Author: admin

Human trafficking in Nigeria has been one of the greatest problem in Nigerian history. Human trafficking can be traced to the period colonialism when human beings are been traded for mere commodities to the Europeans, to help them in their plantations in their own country. Due to the abolishment of slave trade in Nigeria by 1885-1950, the act of human trafficking was reduced and some few years later they started child trafficking since the children are more vulnerable. Child trafficking is a form of human trafficking that involves the transportation, harbouring, receiving ,recruitment of children in the purpose of exploitation.

The issue of child domestic labour is very complex and problematic. Domestic child labourers are among the most invisible child labourers. The number of children exploited in private households is unknown because of the hidden nature of the work. Many of these children are girls and in many countries domestic service is seen as the only employment option a girl might have. Children exploited in domestic service are paid little or nothing, are malnourished, are very vulnerable to further abuse and exploitation, and do not go to school. However, because child domestic workers are employed within an informal family environment, they cannot be integrated as a professional group within conventional working systems because such integration would presuppose an acceptance of the idea of child domestic labour. At the same time, without legal initiatives, it is difficult to combat child domestic labour. Furthermore, the terms, norms and standards to regulate the employment of children are lacking because children work in a largely invisible domain outside law and the public sphere and their domestic labour cannot be integrated under normal labour laws. Although the final goal of all laws should be the prevention and elimination of child domestic labour, it is acknowledged right at the outset that this is a long term goal. In the interim, there is a need to accept that children do, and will continue, to work until effective alternatives make it unnecessary for them to work. In the meantime, the “best interest” of the child principle together with the notion of the child as a “rights holder” should guide any lawmaking on child domestic work. Law and policy reform can play a powerful constitutive and transformative role in improving and changing the lives of both the girl child and male child domestic worker; however, in envisioning workplace and domestic arrangements it is important to see that sex stereotypes are not reinforced. Just as much as law has the profound power to prevent and regulate domestic labour, it has the power to reinforce it by creating loopholes through which employers can continue to hire child domestic workers. Laws can often spark social change only if they are translated into action. In drafting new laws or revising existing laws, child domestic labour should be seen in the context of historic sex discrimination. There is an apparent tension when laws and policies are blind to the differences between the girl child domestic worker and the male child domestic worker such as the girl child’s weak bargaining position and low status, which increases her vulnerability to coercion by her family and employer.

Child trafficking in Nigeria is something the government has not really put enough effort to ensure that child trafficking is reduced or eradicated this is due to the lapse (corruption) of the whole government system because most of the child traffickers are top government officials and this makes it very difficult to investigate any problem that has to do with child trafficking. According to a research carried out by “United nation children fund (unicef)” say the average age of children been trafficked in Nigeria is around 15years but the age varies, especially with girls and also it says 60-80% of girls in the sex trade outside the country are in Italy (over 700 in Italy while Belgium and Holland is experiencing an upsurge in the number of Nigerian girls. On the average About 10 children pass Nigerian borders daily originating from fostering and extended family system. Children that are been trafficked has so many reasons which include domestic help, prostitution these are especially for girls while boys are used as scavengers, car washing, bus conducting, drug peddling and farming.

Child trafficking has so many effects on both the child and the country. Trafficking of migrant children has unquestionably affected individual children and their communities in various immediate and long term ways. It sometimes endangers the children’s lives. The obvious impacts of child trafficking often mentioned is on deteriorating their education, physical and mental development. Moreover, the trafficked migrant children are disempowered in many ways. They are in the foreign country with foreign customs and foreign language. They are transported and sold or deceived as bonded labour, treated like property, and work under slavery-like conditions. Whenever they feel depressed, or suffering, or face difficulties, or are tortured, commonly they have no one they can turn to as they tend to live in isolated areas. Even if they have a chance to seek help, they often do not know where to go or what to do or whom to ask because they are illegal migrants and are afraid of police. In some circumstances, they may encounter racism from the police, authorities, and general people among whom may be their own employers. A major result of child trafficking can be loss of lives, increasing prevalence of STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases) including HIV/AIDS, increase in violence and crime rate, increased school drop-out, impaired child development, poor national image and massive deportation of Nigerians especially girls. And also, There are diverse reasons why many Nigerian children are vulnerable to trafficking, including widespread poverty, large family size, rapid urbanization with deteriorating public services, low literacy levels and high school-drop out rates

The demand for cheap commercial sex workers in countries of destination strongly contributes to the growth of this phenomenon and the success of this criminal network.

Parents with a large family, often overburdened with the care of too many children, are prone to the traffickers deceit in giving away some of their children to city residents or even strangers promising a better life for them.

Traffickers exploit the trust of people rooted in a widespread, culturally accepted common practice in West Africa of placement and fostering as part of the extended family

safety net. In some instances, desperately poor and uninformed parents willingly co-operate with the traffickers, giving away their children in exchange for a small fee. In the

hands of unscrupulous guardians, these children are increasingly trafficked and exploited for money.

But All hope is not lost as every problem has a solution. The government can still curb this evil practice in order to save children and the good name of the country. Firstly, government should provide free education in every government owned school in the country from the nursery to the secondary level so that parents will have no excuse of giving out their children to strangers in the pretext of taking them to learn new sill in new environment.

Secondly, government should pay workers salaries at the end of each month because they have personal bills to foot; children to cater for and they depend solely on their salaries.

Thirdly, the parliamentary arm of the government should make and amend law that all Nigerian families should not have more than 3 children and any found to go against the law would be punished because one of the causes of child trafficking in Nigeria is the inability of parents to cater for so many children.

Also, government should make laws for children against child abuse and intimidation which should be strictly adhered to.

Last but not the least, government should come to an agreement with leaders of other countries that any Nigerian child suspected to be abused or trafficked should be rescued and the trafficker, punished.

In an effort aimed at battling child trafficking within Nigeria and the sub-region, Nigeria and the government of Benin Republic have signed a memorandum of understanding to co-operate in the area of prevention of child trafficking as well as the repatriation of offenders to countries of origin for prosecution.

Executive Secretary of National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters(NAPTIP), Mrs. Carol Ndaguba disclosed this at a one-day workshop on Anti Child Trafficking Network Project in Nigeria held at the UN House Abuja.

According to her, Nigeria and the government of Italy, United Kingdom and Spain also have understandings on joint initiative on modalities for prevention of child trafficking and slavery, adding that the Italian government as well as UNICEF have been providing huge financial and capacity building support to the agency in carrying out its task.

On the issue of house-help or domestic servants in the country, NAPTIP Executive Secretary regretted that the phenomenon had been exploited by traffickers to batter, sexually or emotionally traumatize victims, adding that “the so called syndrome must now come to an end.”

She identified the challenges faced by the network project to include expansion of the network from 22 states to 36, sustaining awareness campaign at the state and community levels, and capacity building of the state working groups.

In her remark, Deputy Country Representative of UNICEF, Barbara Reynold said that although the anti-trafficking agency was already doing a lot to put an end to the menace of human trafficking, more needs to be done in the area of conscientisation and increased awareness by a broader section of society.

From the late nineteenth century into the early twenty-first century, U.S. society has become tremendously concerned with the welfare of our nation’s children. Congress and states have passed specific laws recognizing that children hold a right to a healthy upbringing and should be provided with basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, and safety from society’s downfalls. While considerable progress has been achieved in obtaining a framework of commitments protecting the rights and wellbeing of children, the general situation for children remains grave and unacceptable. Victims of injustice and poverty are always pleading to be heard, but none have had more difficulty breaking their silence then children who have fallen victims of sexual abuse.

Through my internship experience at the St. Barnabas Child Advocacy Center and the ideologies discussed within Cohen and Felson’s Routine Activities Theory there is an abundance of evidence to describe how the grooming process unfolds and what to look out for. Children are the most vulnerable victims in society if they won’t speak up for themselves someone has to for them.

The St. Barnabas Child Advocacy Center does just that, formerly known as the Child Protection Program the SBHCAC was established in October of 2000 to address the alarmingly high rates of child abuse in the Bronx. The SBHCAC ‘s mission is primarily focused on improving the quality of life for children ages 0 to 18 who fall victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, medical neglect, educational neglect or are exposed to domestic violence. The majority of cases are referred to the CAC from the Administration of Children Services and SBH Emergency Department, when there is a suspicion of child maltreatment. Other referrals are also commonly made from pediatrics, mental health centers, schools, foster care agencies, preventive service programs and law enforcement. Once a child has been referred they are provided with support services within a child friendly and culturally sensitive environment. These support services include medical exams and comprehensive psychosocial evaluations. These evaluations take place within a colorful room with spaceship murals on the wall, fuzzy green carpets, and an endless supply of toys with hopes that the child will feel at ease while discussing difficult topics. Depending on how the interview goes the child’s safety is assessed and preventative measures are put in place if necessary.

In 2009 the SBHCAC provided such evaluations, treatments, and follow up visits for 474 children and their families; 63% were under the age of twelve 70% of them being females and 30% males. Moreover of these children 52% were evaluated due to concerns of sexual abuse, 28% were seen for physical abuse, and 20% were exposed to domestic violence and/or neglect. The easiest of the three types of cases to indicate is the physical abuse due to the visible marks and bruises but also because children depending on their age view this excessive hitting as normal punishment allowing them to disclose with ease. Children of sexual abuse on the other hand are not as forthcoming.

Survivors of child sexual abuse often find it difficult to place the blame for their abuse where it really lies which is on the shoulders of the perpetrator. The perpetrator usually twists aspects of the abuse around so that the child is made to feel at fault or somehow complicit in the abuse. For example they might tell the child that the abuse is their fault, mask the abuse as “punishment”, entwining the abuse together with expressions of love and affection or perhaps by manipulating the child to initiate incidents of abuse. A child cannot truly understand the power-play and the control that the perpetrator has in these situations and will often take that self-blame and internalize it. As adults, this internalization of self-blame and responsibility for the abuse can lead to feelings of worthlessness, guilt, depression, self-hatred, inability to self-care and risky behaviors, among many others. Further justifying the importance of understanding the many ways in which an abuser targets their victim and “grooms” them for the sexual abuse. This learning process can act as the first step towards placing the blame where it belongs and releasing it from the shoulders of the victim. (pandoras project)

The grooming process can be defined as the desensitization that predators use on children to prepare and ploy them into accepting sexual abuse over a period of time. Once the predator has gained the child’s trust and confidence, they use everyday behaviors to assess whether or not the child is likely to tell on them. This process includes four procedures sexual attraction to child, justification of interest, grooming of adult community, and grooming of the child.

