection once they had been returned.

The Children Act 1989 originates from two reports. In 1984, the Parliamentary Select Committee on the social services recommended that the government should enable a review of child law to take place. This led to the formation of a government committee known as the Child Care Law Review who produced a report titled ‘Review of Child Care Law’. During the same period of time, the Department for Health and Social Security carried out a review of the law relating to child care and made a number of recommendations relating to child care, foster homes and child minding. Most of these recommendations were accepted in to a government white paper regarding child care and these proposals were brought before Parliament as part of the Children Bill.

Second Chapter – Provisions of the Children Act 1989 and the legislation in practice

The Children Act 1989 brought major change to the law regarding child abuse, and introduced a number of new principles to the legal system. Its main priority was protecting the welfare of the child, which was granted paramount importance in any dispute over care or parentage of an infant.

The 1989 Act stated that it was the responsibility of the local authority to safeguard and promote the welfare of any child that was in need within the area, and must provide a range and level of services appropriate to those children’s need. Therefore, social services must be sufficiently staffed and have a reasonable amount of funding in order to fulfil its role. Whilst considering a child’s welfare, their feelings and wishes must be taken into consideration together with any effect removal will have upon the family including the parents. The Act gave further guidance to local authorities once they had taken the child into care, and their duties and responsibilities in ensuring the welfare of the child is maintained. The local authority has a responsibility to house any child taken into care in a healthy environment, and ensure that the wishes of the child are taken into account when making such decisions. It was therefore not always best to remove the child from their home if support could be provided in the form of monetary relief in order to sustain the child’s welfare.

In order to keep a child with its family, it was made clear that those in need of protection together with their families should be offered support under part three of the Children Act. Only when voluntary methods of helping are unable to protect those at risk should the powers under parts four and five be used. According to June Thoburn and Ann Lewis in ‘Partnership with parents of children in need of protection’, these powers should only be used when actual or suspected significant harm or likely significant harm is at risk.

A positive element of the 1989 Act is the establishment of the Family Assistance Order, which granted support to families experiencing a difficult change such as divorce and separations in order for the child in question to remain with its family. However, this order is only to be used in ‘exceptional’ circumstances and consent must be obtained from each person involved with the order. An order of this kind would provide an example of the state providing a positive intervention into family life. Unfortunately, as it can only be used in exceptional circumstances, a Family Assistance Order is granted rarely despite the benefits it could potentially afford a family in need.

In addition to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, the 1989 Act gave further definition as to what a ‘child in need’ is. It states that a child should be taken into care if “he is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or have the opportunity to achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of him of services by a local authority”. Furthermore, a child whose health could be impaired without the intervention of social services should be taken into care. This also extends to disabled children.

If social services believe that a child is in danger of ‘significant harm’, they are entitled under a new provision of the 1989 Act to seek a child assessment order( CAO). The courts must be satisfied that the applicant has reasonable cause to suspect the child is at risk, that the assessment will be able to determine to what extent that risk applies, and that the applicant will not be able to carry out such assessment without an order being made

If the risk of harm is deemed to be ‘an immediate danger to the child’, an emergency protection order (EPO) can be applied for. Unlike the CAO which is a non-urgent remedy, the EPO is an order which enables a child to be restrained in or removed to a place in order to protect their welfare.

The court is only likely to make such an order if they are satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that the child is likely to sustain significant harm if not removed to accommodation by the local authority or does not remain in the place they are currently being accommodated in. Whereas a CAO order needs the belief of the applicant, an EPO requires the court to be satisfied that the child is in danger, and they will therefore sufficient evidence will need to be provided to convince the courts of this and that urgent action is needed. Whilst the above orders may seem to contradict the principle that a child is best cared for at home, the orders must be carried out with this element in mind. Therefore, a child should not be removed from parental care longer then is strictly necessary and can be returned home even if the EPO is still in force.

As well as the above orders, the court can also make care and supervision orders in order to ensure protection of a child in need. These may only be made if the court is satisfied that the child concerned is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm and that the harm or likelihood of harm is attributable to the care given to the child, or likely to be given to him if the order were not made. However, as the courts are under a duty to promote the upbringing of a child with its family, local authorities are under duty to fully explore alternative methods before applying for an order to be made under this Act. Furthermore, the welfare checklist must also be adhered to for an order to be made. Whilst the wishes and feelings of a child may have some influence, they will not override any of the other provisions of the welfare checklist, and the courts will need to assess whether the child is of the maturity to make any judgment at all.