The sexual attraction to the child and justification are both internal settings within an abuser. The sexual attraction consists of the pre-existing condition in the molester that is present due to a possible array of reasons. While justification, a behavior sometimes referred to as neutralization, is the psychological effort the molester experiences to justify the behavior to himself. Here they break down any emotional barriers that would prevent them from acting upon the sexual attraction to children. It is very important to an abuser to tell to himself and perhaps to others that the child will experience no pain or harm. For instance he will tell himself that this is his way of showing the child love, “I do not want to hurt them.” Many molesters believe they are truly helping the child experience love. Subsequently, there is an importance to deny that the child is a victim, instead the view it to be perceived as the child actively wants to engage in sexual activity. In fact molesters vigorously argue against any societal view that child abuse is wrong which is demonstrated by the creation of NAMBLA the North American Man Boy Love Association that promotes child-adult relationships.

Next they focus their grooming techniques on the adults closest to the child by ingratiating themselves into the adult community surrounding the child whether it is within the immediate family, extended family, church community or an athletic organization. This is primarily done in an attempt to avoid any obstruction that would prevent access to the child. This includes exhibiting behaviors such as overt friendliness or doing constant favors without being asked. The most suitable family targets are impaired families with alcoholism, substance abuse, or single mother households who can use the help or could care less about their child’s wellbeing. According to Anna C. Salter an expert in the field of child sexual maltreatment, many sexual molesters describe adult grooming as integral component of their sexual activity with children and put much of the blame on the parents for having their child targeted. To them the parents are key ingredients in the decision to exploit a child. One offender stated “”Parents are partly to blame if they don’t tell their children about sexual matters-I used it to my advantage by teaching the child myself ” while another stated “Parents shouldn’t be embarrassed to talk about things like this-it’s harder to abuse or trick a child who knows what you’re up to.”( CITE)

Finally the most important technique for the child molester is the grooming of his target, the child. First they look for a child with specific characteristics that are also classified as weaknesses. These weaknesses include needy, quiet, eager to please, compliant, overtly trusting, attention seeking, low self-esteem children who may also be friendless or bullied, simply because they are easy targets. But more than just personality characteristics disabled children ranging from speech issues, autism, to physical constrictions wear a bull’s-eye on their back. This is due to the fact that most of disable children are isolated from the community, dependent on adults for care, and display overall powerlessness.

Once a child has been chosen the next step is desensitizing the child to the touch of the molester through many types of normally innocent activities. These types of activities include tickling games, spinning children in the air, roughhousing, wrestling, piggy back rides, having children sit on their lap, snuggling, physical-picking up or carrying child. This as an opportunity to evaluate the child’s reaction to touch in a slow and attentive manner testing whether the child will tell or will keep a secret. This is a crucial stage for an abuser for it judges whether or not they can continue in the grooming process. This may seem particularly time consuming and only capable by the most competent offenders but the fact is this patience is what allows abuse to go on undetected for so long.

During my time at the St. Barnabas Child Advocacy Center I saw a total of 101 children in a time period of 4 months 55% of these children were seen due to concerns of both kinds of sexual abuse; touching and non-touching. Touching includes fondling of child’s genitals, making a child touch an adult’s sexual organs, and penetration of a child’s vagina or anus no matter how slight with penis, fingers, or any other object that doesn’t have a valid medical purpose. Non-touching includes actions that many people forget to be criminal such a engaging in indecent exposure, exposing child to pornographic material, deliberately exposing a child to live sexual intercourse and finally the act of masturbation in front of a child. Although this may be hard to imagine it’s unfortunate to say that most of the children I have seen have experienced one or more forms of this abuse. But at the same time some of these children a small handful have escaped the harshness of long term abuse by revealing a perpetrators motive at the early stages of an abusers grooming process.

The first name to come to mind is Krystal Carino, a 6 year old girl who was referred to the CAC in mid November. Krystal a very sweet and beautiful first grader came to the office accompanied by her mother and father due to concerns of sexual abuse. The mother explained that while washing Krystal in the bath after a day at her aunts (mother’s sister) she noticed a mark on her chest. This was exceedingly concerning to the mother because Krystal was continually trying to conceal it. Upon the request of the mother the father came in to look at the mark and after questioning the child, she disclosed that her uncle had “kissed” her there. She confirmed the same story while being interviewed by my supervisor and added even more detailed information only solidifying her allegations. The picture of the mark looked like a hickey and when asked what it felt like when he kissed her, she explained “it was weird like he was sucking.” She also stated it had happened while her aunt and cousin went to the laundry mat and that he told her if anyone asked what it was; she was to tell them, her little cousin hit her there. This case is a perfect example of the grooming process. From the start her parents had been groomed. The uncle has been in the family for 12 years presenting himself as a supporting husband and exceptional father. The parents had no reason not to trust him. With Krystal’s parents already groomed his next step was to assess the cooperation of the child. By sending her home with a mark on her chest he was testing to see whether or not she would provide her parents with the story he had made up for her. To this day we will never know if Krystal would have ever told her parents she was sexually assaulted. If her mother hadn’t cared enough to ask about the mark Krystal may have been continually victimized. Luckily for Krystal she has parents who assist her with bath time and really take an interest in her wellbeing. Unfortunately this is not the case for every child in the Bronx; most children live in homes where they are not the first priority. They live in a place stricken by poverty, alcohol, and drug abuse. Consequently children living in such poor conditions suffer, and for those who are experiencing sexual abuse endure hardships to a much greater severity.

Raheem Elliot an intelligent 4 year old boy was brought in early December due to a sexual abuse disclosure he made to his foster mother. Raheem comes from a very contaminated life full of neglect, abuse, drugs and alcohol. His mother Ms. Taylor has 12 children with three different men, ranging in age from 1 ? to age 16. During her pregnancies with most of these children the mother tested positive for cocaine and alcohol and as a result, many of her children are significantly developmentally delayed. Although these children have been at risk even before they were born, the Administration of Children Services only first got involved with the family 2 years ago. At this time the younger boys were displaying sexualized behavior with their siblings at home and at school with their classmates, which led to an investigation. This investigation explained the reason for these behaviors was directly caused by their constant exposure to pornography and live sexual activity. Immediately as a result, all 12 children were removed from the mother’s care and put into a number of foster homes to ensure their safety. It was during this point in time we came to realize that even more sexual abuse was taking place outside the home.

According to Raheem’s newly assigned foster mother, Gloria, Raheem has been taking stuffed animals and continually digitally penetrating them in their anus regions. When Gloria questioned Raheem asking “Why are you doing that” instead of answering I saw my brother do it as would be expected in the Elliot home; Raheem responded “Well I do it to the animals because Goody does it me.” This was very alarming because Goody is an adult neighbor who lives across the street and according to mom “he (Goody) has grown close with Raheem and his brother Marcus, they spend a lot of time together, he would never do that.” Instantly my supervisor attempted to interview Raheem but after just being placed in a new foster home and being in another new place my supervisor decided to let him play around the office, get familiar, and make a new appointment. Two weeks later Raheem and his foster mom were back to try this interview one more time, but Raheem would not sit still. All he would say about Goody was “he is a very bad man that lives behind the door across from his door.” Fortunately for the purpose of getting this man arrested, the foster mother revealed new information Raheem had confided in her. According to Gloria, Raheem constantly has nightmares and when she comes in to check on him each time he confesses different pieces of information. The 4 year old stated that Goody digitally penetrates them and touches his penis very fast and “pees” on their faces. Also when they do not do what he wants he cuts them with knifes and burns them with cigarettes which was beyond evident with the number of scars he had all over his body. In fact this behavior is so far embedded in Raheem’s mind that when Gloria tries to pay the clerk at the grocery store Raheem will ask, “Why are you paying?” Because on countless occasions Goody brings the boys to the store wearing back packs so he can stuff them with items and have them steal it. For Goody this family was targeted due to its lack of structure, impaired supervision, and the overall chaotic nature of the home. The single mother was easily groomed because she cares little about her children and a free babysitter is exactly what she is looking for. The child was also easily groomed because of the constant fear of being stabbed or burned, and the idea that even if I tell mom she won’t believe me discourages any disclosures. Raheem was abused for a year, and in 4 weeks with a foster mother who cared and nurtured him he finally broke his silence.

The common denominator of both of these cases leading to a disclosure was the relationship between the legal guardian and the child. For Krystal her mother and father refused to ignore their child’s unusual behavior over a freshly made mark; and for Raheem coming from such a overcrowded home without any parental supervision, having a “mom” one on one to listen to him provided him an opportunity to tell someone of his abuse. Although it is very important for parents to understand the way in which a predator targets and grooms a child. It is also an utmost priority for guardians to provide children with a strong and open relationship with their children. One that is full of communication. Children need someone to talk to and as a parent it should be a major concern to know what’s going on in your child’s life. For children 85% of child victims know their offender, with almost half of the offenders being a family member. This makes it so hard from them to tell.

Unfortunately in reality some children of the Bronx will never have relationships like this with their parents, so who can they tell? After working here for 4 months I put a lot of responsibilities on the board of education. For many children this is their home away from home. In my opinion teachers, school psychologist, guidance counselors etc. should be thoroughly trained in how to look out for abuse. In addition even though this is a sensitive topic for everyone I believe teachers should have the ability to teach children the appropriate names of their private parts, educate children about the difference between good touches and bad touches, and finally what constitutes a good secret and bad secret. In the past and up until now schools are constantly focused on “stranger danger”, but for almost all children of sexual abuse strangers are the least of their worries.

The majority of children never report the abuse, and this is often because they are afraid of their parent’s reactions, they are afraid they will get in trouble, or simply because they just don’t know how to tell. The child who allows these fears to keep them from telling will end up experiencing severe emotional and physical consequences, both in childhood and later on. Children from a very young age can be taught skills that lower there vulnerability

Rape: Child Sexual Abuse
Deirdre F Smith

Social Work and Criminal Justice

A violent crime is a crime in which an offender uses or threatens force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent crimes may, or may not, be committed with weapons. Depending on the jurisdiction, violent crimes may vary from homicide to harassment. (Violent Crime)

Rape falls into the category as a violent crime. Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration initiated against one or more individuals without the consent of those individuals. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault. (Rape)

It is commonly believed that rape only happens to women and children, but this is false because it can also happen to men. Rape is not about sex, but about power. One out of every six American womenhas been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. 17.7 million American womenhave been victims of attempted or completed rape. The Average number of rapes that occur annually in the United States is 89,000. Men make up 3% of the total rapes. Children under the age of 12 make up 15%.There is still 60% of rapes never reported and 95% of college rapes are also never reported. There are 47% of rapes that have occurred while both the victim and perpetrator had both been drinking. Victims of rape are more likely to suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, abuse alcohol and/or drugs, and contemplate suicide. (Who are the Victims?)