The 1989 Act makes apparent the courts intention that a child is best cared for at home with their families. However, whether this is the most suitable option is certainly a major issue in society, and is very much dependent upon the circumstances surrounding each individual case. It is arguable that the Act should not place emphasis on this belief as professionals who follow this rule and take the child’s wishes into account could come to a conclusion that is not in the best interests of the child. It places social workers in the mindset that taking a child into care is not in the best interests of the child, and this could perhaps provide an explanation as to why further horrific cases have occurred following the Cleveland scandal.

Residential family centres were also created by the 1989 Act which allowed social workers to assess the relationship between the family outside of the marital home. The parents stay at the centre for a period of time with the children and are assessed by social services as to how capable they are in their role. Parents are also given the help and guidance they need in order to look after them.

The Children Act 1989 acknowledges that the relationship between the local authorities is of great importance when dealing with a child in need, and they must act in partnership. The Act places a duty on the relevant children agencies to provide information and assistance to the local authorities and also places them under duty to assist with the care plan formulated in respect of children. Following the Cleveland inquiry, it was apparent that the relationship between the relevant authorities was lacking, and the 1989 Act appears to acknowledge and remedy this situation by placing them under duty to act in order to safeguard children.

In order for a child to remain with their family during a difficult period, a service was established under the 1989 Act that was provided to the child in order to meet their needs in all aspects. Parents need to receive help in bringing up their children if they experience difficulties rather than taking them straight into care. This is a useful addition for professionals, as it gives them the opportunity to assess the family in a different environment and also provide help and guidance to a family in need.

There are arguments to suggest that the removal of a child from their home can be mitigated by providing frequent access, and that there must be a presumption that a parent will be able to see their child unless they have acted in such a way that makes contact heavily detrimental for them. However, this could potentially cause distress and upset to a child who has experienced abuse, and may also distort their true wishes and feelings. Access was denied to the parents and carers in the Cleveland scandal.

Further developments arrived in favour of keeping the child with its family from the European Courts of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act, In particular, article 8 – the right to respect for private and family life, home and correspondence. Article 8 offers protection for a person’s family life from arbitrary interference by the state. This right was framed extremely broadly. However, this is a qualified right which means that there can be an interference with a person’s family life providing it is lawful, serves a legitimate purpose, is necessary in a democratic society and is not deemed to be discriminatory.

Whilst Article 8 may appear to be restrictive upon social workers, one could argue that they must be able to justify their actions before intervening in a family environment, and certain aspects of privacy must be upheld. A recent case highlighted this aspect, as social workers placed a CCTV monitoring system in the bedroom of a couple with learning difficulties in order to determine whether they were fit parents. This forced the couple to cite the Human Rights Act in order for the surveillance to be removed.

Chapter Three: Failings of the Act – Victoria Climbie and Baby P,

The Children Act 1989 was not a cure for child abuse, and cases continued to come to light for many years after the implementation of the Act.

Arguments exist to suggest that the aim of the 1989 Act for children to remain in their families is incorrect when dealing with those that are severely abused. There is much emphasis on professionals to work with the family and improve the level of care they offer in parenting. This places social workers under pressure to work “therapeutic miracles” with the family, and failure to do so makes their job harder to carry out. Social workers were expected to work in partnership with families who were often uncooperative and unwilling to allow them access into their family, and the law itself placed the families under no obligation to be honest and work with them. Society did not make them feel empowered to act on their powers and make calls for action.

Furthermore, it was far more difficult for social workers to obtain a care order then it was prior to the 1989 Act being implemented. Social workers needed a higher level of evidence in order to satisfy a court that a care order was appropriate, and they had to return to the courts for scrutiny in order to make any decision. As a result of this, social workers were more likely to carry out a lengthy assessment of a child at risk rather than immediately remove them from their home. It took a great deal of time to carry out the necessary assessments and apply to the courts, the child at risk was often in a more abused state by the time they had reached care and this was obviously not in the child’s best interests. To some extent, this goes against the welfare principles as stated in the 1989 Act, and is somewhat contradictory. There is also a great amount of expense involved when applying to the court, and as a result of this, social workers were under pressure to carry out their assessments extensively and leaving the child in a potentially harmful environment for a longer period of time.