The rape of a child is referred to as child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities (regardless of the outcome), indecent exposure(of the genitals, female nipples, etc.) to a child with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to intimidate or groom the child, physical sexual contact with a child, or using a child to produce child pornography. The American Psychiatric Association states that “children cannot consent to sexual activity with adults”, and condemns any such action by an adult: “An adult who engages in sexual activity with a child is performing a criminal and immoral act which never can be considered normal or socially acceptable behavior.”

Rapes can occur in either the perpetrators or victims’ home, in a vehicle, outdoors, in a bar, or anywhere. Sometimes it can occur in the home that both the victim and perpetrator share, because most people are raped by someone they know including a spouse. Since rape or sexual assault is under reported only about 3% of rapist will ever spend a day in jail. (Rape Statistics, 2014)

Under federal law, the punishment for rape can range from a fine to life imprisonment. The severity of the punishment is based on the use of violence, the age of the victim, and whether drugs or intoxicants were used to override consent. If the perpetrator is a repeat offender the law prescribes automatically doubling the maximum sentence. A person who has committed such offenses gains the label as a sex offender. Once you are given that title you will forever carry that label. Even upon release of incarceration, one still must register as a sex offender with local law enforcement and follow specific guidelines which includes, informing law enforcement if you move and update any information. You will be placed in a public database where your status is automatically known.

Children who have been sexually abused may feel guilty, ashamed, or confused so, they may not tell anyone. There are symptoms that you can look for they may tell you that a child is being sexually abused. The symptoms include withdrawal from friends or activities, may become aggressive, changes in school behavior and attendance, depressed, and attempt to runway or commit suicide. There can also be physical signs of sexual abuse such as, Sexual behavior or knowledge that’s inappropriate for the child’s age, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), trouble walking or sitting, or sexually abusing other children. (Child Abuse Symptoms)

Children who have been abused sexually are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy. The effects of child abuse are also that they begin drug and/or alcohol use, commit violent crimes, become depressed, and have low self-esteem. Some may actually become abusers themselves. They develop psychiatric disorders that carry on into their adulthood. Some will become involve in abusive relationship and some become promiscuous. As adults they may even take jobs as prostitutes. (Rape Statistics, 2014)

As a social worker, working with sexually abused children you may experience conflicts between personal values and professional values. There are certain standard you must adhere to according to the NASW when dealing with adolescence. Standards for the Practice of Social Work with Adolescents: Standard 1. Social workers shall demonstrate knowledge and understanding of adolescent development. Standard 2. Social workers shall demonstrate an understanding of and ability to assess the needs of adolescents; access social institutions, organizations, and resources within a community that provide services for adolescents and their families; and advocate for the development of needed resources. Standard 3. Social workers shall demonstrate knowledge and understanding of family dynamics. Standard 4. Social workers shall demonstrate acceptance of and contribute to the development and maintenance of culturally competent service delivery. Standard 5. Social workers shall possess or have access to specialized knowledge of the legal, regulatory, and administrative requirements and resources for youths and their families. Standard 6. Social workers shall strive to empower adolescents. Standard 7. Social workers shall advocate for an understanding of the needs of adolescents and for resources and cooperation among professionals and agencies to meet those needs. Standard 8. Social workers shall participate in multidisciplinary case consultation across agencies that provide services to adolescents and their families. Standard 9. Social workers shall maintain confidentiality in their relationship with youths and of the information obtained within that relationship. Standard 10. Social workers shall assume an active role in contributing to the improvement and quality of the work environment, agency policies and practices with clients, and their own professional development. (NASW Standards for the Practice of Social Work with Adolescents, 1993)

Treatment of child sexual abuse is a complex process. Orchestration of treatment in the child’s best interest is a genuine challenge. Moreover, it is often difficult to know how to proceed because there are so few outcome studies of treatment effectiveness. When working with children it may be difficult because of lack of support from the family. Establishing trust with the child may be difficult. One of the reasons sexual abuse treatment is such a challenge is that it occurs in a larger context of intervention. Therefore, coordination is of utmost importance and ideally is provided by a multidisciplinary team. Treatment issues are then handled by the team as part of overall intervention. The following issues are the most important of those the team should consider at this stage of intervention: separation of the child and/or the offender from the family, the role of the juvenile court, the role of the criminal court, the treatment plan for the family, visitation, and family reunification. (Child Welfare Information Gateway)

Case management decisions are often provisional; that is, they are based on what information about the family members and their functioning is available when decisions are made. Treatment is often a diagnostic process. The positive or negative responses of family members to treatment determine future case decisions. Outcomes of court proceedings can impinge upon and alter case management decisions and treatment. (Child Welfare Information Gateway)

Before you can give a child a treatment plan you have to consider should the child remain a part of the family, do the courts have a role in the case, and is there a question of visitation? This is actually where the conflict of person and professional values arises. You may feel that if the child was sexually abused at home, they should never be allowed to return. Professionally, reunification with the family is the goal if at all possible. The task of the therapist is to make victims feel whole and good about themselves again. Work, mentioned above, that addresses the issue of self-blame is helpful. However, so are interventions that help children view themselves as more than merely victims of sexual abuse. Normalizing and ego-enhancing activities, such as doing well in school, participating in sports, getting involved in scouts, or helping a younger victim, can be very important in victim recovery. (Child Welfare Information Gateway)

Treatment options include group therapy, individual treatment, and family therapy. Group therapy is generally regarded as the treatment of choice for sexual abuse. However, usually groups are offered concurrent with other treatment modalities, and some clients may need individual treatment before they are ready for group therapy. Individual treatmentis appropriate for victim, offender, and mother of victim (as well as for siblings of victims and survivors). As a rule, an initial function and a major one for individual treatment is alliance building. All parties have to learn to trust the therapist and come to believe that change is possible and desirable. The members of this triad may have different levels of commitment to therapy, with the victim usually the most invested and the offender the least. Family therapyis the culmination of the treatment process and is usually not undertaken until there has been a determination that reunification is in the victim’s best interest. (Child Welfare Information Gateway)

The reason I chose to this topic is not because a family member or a friend sexually abused me, but at the age of 17 I was raped by seven guys who I did not know. I did not say anything after it occurred because I felt like it was my fault. I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been and my parents didn’t know. In a way I thought of it as punishment for being disobedient. Afterwards, I had become angry, aggressive, and rebellious. I would run away from home because I caused all types of problems there. At that time I was in college, but of course I quit going. I began cutting myself and I showed other emotions other than anger.

Finally, after trips to the Detention Center my mother finally took me to St. Dominic Mental Health. My therapist tried to talk to me, but of course I refused to talk. He told my mother I had sociopathic symptoms, because I showed no emotions and would not open up. After those attempts I was still acting out. She finally took me to a place called Our House Shelter. It was a runaway shelter. There I had group therapy and individual therapy. That’s where I found my help. It was a social worker named Ms. Tara who reached me.

I have a great mother because she knew something was wrong with me and tried everything she could to help me. She could’ve given up on me but she didn’t. She still doesn’t know what happened to me and chose not to tell her. She was just happy to have her daughter back to normal.

I have seen a couple of the guys throughout the time, but I have heard most of them are in jail or dead. Do I regret never telling? Yes, because I could have stopped someone from experiencing what I did. Because of that situation and the fact that I’m here has made me stronger.

References

Child Abuse Symptoms. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2014, from Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/child-abuse/basics/symptoms/CON-20033789

Child Welfare Information Gateway . (n.d.). Retrieved November 2014, from U.S. Department of Human & Health Services: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/sexabuse/sexabusef.cfm

NASW Standards for the Practice of Social Work with Adolescents. (1993). Retrieved November 25014, from National Association of Social Work: http://socialworkers.org/practice/standards/sw_adolescents.asp

Rape. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2014, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape

Rape Statistics. (2014, July 8). Retrieved November 2014, from http://www.statisticbrain.com/rape-statistics/

Violent Crime. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2014, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violent_crime

Who are the Victims? (n.d.). Retrieved November 2014, from RAINN: https://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims

The Child’s Best Interest

“I did everything they asked me” (Bergner, 2006). Abiding by the rules did not by any means help Marie get her children back from state custody. Children are one of the most vulnerable populations so when they are put in situations that can harm them, the state will get involved. The child welfare system bases decisions on what’s in favor of the child’s best interest. In Marie’s case, her mother wasn’t capable of helping to care for the children while she recovered so the state had to take control. She was too unfit to be their “mother”. The child welfare system is a structured way of dealing with this vulnerable population through the idea of parens patriae and the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 that relates to termination of parental rights (TPR). When the well-being of children is overlooked, the policies that encompass the child welfare system will be enforced.

“Parens patriae is the doctrine that empowers government institutions to venture into the intimate realm of child-rearing and effectively deputizes social workers to knock on the doors of family homes and gain entry” (Bergner, 2006). Under this doctrine, any state worker had the right to enter Marie’s home at any time if they had probable cause to investigate a situation involving children. This government policy came into effect because it literally translates to “parent of the country” (Bergner, 2006). Parens patriae didn’t start off as what it means in today’s society. Back in the days, children were seen in a different light. They were seen as laborers and not as innocent, helpless individuals who need a voice when faced with unwanted obstacles (Hatcher, 2012, p. 163). The idea that the state is the guardian of these helpless children where state officials, more specifically social workers could assume the roles that a guardian possesses was the real motivation. The societal value behind this policy was that the states were finally recognizing that children had rights that needed to be protected and served (Hatcher, 2012, p.165). In Marie’s case, parens patriae responded to her needs. The social workers did everything in their power to help her get her children back, but it just wasn’t enough. The parens patriae doctrine acknowledging children with rights that need to be tended to paved way for the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 became a policy that plays an important role in the child welfare system because it allows for children to get out of the foster care system and achieve “permanent placement, whether through reunification or adoption” (Halloran, 2014, p. 53). The act “links federal money to states’ efforts to move children toward adoption after they have been in temporary care for 15 of any 22 months” (Bergner, 2006). The societal value that led to this policy was catering to the children’s well-being. Children are seen as a worthy category that needs the help they can get when put in situations that are at no fault of their own. This act was created to prevent children from lingering in foster care (Halloran, 2014, p.57) until they were the legal age of 18 where they would technically be able to fend for themselves as adults. Termination of parental is a component to the child welfare system that basically ends legal rights of biological parents to children they have lost to the system. “Termination criteria lie along a continuous scale where a court’s determination of the conditions that justify the termination of parental rights is in degrees of objectivity and subjectivity” (Halloran, 2014, p. 61). In other words, parents go through an evaluation to determine if they are fit or unfit before termination of parental rights occurs. The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 led way to the termination of parental rights.