The Children Act 1989 to some extent gave social workers an excuse when failing to act in a case of child abuse. It could be argued that this was the case with Rikki Neave, whose drug addicted mother had repeatedly called social services for help, and had even asked them to take her son away into care. She had abused her son by burning him, throwing him across the room, and had even told a social worker that she would kill her children if they were not taken from her. Social services failed to remove the child from his mothers care and he was found dead. Theoretically, social services could argue in their defense that they complied with the 1989 Act with regards to keeping the child with its family, and that they needed to compile an assessment in order to be granted a care order by the courts.

In 1991, there were a total of 60,000 children in care. This figure had fallen dramatically to 40,000 by 1995. This decline in figures shows the effects that the Children Act 1989 had on the number of children in care, and could perhaps be viewed as a positive result of the Act’s implementation. However, it could also be argued that the number of children being abused had not reduced so significantly, and therefore there were simply more children living at risk.

The provisions of the Children Act 1989 were not enough to prevent the failure of professionals to safeguard Victoria Climbie, and this case of horrifying abuse was brought to public knowledge after her death in 2000. It is clear from this case that despite the legislation in place to deal with child abuse, it was the authorities themselves who acted negligently and failed to act on their duties as detailed in the 1989 Act.

Haringey social services were made aware of Climbie after her first admittance to hospital. The doctors warned social services of her injuries as a precautionary measure, but the social workers assigned to the case failed to take adequate measures to investigate how the injuries had occurred. An inexperienced social worker had been assigned to Climbie, and despite her making two visits to the family home, she failed to realise that her carer’s were putting on an act and the child was in grave danger.

Social services were yet again alerted to Climbie after her aunt reported her partner for sexually abusing the infant. However, she later dropped the allegations. Social workers had a meeting and decided to make further contact with the family, but failed to take the adequate steps needed in order to do so. After making three visits, a social worker reported that the family had most likely returned to France, and the case was closed on the same day that Climbie died.

There were a number of organizations that were involved with Victoria Climbie prior to her death. Climbie was known to local authorities, including Haringey, Ealing, Brent and Enfield. She was also known to three housing departments and two hospitals, two Metropolitan police child protection teams and a centre run by the NSPCC. It could only be concluded that there was a complete lack of communication between the agencies, despite the Children Act 1989 placing emphasis on the importance of agencies working together and sharing information

In total, social services missed twelve chances to save Victoria Climbie. The Victoria Climbie Inquiry found that there was a total absence of good professional practice. The interventions that should have occurred would not have required any exceptional skill and neither would it have placed heavy demands upon the staff involved. It is therefore evident that the failures of the services to act in this case represented serious professional misconduct.

As will be detailed in chapter four, further legislation arose from the Victoria Climbie inquiry, with Lord Laming’s report making a total of 108 recommendations for fundamental change to the way social care, healthcare and police child protection services are organised and managed at a national and local scale. The report led to the foundation of the Every Child Matters programme together with the Children Act 2004.

Haringey council found themselves in trouble once again when the baby Peter case occurred in 2007. Baby P sustained over 50 injuries during an eight month period and had been on Haringey council’s child protection register throughout this time. His family had been seen a total of 60 times by agencies including social workers from the council.

Baby P was first removed from his mothers care after he was taken into hospital with severe bruising, and the paediatrician judged that the injuries were not likely to have been accidental. She wrote in his notes that he should not be allowed home, and a police protection order should be sought if necessary. He was discharged and placed informally in the care of a family friend whilst social workers and police investigated the cause of his injuries. This resulted in Baby P’s mother being arrested and the toddler was put on the child protection register.

He returned back to the care of his mother a month later and she promised to cooperate with social workers and ensure she cared for her baby in order for his named to be removed from the register. However, she continued to neglect her son and her partner abused the baby. Baby P was taken into care in April 2007 but was released back to his mother once he had the all clear from the hospital. His mother continued to deceive professionals into allowing her to keep the baby and tried to conceal further injuries by smearing chocolate over his face.

Senior police officials decided that Baby P should not be allowed to live with his family, and sought legal advice to see whether he could be taken into care, but staggeringly, Haringey council’s lawyers decided that there was not enough evidence to meet the relevant thresholds. Here is proof that the emphasis on keeping a child with its family as established under the 1989 Act leads to difficulties in removing a severely abused child from their home when it is necessary.