The policies of parens patriae, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 and termination of parental are all valid policies that respond to the needs of the recipients if the outcomes are in favor of the parents. When things are good and parents prove that they can take care of their children, the policies have no faults to them. The minute the outcomes are not in favor of the parents, the policies do not tend to the needs of the recipients. Overall, there are many pros and cons to these policies. To say that these policies are followed thoroughly and fairly is an understatement. Decisions regarding whether these policies are followed are examined case by case. Each case has their own unique circumstances which in turn will have different results.

Policies are put into place so that the results yield the best outcomes. In the child welfare system the main goal is to tend to what is in favor of the child’s interest. It’s the reoccurring theme behind the child welfare system. When you have a case like Marie, where she is doing everything in her power to become this fit mother the policies are not in the best interest for the recipient. Separating mother and child is not a goal in the policies but that is what happened in her case. To fully understand where judgments and decisions are made, one must take into perspective the social control that is behind the social welfare system. It’s all about constructing policies based on what is right and what is wrong. What’s right to one person may not be right to another and what’s wrong to one person can be perceived as not wrong to another. No matter what, government intervention in the child welfare system is something that will always be a part of the system.

References

Bergner,D. (2006, July 23). The Case of Marie and Her Sons – New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/magazine/23welfare.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Halloran,J.T. (2014). Families First: Reframing Parental Rights as Familial Rights in Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings. U.C. Davis Journal of Juvenile Law and Policy, 18(1), 51-93. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/ucdajujlp18&div=6&collection=journals&set_as_cursor=0&men_tab=srchresults&terms=18|U.C.|Davis|J.|Juv.|L.|Pol

Hatcher,D.L. (2012). Purpose vs. Power: Parens Patriae and Agency Self-Interest. New Mexico Law Review, 42(1), 159-202. Retrieved from http://heinonline.org.ezproxy.lib.uwm.edu/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/nmlr42&div=9&collection=journals&set_as_cursor=0&men_tab=srchresults&terms=parens|patriae|importance&type=matchall

This assignment gives a general insight to my job role and responsibilities including achievements and targets that I have gained in my post so far regarding child safeguarding and continues working towards within the pre-school that I am currently employed by and represent.

Showing awareness and understanding of working together with other outside organisations, services and sources that can connect daily to the children and pre-school environment. Demonstrate my knowledge and the importance of safeguarding following government definitions and guidelines that all professionals working with children, young people and families adhere to so that child safety is the priority achieved.

As a pre-school worker my role is to nurture, teach and care for children aged 3-5 years in a pre-school setting either individually or in a group. My job description is to ensure children are safe and well cared for so they develop and are stimulated by age-appropriate activities in a safe suitable environment. Although childcare workers are not teachers we may encourage and teach basic skills to children such as social and interaction skills such as taking turns and sharing toys and hygiene procedures like flushing the toilet and then washing hands.

In the pre-school we are organised to work on the whole as a team with each team member having a designated role for example one named person for first aid, or health and safety, or child safeguarding. Although all staff are required to have Criminal Record Bureau checks, qualifications and regular updated training in all of these areas of child care to produce good quality daily knowledgeable practice in the pre-school setting.

Pre-school introduces children into learning for preparation starting school, many outside agencies integrates with/along side pre-school environments such as army welfare services, health services, local police officers, local primary schools, ofsted, speech therapists this is just a few.

To achieve the best out of my role as pre-school worker it is important that I am managed well and feel supported individually and within my team, and resources are available to attend regular training and courses. Enabling me to keep up to date with policies, procedures and qualifications relevant and required to work with children. Training such as safeguarding children gains and reinforces the necessary skills and knowledge to identify, respond to signs and symptoms of children experiencing abuse at the same time being alert and reacting correctly and efficiently to all possible concerns and dangers.

1

In a talk by T G during a safeguarding children training course it was stated that the government provides definitions to guide all professionals working with children young people and their families to identify when there are serious causes for concerns about children these are:

Different Brief Definition One Example of
Abuse Categories Indicator

Physical causing harm also includes unexplained or

Fabricating symptoms of or inconsistent

Deliberately induces illness in a child explanation of

Injuries or

Burns

Emotional constant emotional maltreatment low self-esteem

Of child such as to cause severe and

Persistent adverse effects on emotional

Development

Neglect persistent failure to meet a child’s basic lack of care –

Needs physically and/or psychologically inadequate

Clothing,

Heating, light

Or food

Sexual forcing, enticing, involving a child to unusual

Participate in sexual activities including difficulty

Viewing imagery also encouraging in walking

Inappropriate sexual behaviour from a or sitting

Child

Wiltshire Local Safeguarding Children Board

Updated May 2008 TG

“The government guidelines, working together to safeguard children (1999),

Divide child abuse into four neat categories – sexual, physical, and emotional

And neglectful- but in reality many of this overlap. With any form of abuse

There will be emotional abuse too, although this may occur on its own.”

As cited The Guardian 7 October 2008

2

“Sharing information is for the purpose of safeguarding and

Promoting the welfare of children, sharing information amongst

Practitioners working with children and families are essential. In

Many cases it is only when information from a range of sources

Is put together that a child can be seen to be in need or at risk

Of harm. A failure to pass on information that might prevent a

Tragedy could expose you to criticism.”

As cited The Guardian 13 November 2008

Effective practice uses awareness and fully understands the importance of sharing concerns and information. We cannot afford to ignore signs at a risk of appearing foolish or alarmist, daily my role can identify families with needs that effect a child’s well being, armed forces children are the majority at the pre-school, the issues that arise from parent/carer who can be isolated from family and friends by military postings, soldier spouses are often absent due to active duties or training. So a parent/carer could be experiencing difficulties such as financial worries, lack of support, worried about the well being of spouse on active duty for instance in Afghanistan, these issues interconnects amongst the whole family unit. So having the knowledge you are better equipped to listen hard and observe carefully the behaviours between child and parent/carer and alert to recognise signs and symptoms an example could range from inadequate parenting to inappropriate clothing for season of the year, could show problems and a need for help, there are services that can offer support and assist the parents ability to care better for children before a situation gets out of hand but a lot of parent/carers feel ashamed, embarrassed, inhibited or simply just don’t know how to access this help.

“Instead of intervening early and effectively, struggling local authorities

Wait until children are in crisis, then act reluctantly, half-heartedly

And ineffectively, it’s not their fault. The funding systems are designed

In such away.”

As cited The Guardian 4 September 2009

In a talk on safeguarding children 6 November 2009 it was explained and stated

“If any support agencies were contacted directly by the family or referred by

Their family GP at the request of the family for support, the agencies

Assess the needs of the child by means of a Common Assessment

Framework (CAF) and this ensures that everyone involved such as

Pre-school worker, health visitor, police officer, social workers use

This framework to work together and support the child and that child

Receives the right support at an early stage before their needs increases.”

3

Daily I can work closely with individual children, so there is opportunity and time to develop a relationship of trust giving a child an opening to talk, some children may not tell you, you might guess even been led by them to read between the lines. This is where knowledge and procedures are of key importance, so that you listen to the child and avoid any leading questions, being careful not to offend, intimidate the child or the situation as this could be the first and last attempt for a child needing to trust someone to disclose what may be happening to them in the hope of help, I would then

Reassure the child the best I could and then explain as simply as I can so the child understands that the things said would need to be passed on to pre-schools supervisor as they will know best what to do. If a disclosure was made, I would then need to follow the pre-school settings policies and procedures we have in place

The purpose of this assignment is to highlight the position of children involved in parental separation disputes. Within this essay, I will include the rationale for this project, with a background of my experience gained as a Court Children’s Officer. I will also identify aims which will seek to critically analyse the role of the child during parental separation, and compare and contrast their role in both public and private legal proceedings. I will attempt to provide an analytical literature review of Northern Ireland, UK and International literature, which will demonstrate historical, psychological, sociological, legislative and policy perspectives of including or excluding the child during parental separation. I will then proceed to provide service user and service provider perspectives, with a critical basis for recommendations for future practice. Throughout my assignment I will endeavour to incorporate my learning to demonstrate anti-discriminative and anti-oppressive practice, and how these can be challenged to enhance the service further.

Introduction:

Evidence based practice (EBP) refers to using evidence from research to indicate the effectiveness of an outcome (Davies, 2008). It is a controversial topic which notes that professionals should only intervene in people’s lives when they can bring about change, without causing adverse consequences. EBP indicates an approach to decision-making which is accountable and based on best evidence (Davies, 2008). Within my own experience, EBP was important for refining my knowledge and practice so that the service user was provided with appropriate support for their individual needs. I used EBP to carry out research to determine what evidence supported or rejected the inclusion of children during family break down.

My experience for this Evidenced Based Project was gained as a Court Children’s Officer (CCO), based at the Belfast Family Proceedings Court. This is a relatively new service provided by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust to help courts resolve family issues, such as residence and contact for the child. There are currently seven small Court Children’s Teams working throughout Northern Ireland. As a CCO, my role was to deal with cases where assistance was needed to help parties agree on the needs of their children, as opposed to continuing the incriminations as to who was responsible for the breakdown of their relationship, through private law proceedings. I was only permitted to be involved with a case, and ascertain the wishes and feelings of the child, if a court direction was issued.

Background and Rationale:

It is estimated that over one half (53%) of children in the UK will experience parental divorce before they are aged 16, with two thirds of them under age 11 (Office of National Statistics, 2007). In 2005, Northern Ireland’s rate of divorce was 2,363 (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 2006). Of these 2005 divorce statistics, there were 2,052 children involved, under the age of 16. However, these statistics mask many more children who go through parental separation each year, and these are not formally recorded (www.rcpsych.ac.uk). It is well documented, within research, that some children can experience a range of complex problems socially, emotionally and economically before, during and after the breakdown of their parent’s relationship (Timms, 2003), and it is important to note that divorce and separation of parents can be a confusing and stressful time for children making them more vulnerable to psychological, emotional or financial short or long term difficulties (Timms, 2003). Numerous studies have reported on the consequences for children going through parental divorce or separation, yet the voice of the child has remained predominantly silent (Butler et al. 2003).

The Children (NI) Order 1995 brought together both public and private law proceedings relating to children in Northern Ireland, into an amalgamated order, but the processes for hearing the voice of the child still remain entirely contradictory. Article 3 (3) suggests that “the wishes and feelings of the child should be taken into account, with consideration of age and level of understanding”. To address this requirement children in public proceedings have separate legal representation, in the form of a solicitor, and guardian to ascertain their wishes and feelings, and present them in court. However, children involved in private law proceedings regarding residence and contact are not included in the proceedings. In private cases the emphasis of the court is to help the parties reach agreement; therefore, the child is reliant on the parents considering and protecting their interests. This is a debatable process which will be discussed below.

It is the child’s lack of ‘voice’ throughout parental separation and private law proceedings that has provided the rationale for this project.

Aims:
This project will seek to examine a child’s needs through family breakdown.
It will seek to critically examine the child’sright to participate in private law proceedings, and compare these with concerns.
I will aim to address the debate of including or excluding children during private law proceedings.
It will also seek to examine current gaps in support provision for children and young people involved in parental separation, and make recommendations to how these can be addressed.
The project will consider the literature, which includes policy and legislation from Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and Internationally.

The literature review below will aim to critically evaluate the perspectives of including or excluding the child in the processes of parental separation. I will use historical, psychological, sociological, legislative and policy perspectives to evaluate the need to include or exclude children. I will compare and contrast the pros and cons, including an analysis of the methods of child participation, with a summary of the findings.

Literature Review:

With the continuing rise of children experiencing parental separation in Northern Ireland, The United Kingdom and Internationally, it has facilitated the awareness of the child’s right to be heard and for their wishes and feelings to be considered. Promoting the child’s participation in decision-making during parental separation is a relatively recent event. Historically, children were viewed as needing protection from parental conflict, and lacked the capability to actively participate in family matters (Graham and Fitzgerald, 2005, cited in Birnbaum, 2009). It was assumed that, if children were not informed, they would be sheltered from the major emotional impact separation brought (Smart, 2002). I was also assumed that parents knew what was in their child’s best interests (Timms, 2003), and, therefore children’s views were represented by their parents.

Through child psychology and social science research, the importance of the child’s right to have their wishes and feelings considered has gained a greater significance (Lansdown, 2005), and more importantly, perspectives on the inclusion of children in parental separation disputes have been changing (Williams, 2006). Children are now being seen as having their own rights, rather than parental property (Lansdown, 2005). Psychological research has also increasingly indicated that not listening to children may be more detrimental to their well-being (Kelly, 2002), and that the meaningful participation of children in contact and residence disputes can actually shelter them from emotional hurt during a time when they are most vulnerable (Butler et al., 2003). Social science research also validates that the child’s participation in the processes of family breakdown can draw a parallel with their ability to adapt to a new family structure in the future (Butler et al., 2003), as well as gain power and control in a confusing and stressful time (Butler et al., 2003).

Research also indicates that young people themselves want to be heard through the legal process, as the outcome has a major effect on their lives (Cashmore and Parkinson, 2008). Adolescents, in particular, have expressed that they want to be involved in major decisions, and be able to make choices (Neale, 2002).

A child’s participation in the decision-making processes of parental divorce and separation can be largely diverse; direct or indirect. Children can voice their opinion and be involved in contact or residence arrangements that affect them, they can provide input into the development of services, or participate in the development of broader policy issues (Birnbaum, 2009).

Legislative and Policy Perspective:

It is evident in legislation within Northern Ireland, the UK and Internationally that children have theright to be heard. Article 12 of The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) stipulates “children have the right to express their opinions and have their opinions considered”. The Convention encourages adults to listen to the voice of children and involve them in decision-making. The Children (NI) Order 1995 (Article 3: 3), and The Children Act 2004 (Article 54) both stipulate the need for the “child’s wishes and feelings to be ascertained, and taken account of according to the child’s age and understanding” (http://www.opsi.gov.uk). Yet, despite legislation, research and social trends in Northern Ireland specifically, no single government policy or strategy has been developed to indicate how best to support the needs of children experiencing parental separation (Weatherall and Duffy, 2008). Certain apprehension, within legislation and policy, remains in respect of allowing children to participate in the decision-making process of parental separation. This apprehension is created by “attempts to balance the vulnerability of children, given their age and development, with their rights as individuals” (Smart, Wade and Neale, 1999: 152). There is also much debate about how children should be included – in which circumstances and in what way.

Argumentsfor the inclusion of children during parental separation:

Those who are in support of including children during times of parental separation claim a number of rights-based reasons. The most significant being that the child has a right to be included, according to theConvention on the Rights of the Child (1989), and a right to have their wishes and feelings ascertained (Children (NI) Order 1995). In addition to this, theory suggests that children should be seen as active participants in decision making and not as parental property to be controlled (Atwood, 2003). The United Nations Convention also suggests that children have the right to be respected and heard, and also indicates that they have a right to full access of social, economic, and civil rights that are given to everyone else (Birnbaum, 2009).

Secondly, and perhaps most significantly, those in support of including children explain that children want to be involved in decision-making during parental separation, as it affects their lives (Cashmore and Parkinson, 2008). Children understand the difference of providing input and reaching the final decision (Kelly, 2002). Smith (2007) states that by being open and honest with children, and allowing them to participate in separation processes translates into better communication and respectful listening. Research also suggests that children themselves rate their participation as important when it comes to family issues (Taylor, Smith and Nairn, 2001).

Thirdly, from a policy perspective, children’s participation is linked with a wider form of social inclusion. Namely, policies, services and programs are more effective if children are included in their design, planning, delivery and implementation (Lansdown, 2005). Smart, Neale and Wade (2001: 269) suggest that “family policy issues must include children’s viewpoints if children are to be treated ethically” and respectfully. Jameson and Gilbert (2000) claim that children’s views should be incorporated into policy development, as it impacts directly on them. Without doing this decision-makers cannot benefit from children’s perspectives or suggestions about how to resolve the problem. The same argument can be made about the inclusion or exclusion of the child during parental separation.

Through a legal and legislative point of view, some have argued that the inclusion of children during private law proceedings can help parents to focus on their children, as opposed to the adversarial ‘blame’ role. “Focusing on the needs of children early in the process of parental law proceedings can reduce both the intensity and duration of conflict” (McIntosh, 2003: 232). Goldson (2006) also suggests that focusing on the needs of the children may enhance communication between parents, as it helps them identify common ground. Gray (2002) has also indicated that the child’s participation in private law proceedings can facilitate understanding their own wants and needs, and can help develop advocacy skills regarding communication and negotiation within the family. Williams (2006: 158) also suggests that “by including the child in decisions about parental separation can enhance their sense of self-esteem and control, thereby enhancing their resiliency”.

Argumentsagainst the inclusion of children during parental separation:

As mentioned above, there are firmly held viewpoints about children being involved in the decision-making process of their parent’s separation, however, there are a similar number of arguments against the inclusion of children.

Firstly, from a rights-based understanding, researchers mention some concerns when adhering to children’s rights. Atwood (2003) argues that a balance needs to be found between protecting children from emotional harm and protecting their rights and Guggenheim (2003) expresses that there is a certain price associated with providing children with rights; he indicates that rights are relational. He claims that “if children have a right then someone else has a duty and children’s legal rights are always in the hands of adults” (Birnbaum, 2009).

Secondly, concerns have been expressed by those who ascertain the wishes and feelings of children. Mediators suggest that children can often be manipulated by a parent, and can take sides accordingly during contact and residence disputes, creating stress and worry for children (Saposnek, 2004). Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is becoming increasingly significant also – this is described as the child expressing unjustified hatred for one parent due to the influence (direct or indirect) of the other parent, which does not benefit the child.

Garrity and Baris (1994) argue that involving children in parental disputes can also lead the child to tell each parent what they want to hear, which has no benefit to the child. The child is then seen as wanting to please both parties, rather that choose between them, which again has no benefit. Another concern in the debate of including children in disputes is that the child may not want to become involved for fear of feeling responsible for the outcome, and causing hurt to their parent. Furthermore, some children withhold theirtrue feelings as they fear their parents may get upset with what they say, and therefore should not be placed in such a position (Brown, 1996),.

Thirdly, research conducted by Kelly (2003) and Saposnek (2004) indicates that not all children essentially want or need their voice to be heard. They point out that unless a child specifically makes a request to voice their opinion, there is no reason to do so. Research reported from McIntosh (2007) also claims that children would not benefit from being included in the separation process in certain circumstances – where there is high conflict between the parents, including previous allegations of domestic violence, or mental health issues. This is due to the power and control issues one parent may have over the other, or the child.

Involving the child;
Mediation:

Mediation has been used for decades as an alternative to court processes, in separation and divorce proceedings (Folberg, Milne and Salem, 2004). Mediation provides parties with an alternative to the traditional adversarial approach, by introducing a neutral third-party to assist in reaching agreement about the child(ren) (Birnbaum, 2009). Children are therefore more likely to benefit emotionally and socially from parental cooperation. However, children’s involvement in the mediation process is relatively new (Austin, Jaffe, and Hurley, 1991). A child’s participation in mediation varies from country to country. Saposnek (2004) indicates that children’s direct participation in mediation only occurred in 4%-47% of cases across public and private sectors, in the United Kingdom, the US and Australia. This illustrates that despite adults finding an advantage to mediation, children continue to remain the silent majority, with their parents making decisions. It can therefore be understood that this may leave the child feeling powerless, and disempowered by the process (Birnbaum, 2009).

The differing attitudes over whether to incorporate children in mediation are similar to those who debate on the overall process of including children in divorce and separation decisions – the child right’s versus shielding them from emotional harm (Elrod, 2007).

The Child and Legal Proceedings:

As mentioned above, within Northern Ireland there are contradictory principles on the inclusion of children in the public and private legal systems. Children within public law proceedings have a guardian and a separate legal representative to advocate on their behalf in court, but children within private law proceedings are not contributors to the process and have no direct involvement (Timms, 2003). “Northern Ireland stands apart from the United Kingdom for having no legislative provision for the separate representation of children in specific private law proceedings” (COAC, 2005b cited in Weatherall and Duffy, 2008: 279). According to Weatherall and Duffy (2008: 279) this is interesting considering there were “2,186 Children Order applications brought to Court between January and June 2007, of which 1,925 were private law cases and only 261 were public law cases” and public law children were represented separately.