Chapter Four: Further legislation as a result of these cases

It became evident following the case of Victoria Climbie that further radical change was needed to protect the lives of endangered children and that the Children Act 1989 was not sufficient legal governance in this area.

A public inquiry was established in order to find the exact causes of Climbie’s death, and following this was a report headed by Lord Laming. He reported that none of the government funded agencies can emerge from this report “with much credit”. Lord Laming claimed that the problem with child protection did not lie with the legal framework but its implementation and that there were major discrepancies with the staff that work with children.

Lord Laming made a total of 108 recommendations in his report. The most significant recommendations include the every child matters initiative. This government initiative was introduced in 2003 and its main aims are to ensure that a child has the support needed to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being. It was the responsibility of the multi-agency partnerships to work together in order to meet the detailed framework surrounding each theme of the initiative. Lord Laming also reported that the failures of the police, social workers and hospital staff were partly due a lack of accountability.

Lord Laming suggested that the only way to address this issue would be to create a children’s minister who would be held accountable to the cabinet. Partly in response to the Lord Laming report, Margaret Hodge was appointed as the minister for children in 2003. Her role was to oversee the policies governing children at risk as well as other significant child governance.

The Every Child Matters green paper was published by the government in response to Lord Laming’s inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. This green paper recommended policy changes backed up by legislation, and the Children Act 2004 was designed to respond to the findings of the Lord Laming inquiry.

The 2004 Act established a children’s commissioner. Under S2 of the Act, the children’s commissioners role includes promoting awareness of the views and interests of children in England. The Children’s commissioner has a wide role, which includes encouraging persons exercising functions or engaged in activities affecting children to take account of their views and interests; advise the secretary of state on the views and interests of children; consider or research the operation of complaints procedures so far as children are concerned; consider and research any other matter relating to the interests of a child and publish a report on any matter from the above list.

The Children’s Commissioner role is to be concerned with the views and interests of children relating to a number of aspects of their well being. These include their physical and mental health and emotional well being; protection from harm or neglect; education, training and recreation; the contribution made by them in society and their social and economic well-being. They may also conduct an inquiry into an individual child if they feel it may raise issues of relevance to other children.

As well as establishing the Children’s Commissioner, the 2004 Act provided a response to Lord Laming’s report which heavily criticised the lack of co-operation between the services that deal with children. The Act places a “duty to cooperate” in order to improve the well being of a child at risk. This was designed to prevent further cases of children “falling through the gaps” such as Victoria Climbie, and ensure that all services such as the police, doctors and social workers are under a specific duty to communicate and work together to promote the well-being of an endangered child.

A key instrument in the enforcement of cooperation between agencies was the creation of electronic records for every child in the country. This record made it easier to trace a child who had moved to a new area and was therefore transferred between local authorities. It could be argued that keeping details of children on electronic record is a breach of article 8 of the Human Rights Act, and critics have made clear their view that these files will destroy the confidentiality of medical and legal records. Doctors, teachers and the police will have to alert the system to a wide range of concerns, and two reports on a child’s record could be sufficient to provoke an investigation.

Whilst the electronic records system may appear to be an effective provision in order to ensure that child mistreatment is monitored, there was a great deal of confusion as to what would be deemed as a “concern”. Dr Eileen Monro of the London School of Economics said that if a child fails to make progress towards state targets, detailed information would be gathered and this would include judgements such as whether the parent is providing a positive role model as well as sensitive information such as their mental state. This could mean that parents are forced to bring up their child in line with what the state deems is best rather than as they themselves see fit.It c

Welfare services are significant elements in a society, which welfare should provide, to what extent the welfare can be provided and how to provide may vary among different society. There are some models help us to understand the factors affecting the welfare system such as the Residual Welfare Model and the East Asian Welfare Model. We will examine whether Hong Kong a typical example of these two models by analyzing the social welfare policies.