The concerns about children becoming involved in private law proceedings originate from the Human Rights Act 1998 (Article 8) which states that an adherence is needed in respect for private and family life, with minimal state intervention, unless deemednecessary for the protection of others. However, Timms (2003) argues that due to the number of children involved in private law proceedings, compared to public law proceedings, there needs to be a balance found between minimal state intervention and the protection of vulnerable children. Some researchers suggest that children’s voices are being silenced by traditional reluctance to interfere in private and family life, causing concern that some children are being forced to remain quiet in situations of violence, neglect or child abuse, due to a lack of appropriate representation (Radford et al, 1999 cited in Weatherall and Duffy, 2008).

The differentiation between public and private law proceedings is not recognised in other countries, such as Scotland, Canada, and Australia with children being seen as having independent rights with an important emphasis placed on having their wishes and feelings ascertained, in legal separation disputes (Timms et al., 2007). This is worth considering in order to examine the effectiveness of our court processes compared to other systems.

Child and Parental Perspective:

As a Court Children’s Officer (social worker) based in Belfast Family Proceedings Court I had a range of experience working with parents and children during private law proceedings. My role was to adhere to the Children (NI) Order 1995 to provide Article 4 reports to the court, when directed to do so. This was to provide the court with any welfare concerns for the child and/or the child’s wishes and feelings having contact or residing with a parent. To provide Article 4 reports the Court Children’s Team first had to receive a court direction to do so, and not all cases requested the CCO to ascertain the child’s wishes and feelings separately from the parents. Other roles, through a court direction, included parental conciliation, mediation, and contact observation for the welfare of the child. In cases where there had been previous social services involvement, the article 4 request was transferred to the appropriate social work team in Belfast for further involvement.

Through working with children and parents through the court process I was able to ascertain their perspectives on separation disputes and court processes.

Child E (14), who had recently moved in with his father, following the separation of his parents, stipulated that he did not understand the court process and would like someone to explain how it would affect him. He continually requested that he wanted limited contact with his mother (maximum two days per week), due to frequent arguments, yet the court continually directed more contact with his mother, and he could not understand why. I feel through this case and others that children are not being listened to, despite their wishes and feelings being ascertained.

Child G (12) expressed that he was told “not to interfere” by his parents, as they had already came to an agreement about contact arrangements. The child articulated that he was concerned about the arrangements, as he wanted to take part in other activities on the same days, with his friends. This is cause for concern as contact arrangements in this case suited the interests of the parents, as opposed to the child. This created anxiety for the child, and as a result the child refused to attend contact, so the case returned to court.

The above cases represent just two of the children I had the privilege of working with during my practice placement, but both represent, the need for the child to be involved in court proceedings and listened to when they express their wishes.

Parents, however, display relief and satisfaction with the court children’s team involvement in private law disputes. This is due to a neutral third party mediating between parties to discuss unresolved issues. Many parents have expressed thankfulness for the service, as it helped them to focus on their children, as opposed to “hear say” about one another, from other people. Thankfully, then, many parents do begin to work together to consider their child’s needs, without the continual intervention of a CCO, or constant court proceedings.

When asking parents how they would improve the service, most claimed they would like continuous mediation, and the opportunity to discuss issues of separation as an ongoing process, with a neutral third party.

When gaining child feedback about speaking with me as a CCO, Child G expressed that it was nice to have someone to listen to whathe wanted.

Service Provider Perspective:

Through the help of my manager and research conducted for this project, I have identified criticisms and gaps in the court children’s service, and provided recommendations on how these can be addressed, to better facilitate service users;

1.Time restraints for involvement due to the court process – In my experience, the CCO service had limited time to gather appropriate information about the families involved. Weatherall and Duffy (2008: 287) explain that “the danger for Article 4 work is that the meaningful engagement that promotes cooperation for full assessment and therapeutic potential is encroached by time pressures.” This then provides difficulties in building a relationship with a child and gaining their trust, to be able to express their wishes and feelings about contact or residence issues. Limited assessment of the child and family may also pose risks and potential significant oversights.

However, due to the “no delay” principle applied to the courts through the Children (NI) Order 1995, it may not be feasible to carry out lengthy assessments that may delay proceedings.

Recommendation 1: What is necessary is that decisions for children are reached through appropriate information gathering and careful consideration. A child should be assessed appropriately, but if support services are needed, CCO’s should be permitted to make referrals to other organisations.

2.The majority of the court children’s officer’s time is spent with parents – In my experience, the central role of the CCO was to mediate and conciliate between parties to help reach agreement about the child. It is assumed that by helping the parties agree, will therefore benefit the child as less conflict will occur, through better cooperation for contact arrangements. However, this leaves a critique to be made in respect of “acting in the child’s best interests”, or on the agenda of the parents (Weatherall and Duffy, 2008). Child oppression can therefore be implied, if the child’s feelings are assumed on the basis of their parent’s point of view.

Recommendation 2: Children should be given the opportunity to take part in mediation. All children involved in private law proceedings should be given the opportunity to have a third party involved to represent their wishes and feelings.

3.The consideration of the welfare of all children involved in private legal proceedings – Only a minority of children are involved with the court welfare service, as it is directed by the court. This indicates that the majority of children are not involved, and remain silent through their parent’s decisions. This poses two significant risks to these children;

a) Social service safeguards are not implemented to assess child welfare – i.e. to indicate previous instances of domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, in order to protect the child. “Domestic violence is present in 50% of cases whichrequire Article 4 reports” (Timms, 2003: 165) and safety needs to be addressed for children during contact.

b) The child remains powerless and oppressed by not being involved in decisions made about them.

Recommendation 3: Children through private legal proceedings should have the right to separate legal representation by a third party, to ensure their needs, wishes and feelings are being met, and welfare is protected.

Recommendation 4: Social services should carry out checks to ensure no previous cases of child abuse or domestic violence have occurred, when the welfare of the child is questioned.

4.Lack of support services available to children following parental separation – Through my own experience it is evident that any work completed with the child is for the production of an Article 4 report. This lack of time provision and nature of involvement does not supply the child with any level of intervention or understanding of parental separation. Weatherall and Duffy (2008: 288) express that “in light of research findings indicating the short-term and long-term effects of parental separation on children, it is concerning that the need for therapeutic services is seldom considered” in private law proceedings.

Recommendation 5: Provide children and families with the opportunity to seek therapeutic support services, further mediation, and person centred work for parental separation. The Court Children’s Team could have the opportunity to provide these provisions with a further expansion of the service.

5.Public Law versus Private Law:As highlighted above, the Children (NI) Order 1995 amalgamated public and private legislation in relation to children, yet the processes for listening to the child still remain entirely contradictory. Children are separately represented in public law cases, despite fewer children being involved; therefore, children involved in private proceedings do not have the same rights as their counterparts, in terms of representation or service provision (Weatherall and Duffy, 2008).

Recommendation 6: The conflicting rights of the child through public and private law should be addressed. Children should have equal rights to represent their views. In Northern Ireland specifically, I would recommend government policy development, and further social service provision to protect vulnerable children in private law proceedings.

Recommendation 7: Involve children as participants in private law proceedings, as opposed to them remaining silent in the majority of cases. This would promote ethical practice, partnership and anti-oppressive procedures.

Conclusion

What I have tried to identify within this Evidence Based Project is to highlight that children’s voices are an important aspect in the separation process between parents. This is evidenced from practitioners and experts through legislation, policy, and research. Regardless ofhow children’s wishes and feelings are ascertained, what remains important is that childrenare acknowledged and listened to. This is not only good, ethical practice, but also helps to promote anti-oppressive practice and partnership with the child. The debate between researchers regarding children’s inclusion continues, but what should remain important is that parents are further encouraged to have better relationships, and helped to focus on what is important – the needs of their children throughout the process of separation.

The Children (NI) Order 1995 merged public and private law, but what seems to remain is its conflicting views of children. In Northern Ireland there are approximately two thousand children every year who are unrepresented through private law proceedings. To provide them with separate representation, from that of their parents, would offer an independent person to represent their feelings, not only acting in the child’s best interests, but addressing some of theConvention’s rights of the child.The differentiation between public and private law only seems to be evident in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, so perhaps conducting research into international successes is what is needed to gain consistency locally.

Throughout this project I have identified that not only does research, policy and legislation support the inclusion of children, children themselves express to be involved in the processes. In Northern Ireland there seems to be a lack of consistency in children’s law, and there is no current policy that seems to be addressing the needs of children suffering family breakdown. This needs to be tackled multi-disciplinarily if we are to protect and support children. The Court Children’s Service could address some of the children’s needs, if the service was expanded, and provided with new policy and legislation

Children Of Parents Who Misuse Alcohol Or SubstancesIntroduction

It is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 300,000 children in England and Wales where one or both parents have serious drug problems. Research and local knowledge have shown that substance and alcohol misuse in parents or pregnant women can have a significant impact on parenting and increase risk, especially for babies and younger children (Hidden harm 2003). This does not mean that parents who experience substance / alcohol misuse are poor parents. However the impact of substance misuse problems can, on some occasions lead to children and families needing additional support; or in a small number of cases support and multi agency disciplinary action to prevent significant harm.

The most effective assessment and support comes through good information sharing, joint assessment of need, joint planning, professional trust within the interagency network and joint action in partnership with families.

These guidelines apply whenever there are professional concerns about the wellbeing or safety of children whose parents or carers have substance/ alcohol misuse problems, specifically where these difficulties are impacting, or are likely to impact, on their ability to meet the needs of their children. These guidelines also apply to professionals working with pregnant women who have substance/ alcohol misuse problems, where their partners are known to have substance/alcohol problems or where someone with substance misuse problems is living in a household where children are present.

Aims

2.1. To increase the professional’s understanding of the impact of an adult’s substance misuse problems on children’s lives.

2.2. To enable universal and specialist services to improve their identification of children in need where adult substance/alcohol misuse is a problem

2.3. To enhance the provision of co-ordinated services to families in which there are dependant children of parents, carers or pregnant women with substance/ alcohol misuse problems.

Principles

3.1. All those who come into contact with children, their parents and families in their everyday work have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

3.2. Parents, carers and pregnant women with substance/ alcohol misuse problems have the right to be supported in fulfilling their parental roles and responsibilities.

3.3. A multi agency approach to assessment and service provision is in the best interest of children and their parents/ carers.

3.4. Risk is reduced when information is shared effectively across agencies.

3.5. Risk to children is reduced through effective multi agency and multi disciplinary working.

3.6. While many parents, carers and pregnant women with substance/ alcohol abuse problems safeguard their children’s well being, children’s life chances may be limited or threatened as a result of these factors, and professionals need to consider this possibility.

Identifying The Need Of Children, Their Parents Or Carers, Or Pregnant Women With Substance/ Alcohol Misuse Problems

4.1. The birth of any new child changes relationships and often brings new pressures to parents. Agencies need to be sensitive and responsive to the changing needs of parents with substance/ alcohol misuse problems.

4.2. Parents, carers or pregnant women with substance / alcohol misuse problems may have difficulties which impact on their ability to meet the needs of their children, unborn child or new baby.

4.3. The adverse effects of alcohol/substance misuse on children are typically multiple and cumulative and will vary according to the child’s stage of development. They may include fetal alcohol syndrome, failure to thrive, blood-borne virus infections; incomplete immunisation and otherwise inadequate health care; a wide range of emotional, cognitive, behavioural and other psychological problems; early substance misuse and offending behaviour; and poor education attainment. These can range greatly in severity or may often be subtle and difficult to detect.

4.4. There is growing evidence to suggest that children often take on a caring role in families where there is parental drug or alcohol use. In some cases, it is particularly hard for children to cope with one or more parents with drug or alcohol dependency and they need help and support.

4.5. The risk of harm to the child may be reduced by effective treatment and support for the affected parent(s) and by other factors such as the presence of at least one other consistent, caring adult; a stable home with adequate financial resources; maintenance of family routines and activities; and regular attendance at a supportive school.

Guidelines For Referral And Assessment For Pregnant Women With Substance/ Alcohol Misuse Problems

5.1 All agencies are responsible for identifying pregnant women with substance/ alcohol misuse problems who may be in need of additional services and support.

5.2. When a professional identifies a pregnant women experiencing substance/ alcohol misuse problems an assessment must be undertaken to determine what services she requires. This must include gathering relevant information from her GP, PDAC, the Midwifery service, in addition to any other agencies involved, to ensure that the full background is obtained about any existing or previous diagnosis, or treatment for mental illness.

5.3. Consideration must be given to the impact and harm continued substance misuse has on an unborn child. Where this assessment identifies that a pregnant woman has substance / alcohol misuse problems a referral must be made to Powys Children’s services for a pre-birth assessment.

5.4. Where the need for a referral is unclear, this must be discussed with a line manager or the Safeguarding Children’s Team. If a referral is not made this must be clearly documented. Staff should ensure that all decisions and the agreed course of action are signed and dated. Section 10 gives guidelines in relation to assessment of risk.

5.5. A pre-birth assessment should be undertaken on all pre birth referrals and a multi agency meeting held to share information. If a pre-birth multi agency meeting is not needed this must be endorsed by a manager and the reason for the decision clearly recorded on the agency’s records.

Guidance For Referral To Pdac

6.1. In the case of pregnant women where there is evidence of problematic use of illicit, proprietary or prescribed drugs or alcohol, agencies becoming aware of the evidence should initially discuss the benefits of a referral to PDAC with the individual. If there is agreement referral should then be made to the appropriate area office of PDAC. This referral may be made initially by phone, but should be followed up immediately with a written referral. In the event that the woman is already a client of PDAC it would be appropriate to confirm that the pregnancy is known to them.

In the event of a woman refusing to agree to a referral being made it is the responsibility of the agency to consider whether a referral can be made without consent on Child Protection grounds. This would need to be subject of discussions between all the appropriate agencies – Children’s Services, Police, Health etc. PDAC will always be willing to discuss the appropriateness of referral prior to formal contact being made.

Guidance For Referral To Powys Children’s Services

A referral for an initial assessment to Children’s services must always be made if a parent carer or pregnant woman is considered to have significant substance/ alcohol problems. A referral should be discussed with a line manager.

NB If a child is in immediate danger then a referral to the police/social services should be made.

Partnership Working

Assessment and identification of parents, carers and children’s needs for services is not a static process. The assessment should also inform future work and build in an evaluation of the progress and effectiveness of any intervention.

Where more than one agency continues to be involved in a joint assessment or provision of services for parents or carers with substance misuse problems, and their children, regular review dates must be set to jointly review the situation and to ensure that interagency work continues to be co-ordinated. Each agency should document their own actions and responsibilities clearly and also the roles and responsibilities of other agencies.

References

All Wales Child Protection Procedures

Children Act 1989

Children Act 2004

DOH (2000). Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families.

Hidden Harm (ACMD) 2003

Appendix A
Guidelines For Professionals For Assessing Risk When Working With Drug Using Parents

The following assessment guidelines were developed by the Standing Conference on Drug Abuse (SCODA) [May 1997] to assist professionals in identifying children who may be in need or at risk as a result of parental substance/ alcohol misuse. They should be used as guidelines in the holistic assessment of the family.

Parental Drug Use

1. Is there a drug free parent, supportive partner or relative?

2. Is the drug use by the parent Experimental? Recreational? Chaotic? Dependent?

3. Does the user move between categories at different times? Does the drug use also involve alcohol?

4. Are levels of childcare different when a parent is using drugs and when not using?

5. Is there any evidence of coexistence of mental health problems alongside the drug use? If there is, do the drugs cause these problems, or have these problems led to the drug use?

Accommodation And The Home Environment

6. Is the accommodation adequate for children?

7. Are the parents ensuring that the rent and bills are paid?

8. Does the family remain in one area or move frequently, if the latter, why?

9. Are other drug users sharing the accommodation? If they are, are relationships with them harmonious, or is there conflict?

10. Is the family living in a drug using community?

11. If parents are using drugs, do children witness the taking of the drugs, or other substances?

12. Could other aspects of the drug use constitute a risk to children (e.g. conflict with or between dealers, exposure to criminal activities related to drug use)?

13. Is there adequate food, clothing and warmth for the children?

14. Are the children attending school regularly?

15. Are children engaged in age-appropriate activities?

16. Are the child’s emotional needs being adequately met?

17. Are there any indications that any of the children are taking on a parenting role within the family (e.g. caring for other children, excessive household responsibilities etc)?

Procurement Of Drugs

18. Are the children left alone while their parents are procuring drugs?

19. Because of their parent’s drug use are the children being taken to places where they could be “at risk”?

20. How much are the drugs costing?

21. How is the money obtained?

22. Is this causing financial problems?

23. Are the premises being used to sell drugs?

24. Are parents allowing their premises to be used by other drug users?

Provision Of Basic Needs
Health Risks

25. If drugs and/or injecting equipment are kept on the premises, are they kept securely?

26. Are the children aware of where the drugs are kept?

27. If parents are intravenous drug users:

Do they share injecting equipment?

Do they use a needle exchange scheme?

How do they dispose of syringes?

Are parents aware of the health risks of injecting or using drugs?

28. If parents are on a substitute prescribing programme, such as methadone:

Are parents aware of the dangers of children accessing this medication?

Do they take adequate precautions to ensure this does not happen?

29. Are parents aware of, and in touch with, local specialist agencies who can advise on such issues such as needle exchanges, substitute prescribing programmes, detox and rehabilitation facilities? If they are in touch with agencies, how regular is the contact?

Family Social Network And Support Systems

30. Do parents and children associate primarily with:

Other drug users?

Non-users?

Both?

31. Are relatives aware of the drug use? Are they supportive?

32. Will parents accept help from the relatives and other agencies?

Parents’ Perception Of The Situation

33. The degree of social isolation should be considered particularly for those parents living in remote areas where resources may not be available and they may experience social stigmatisation.

Do the parents see their drug use as harmful to themselves or to their children?

Do the parents place their own needs before the needs of their children?

Are the parents aware of the legislative and procedural context applying to their circumstances, (e.g. child protection procedures, statutory powers?

Children with Learning Disabilities.

Introduction:
A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to process and respond to information. The term ‘learning disability’ describes the unexplained difficulty of person in acquiring basic academic skills of learning, although the person may be of average or above average intelligence. A person with learning disabilities may not have any major sensory problems like blindness or hearing impairment and yet struggle to keep up with people of their age in functions of learning and regular daily activities. However LD is not a single disorder but a group of disorders and as several social and legislative implications. In this essay we discuss the social implications of having learning disability and the policy frameworks that are in place to counter any anti-discriminatory practice against individuals with this condition.

Learning Disability – Issues, Causes and Approaches
When a person suffers from learning disabilities, there may be a distinct difference between the levels of achievement and the expectations of achievement and several difficulties in dealing with daily activities are manifested in different ways in different people. Difficulties in learning and achievement may be manifested through various phases of development and individuals also show difficulties in social and emotional skills and general behaviour. Learning disabilities in a person can affect a person’s basic skills of listening, comprehension, writing, reading, speaking, reasoning or calculating (Brown, 2003; Geary 2005). Since learning disability is not a disease but possibly a genetically inherited or environmentally caused group of disorders and there are no cures for the conditions though it can controlled using identification, accommodation and modification. Identification is the recognition of the condition in the individuals so that adequate support from parents, teachers, doctors and others in contact can be provided. Seeking help from school or a learning specialist may also be recommended for complicated cases. Depending on the type of learning disability, severity and the person’s age, different kinds of assistance can be provided. They also have right to assistance in the classroom and at school and workplace with special employment and educational benefits (Thompson, 1998).

From a legislative perspective, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, people of all ages with learning disabilities are entitled to assistance and should be protected from all discrimination. This is also stated in the DDA or Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (UK) which forbids any discrimination based on disability. Thus the process of anti-discriminatory practice with regard to disability in universally accepted and has been a concern worldwide for social scientists, doctors and social workers alike (also see Thompson, 2001).

The causes of learning disabilities may be various and range from hereditary causes that are genetic. This is seen when learning difficulties run in the family and are found in many family members and sometimes people with learning difficulties may have parents or other relatives in the family with similar difficulties. The use of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy and complications such as low birth weight, lack of oxygen and premature or prolonged labour can cause brain damage and learning difficulties. Incidents after birth such as head injuries, nutritional deprivation, or exposure to toxic substances just after birth can cause or contribute to learning disabilities (Brown, 2003; Smith 2005). Instruction and support are planned for such individuals and this involves help from specialists as well as family members and carers.