Social welfare refers to the well-being or betterment for individuals through direct benefits, services or disposable income (Wong, 2010). According to Ronald B. Dear, Social policies are those principles, procedures, and courses of action established in statute, administrative code, and agency regulation that affect people’s social well-being. Social Welfare Policies are some sort of these social policies. “‘They may be thought of as those policies that affect the distribution of resources’ Richan (1988). In the following analysis, we will 5 main kinds of welfare policies which are housing, education health care, social care and social security to illustrate whether Hong Kong a typical example of both the East Asian Welfare Model and Residual Welfare Model or not.

There are various characteristics of the Residual Welfare Model, the individual characteristics, economic characteristics and the characteristics of government and state.

For the individual characteristics, people are recognized to be self-independent, self-interested and self-responsible.

For the economic characteristics, ‘laissez fair’ economy and the ‘invisible hand’ are upheld since people believes that market can solve the social problems and to maintain the well- being of the society.

The government and state are the major providers of social welfare and control to what extent the welfare can be provided. Under RWM, the government and state should not over burden itself with social welfare/ services and interfere with individual right and interests. Therefore, only the basic welfare should be provided i.e. law and order, defense, transport and communication infra- structure. Welfare seems as residual, temporary and substitutes of the normal structure of supply which means the family and the market economy. Only when the normal structure of supply breaks down, social welfare and services should be provided. In order to avoid the reliance on the welfare system, some of the welfare/ services may come with the stigma of ‘dole’ or ‘charity’ element. The poor is the major group of people to receipt welfare and they always recognized as the incompetent second class members of society. To ensure the welfare can be provided to the people in need, welfare will always have selectivity. The most common method is by means test.

According the Mishra, the main features show that a minimal government or state is preferred. The government just wants to provide welfare for the paupers and poor which is just minority group of the society.

The services provided are just serving the basic need for them and range of statutory services is limited. Combining all these elements, welfare is just a safety net, confined to those who are unable to manage otherwise.

Main features

Residual

1. State responsibility in meeting needs (ideology of state intervention)

Minimal

2. Need-based distribution as a value (ideology of distribution)

Marginal

3. Range of statutory services

Limited

4. Population covered by statutory services

Minority

5. Level of benefits

Low

6. Proportion of national income spent on state service

Low

7. Use of means test

Primary

8. Nature of clients

Paupers/ the poor

9. Status of clients

Low

10.Orientation of the service

Coercive

11. Role of non-statutory agencies in welfare

Primary

Fig.1, The main features of Residual Welfare Model, (Mishra, 1984)

Whether Hong Kong a typical example of Residual Welfare Model?

We used the 5 main kinds of social welfare policies in Hong Kong to illustrate Hong Kong is adopting the RWM or not.

Education

Hong Kong provided different schemes for people to pay for their education fee. One of the education subsidy schemes is Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme. Government will subsidize the parents to meet towards school fees for pre-primary education of their children in the form of Pre-primary Education Vouchers.

In addition, Hong Kong government announced 12 years of free education in Policy Address 2009-2010. It provides 12 years compulsory free education to children.

For the Tertiary students, Tertiary Student Finance Scheme was released. Government provided larger amount of subsidies to tertiary students. The total amount of grant paid by government is $621.93 million in 2009-10.

Fig.2, Publicly-funded Programmes Summary of Statistics

The Continuing Education Fund (CEF) subsidizes adults who willing to pursue continuing education and training courses. Adequate applicants will be refunded 80% of their fees, a maximum sum of HK$10,000. Apparently, government pays effort on the education policies and the population covered is really broad.

Health Care

For the Clinics part, 70 % of primary consultations take place in private sector while others take place in government funded clinics.

Moreover, there are 41 public hospitals in Hong Kong. However, there are only 12 private hospitals. And the Hong Kong’s 12 private hospitals provide a total of 2794 beds. It less than 10% into the number of hospital beds in Hong Kong.

Furthermore, in Healthcare Reform (2009-2010 Policy Address), government decided to increase the healthcare expenditure from 15% of the Government’s recurrent expenditure to 17% by 2012. The strategy of healthcare reform reflects the government’s direction of healthcare in the follow few years will still highly intervene in the healthcare services.

All of these healthcare policies show that government has a quite high level of intervention and these services are open to all the Hong Kong residents without any selectivity. As a result, the health care does not match to the principles of residual welfare model.

Housing

Government also had launched lot of policies about housing. There are about 710 000 public rental housing in the Housing Authority’s portfolio, housing about two million people.

Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) was introduced in 1997 to enable at least 250 000 families living in public rental housing to buy their flats at an affordable price which is lower than the market price.

Besides, Home ownership schemes (HOS) is another ownership scheme. It is designed to assist residents to buy their own flats and HOS flats are subsidized public housing.

It is easily to find that government had interfered a lot in the housing supply. The population covered not just focus on the minority. Therefore, it differs from the principles of residual welfare model.

Social Care

In the field of social care, it provides a wide range of services taking care of the elderly, children, young people, disabilities, the victims of domestic violence, etc. This is quite different from the RWM since the population covered is large. The most common method adopted by the HK Government to provide the welfare services is to form partnership with non-government organizations. The government give a “Lump Sum Grant’ to the NGOs and they provide the services to those in need. The expense on the Social Welfare Organization occupied the third large proportion of the total expense on welfare in Hong Kong.

Fig.3, The expense of the social services organization

Social Security – Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme

The characteristics on providing services on social security seem more close to the RWM. The aim of social security is to provide for the basic and special needs of the members of the community who are in need of financial or material assistance (Social Welfare Department, 2008). It is a short- time help.

CSSA is a safety net for those who cannot support themselves financially and bring their income up to a prescribed level to meet their basic needs (Social Welfare Department, 2008). The old age, single parent and unemployment are the three major groups of people of to apply CSSA (Statistics on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme 1998-2008, 2009).

In order to select the most needed, people apply for CSSA should go through the financial tests. They need to pass the income and assets tests. Office interview and home visit will conduct to investigate and verify the applicants’ circumstances and information provided.

Since this is a short-time help, the government do not want people rely on it, there is some special arrangement for those aged 15-59 in normal health to actively seek full-time jobs and participate in the Support for Self-reliance Scheme of the Department (Social Welfare Department, 2008).

Sub-conclusion

In the 5 main kinds of social policies, only the social security seems to be the typical example of residual welfare model. Social security just provides short-term help and to fulfill the basic needs of the recipients. Moreover, a series and comprehensive investigation and financial test are needed. And the CSSA may cause the Stigmatization. People may have bias on those CSSA recipients. Besides Government pays effort to teach and encourage the recipient to work in other to leave the safety net. In this sense, it conforms to the principle of residual welfare model.

On the other hand, the other four categories of social welfare policies are not much like the residual welfare model. They are more like universal benefits and services having no or less selectivity, because benefits available to everyone. Those policies not only provide basic needs of individual but also to improve the quality of life, cultivate the citizens, and so on. Therefore, the expenditure on welfare keeps increasing. Thus, Hong Kong is not a typical example of residual welfare model.

The East Asian Welfare Model (the EAWM)
Definition

There is another model related to social welfare policy which is the East Asian Welfare Model. It shares the Confucian ethics and value emphasizing on education, strong family relations, benevolent paternalism, social harmony, discipline, respect for tradition and strong work ethic. To determine whether Hong Kong is a typical example of The East Asian Welfare Model, we can see if it matches the elements of the model.

Dominated on economic concerns

In the EAWM, welfare policies are dominated on economic concerns in order to improve the productivity of labour force and provide strong working incentive. As it aims to help increasing the productivity of an economy, it is also called as a “productivist” social policy. Hong Kong does match this element.

There is a concept of “from welfare to work”in Hong Kong. When more people have their own jobs, the numbers of CSSA recipients will decreases and the productivity of an economy will be increased too.

Targeted employment assistance for various CSSA Recipients

In Hong Kong, the government targets employment assistance for various CSSA recipients. For example, the Three trial Enhanced Community Work Projects which includes training elements in 2005 to 2006 were aimed to enhance the employability of participants. Up to October in 2006, there were 145 Intensive Employment Assistance Projects which provided intensive employment assistance services to unemployed CSSA recipients. Hong Kong government also supports for Self-reliance Scheme (SFS) that encourages and assists employable recipients to take up paid employment so as to make them to become self-reliant. This scheme includes Active Employment Assistance programme and Community Work programme. They aimed to help people finding jobs and thus increase the productivity of Hong Kong.

Regulator rather than provider

The Hong government acts as a regulator of welfare policy rather than a provider in EAWM. Hong Kong matches this element since Hong Kong government contracts out the services by giving funds to different organizations and asks them to provide welfare services for it. For example, it provides funds to The Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council to build Family Crisis Support Centres in order to tackle family crisis. It also gives funds to Po Leung Kuk and Childtime International Nursery Limited to build up child care centre so as to provide child care services. It gives funds to St. James’ Settlement and Hong Kong Society for the Aged to provide elderly services such as building up Elderly Community Centres.

Way to maintain social stability and legitimacy

In the EAWM, welfare has been seen and used as a key element to maintain social stability, to get the legitimacy of governments which lacked democratic legitimacy and to ameliorate grievances. Hong Kong matches this element. In Hong Kong, the Chief Executive and government officials are not elected by universal suffrage. With less legitimacy, welfare service becomes one of the tactics to pacify the grievances and to maintain social stability. Welfares can keep social stability as when people’s needs have been satisfied, they are expected not to commit crimes. Hong Kong government does do a lot to give financial assistance to the poor. For example, CSSA Scheme gives financial assistance to those who cannot support themselves. Social Security Allowance (SSA) Scheme provides monthly allowance to Hong Kong residents who are severely disabled or 65 years old or above. It shows that Hong Kong government uses welfare as a tool to maintain social stability, and so as to retain the legitimacy of the government.

Low social welfare expenditure

Hong Kong Government expenditure on social welfare is low compared with the Western countries. The welfare expenditure (% of GDP) of some western countries is above 20%, some are up to 29%. In Hong Kong, the welfare expenditure (% of GDP) is around 8% due to the low tax rate and the reliance on the market and the family to provide welfare.

Hostile to the idea of welfare state

Hong Kong is also hostile to the idea of welfare state. In the welfare states, the tax rate is high such as the corporate tax rate is 25% and the personal tax is up to 58% in Denmark. The high tax can support rate of large welfare expenditure. Welfare states provide comprehensive coverage of welfare including old-age pensions, unemployment benefits health and childcare services. The welfare is also very favourable since is more than the basic needs. In Sweden, the unemployed will receive 80 percent of his or her normal income under the unemployment benefits. However, in Hong Kong, the tax rates are extremely low compared with the OECD standards. The corporation tax rate is 17.5% and personal tax rate is only 16%, around 1/3 of the OECD standard. Hong Kong is one of the places with the lowest tax rates, named as tax haven. The low tax rates encourage competition i.e. the harder you work and more you gain.

In the White Paper – Social Welfare into the 1990s, government stated that it worked hard to improve the dependency culture and remind the citizen’s incentive to work and undermines the productive engine of the economy”. It is to encourage self- independence and responsibility.

Significant role of the family

The family plays a significant role in Hong Kong social welfare. Hong Kong is influenced by the traditional Confucian culture which is family oriented. The role of family is measured not just by its affluence but also by its core values, the kindness, caring for others and mutual support. The family members support and look after each other. The number of elderly living with their son is higher than that in Western countries. The Government policies also promote the family values to lighten the dependency on social welfare system. Under Hong Kong tax system, allowances are given to the taxpayers who taking care of their children, parents and grandparents. It is to encourage family members to look after the youth and the elderly. Besides, the Public housing allocation policy will give special consideration to the family with elderly. The housing policy is family oriented. In the Policy Address 2009-2010, CE suggested to set up a “Happy Family Info Hub” to promote family core values, and to introduce family education as well as support services for the family. (Policy Address 2009-2010)

Piecemeal, pragmatic and ad hoc welfare development

Welfare development in Hong Kong is piecemeal, pragmatic and ad hoc. There is no comprehensive long term development plans on social welfare, for example, the public housing policy in 50s, the aims of the policy is to settle the fire victims of Shek Kei Mei squatter areas. Besides, The Government legitimacy is shattered in the 67 riot. After that, Government started the social security policy including public assistance scheme, old age and disability allowances in the early 70s. The aims of the social security policy are to deal with critical issues and maintain society stability. Social welfare policies are reactive measures to address ad hoc issues without long term planning.

Conclusion

In conclusion, only social security policy in Hong Kong fit the Residual Welfare Model but other policies such as housing, education, health care and social care do not fit the model. On the other hand, the social welfare systems in Hong Kong fit most of the elements of The East Asian Welfare Model. Therefore, we do not agree that Hong Kong is a typical example of both models since it is not a typical example of the Residual Welfare Model but a typical example of the East Asian Welfare Model.