The Department of Health in the UK suggests that there are around 160,000 adults with severe and profound learning disabilities most of whom are living initially in their family homes and later on in appropriate residential accommodation. Research also suggests that between 0.45% and 0.6% of children will have a moderate to severe learning disability. This suggests that there are between 55,000 and 75,000 children with a moderate to severe learning disability, the majority of whom live at home with one or two parents within England (DoH, 2002). The research studies indicate that LD is not caused by economic disadvantage but harmful exposures to tobacco, alcohol or toxic substances at the early stages of development can be prevalent in low income communities and trigger learning difficulties in developing children.

LD can be tackled or controlled and does not necessarily stop a person from achieving goals set. If the condition is properly identified, help and support are also available for special educational or professional needs. However learning difficulties do not affect all individuals in similar way and different people might be affected differently with the condition ranging from mild to severe (Gates et al, 1997). People may even have more than one type of learning difficulty and one third of people with LD also show some sort of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and such associated conditions makes it difficult for these people to concentrate on any subject matter or to stay focused and manage attention in specific tasks leading to inability to learn, remember or pay attention.

Learning disabilities in Children is a special area of study as children with learning difficulties should be identified early at school to provide them with special provisions and aids. Thus early identification helps in recognising needs of such children to help them academically, socially and psychologically (Brown, 2003). If children display signs of learning disabilities or attention deficits and inability to learn or concentrate, it is advisable to contact school authorities who can provide for special needs of such children (Cambridge et al, 2005). Thus the way a child develops learning skills, language skills, motor coordination and social skills and behaviour should all be observed carefully as any symptoms of an LD should be detected early to avoid problems in the child’s life and adequate support should be provided (Gates et al, 1997). Yet not all children who are slow learners develop learning disabilities and may develop certain skills gradually. If children do show learning disabilities symptoms, early intervention with specialised teachings strategies can help overcome difficulties for the children .Thus parents, and relatives or physicians of such children should help the children to understand that if they are struggling with their problems, help is not far away. Children with LD are subject to special legislative and social protection that emphasizes the necessity for provisions of special educational help and assistance at schools and social situations.

Studies on LD – Theories and Policies
From a more theoretical perspective Geary (2005) has discussed the role of cognitive theory in explaining learning disability in children. Basic research in mathematical disabilities is still in its nascent phase but the problem can be identified and the concepts used for remediation. Geary emphasizes the need for close links between theoretical and empirical research to understand the development of children’s numerical, arithmetical, and mathematical competencies and general research on learning disabilities in mathematics. Thus empirical research can help in transforming experimental procedures to judge such problems into assessment measures and understand the roots of the problems through cognitive theory using the appraisals of cognitive strengths and weaknesses of children with different forms of learning disability and developing remedial approaches based on the patterns of these strengths and weaknesses for individual children.

In another study Eisenmajer et al (2005) specify the characteristics of learning disabilities separating specific reading disabilities (SRD) and specific language impairments (SLI) and argue that many children who were tested for either SRD or SLI tend to demonstrate impairments both in reading and oral language development. The authors point out that there is a need to compare profiles of children with both oral language and reading impairments to groups of children showing SRD and SLI. To this effect, in a study conducted by Eisenmajer et al, reading, oral language, phonological processing, spelling, short-term auditory memory, and maths abilities of 151 children from 7-12 years were assessed in a Learning Disabilities Clinic. Within the groups, children who demonstrated either a specific reading disability or a specific language impairment and children who showed evidence of both reading and oral language impairments were compared and identified.

The results showed differences between the groups on maths, phonological processing, short-term auditory memory, and spelling measures, with the children who had both language and reading deficits performing at a lower level in these areas than the children with specific either reading or language deficits. The study concluded that children with both the disabilities are more likely to show difficulties in a wide range of learning activities than children who show either language impairment or a reading disability. Thus careful screening has been recommended in clinical and research settings that can accurately identify the nature of deficits in children with reading and oral language difficulties. A third category of children with mixed patterns of readings and language difficulties are identified.

One of the major areas of study is accessibility to health services and special educational services for disabled children. Wharton et al (2005) identified and studied mixed concerns about the accessibility of the general National Health Service (NHS) services for children with disabilities after recording conversations of members of a parent-run support organization. Representatives from a parent run support organisation prepared a questionnaire, aimed at examining the main issues related to general health services for children with disabilities and the questionnaires were administered as part of a semi-structured interview with 25 parents of children with disabilities (mainly showing learning disabilities). The 8 themes on which the questionnaire was based were ‘preparation’, ‘flexibility’, ‘parking’, ‘physical space’, ‘waiting areas and consultation rooms’, ‘health professionals’ understanding and knowledge of disabilities, particularly around communication’, ‘on the wards’ and ‘overseeing care’ and such areas of services provided by the NHS. The themes were then presented with the parents’ comments and suggestions and a general improvement of services for children with disabilities provided by the NHS has been recommended.

Considering governmental support for such individuals, a report by Foundation of People with Learning Disabilities, argues ‘because of the lack of employment opportunities, most people with learning disabilities in the UK are still considered “economically inactive”….they rely on benefits, such as Income Support (IS) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA), as well as other non-disability specific benefits like educational or special needs support’. (FPLD, 2005).

There has been a call for policy changes and need for the Government to consider a radical reform, including abandoning ‘incapacity’ as an organising principle and benefit seeking criterion and replacing it with compensation for ‘disadvantage in the labour market’ (FPLD, 2005). This approach can help remove inherent contradiction between move or looking to work and receiving protection offered by the special benefit status as many fear that any form of job can actually threaten benefit status. This sort of approach is also important from an anti-discriminatory perspective and the recently passed Disability Discrimination Act, 2005 strengthens existing regulations and adds new protection for the disabled.

The 2005 Act widens the definition of disability, extends protection offered to a larger group of people with mental health difficulties, places new duties on all public bodies, including schools, requiring them to promote positive attitudes towards disabled people and encourage their participation in public life; strengthens tenants’ rights to make reasonable, disability related alterations to their homes; improves disabled people’s access to trains and buses, including an end-date for modifications of 2020; and extends provision to private clubs of 25 or more members, including political parties (DDA, 2005). This Act is thus a step forward in anti-discriminatory practice and aims at inclusion of disabled individuals within mainstream society.

The Department of Health Learning Disability Task Force has emphasised on ‘Rights, independence, choice and inclusion’ for disabled individuals (DoH, 2005). Thus inclusion or active social participation is at the core of governmental and social policies to help children with learning disabilities lead a healthy independent life with considerable respect and attention from friends, family and society at large.

Conclusion:

In this essay we discussed the aetiology and signs of learning disability suggesting why an early diagnosis is important in providing equal rights and opportunities to a disabled individual. The social policies, frameworks and governmental initiatives as well as social work perspectives to counter any discrimination against such individuals have been discussed considering reports, legislative documents and research studies. We have highlighted the need for more inclusive policies, support in schools and identification and accommodation of children with learning disabilities to counter any discriminatory measures against such individuals.

Bibliography

Dalrymple J. and Burke B (1995)

Anti Oppressive Practice – Social Care and the Law

Buckingham Open University Press

N. Thompson (2001)

Anti-Discriminatory practice

3rd Ed. London,

Palgrave

N. Thompson (1998)

Promoting Equality

London Macmillan Press Limited.

Learning disability : a handbook for integrated care / edited by Michael Brown.
Salisbury : APS, 2003.

Dimensions of learning disability / edited by Bob Gates and Colin Beacock.
Publisher/year
London : Baillie?re Tindall, 1997.

Cambridge, Paul; Forrester-Jones, Rachel; Carpenter, John; Tate, Alison; Knapp, Martin; Beecham, Jennifer; Hallam, Angela
The State of Care Management in Learning Disability and Mental Health Services 12 Years into Community Care
British Journal of Social Work, Volume 35, Number 7, 1 October 2005, pp. 1039-1062(24)
Oxford University Press

Eisenmajer, Natasha; Ross, Nola; Pratt, Chris
Specificity and characteristics of learning disabilities
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, Volume 46, Number 10, October 2005, pp. 1108-1115(8)
Blackwell Publishing

Geary, David C.
Role of Cognitive Theory in the Study of Learning Disability in Mathematics
Journal of Learning Disabilities, Volume 38, Number 4, July/August 2005, pp. 305-305(1)
Pro-Ed

Smith, L. A.; Williams, J. M.
Developmental differences in understanding the causes, controllability and chronicity of disabilities
Child: Care, Health and Development, Volume 31, Number 4, July 2005, pp. 479-488(10)
Blackwell Publishing

Wharton, Sarah; Hames, Annette; Milner, Helen
The accessibility of general NHS services for children with disabilities
Child: Care, Health and Development, Volume 31, Number 3, May 2005, pp. 275-282(8)
Blackwell Publishing

Also see
www.dh.gov.uk – Learning Disabilities publications, 2002.
Leaning Disabilities Taskforce, 2005.

FPLD, 2005 –
Foundation of people with learning disabilities
www.learningdisabilities.org.uk

DDA – Disability Discrimination Act, 2005 from
www.disability.gov.uk/

With an apparent increase in the number of children born to parents experiencing mental illness many issues have been raised concerning parenting capacity and the welfare and development of these children. This has many implications for social work practice in both Children’s Teams and Community Mental Health Teams and also for future policy development and service provision. Within this dissertation it is my intention to explore that the mentally ill are indeed capable of parenting their children safely and effectively and attempt to disprove the suggestion that mentally ill parents are unsafe and incapable.

Adults with mental health problems are one of the most excluded groups in society, however many are also parents and may need support to care for their children safely (Garley et al 1997). This means that service provision must encompass the needs of both parents and their children and assessments must take into account the needs of both these vulnerable groups. The human cost for parents with mental ill health is in attempting to parent their children in the face of stigma and adversities. Social Workers do not only need to support these parents but they also need to challenge the stigmas and adversities perpetuated by society. Society has perceptions of people with mental illness and this is largely negative, with the greatest misunderstandings being the perceptions of the more severe mental health conditions. Severe mental health conditions such as schizophrenia although not as prevalent as the depressive disorders are thought to affect one in two hundred adults each year (Mental Health and Social Exclusion Report 2004) and these conditions have a wider impact on the lives of the family, friends and community.

It is widely recognised that one in four people of working age experience mental ill health at some point in their life, (Office for National Statistics 2008) but these problems can present in a variety of ways, depending upon the individual and their circumstances. What perhaps is most important to consider is how the person presents in relation to what is ‘normal’ for them. Any great changes in mood or behaviour can be important indicators of deterioration in mental health, but it is clear that it would be dangerous to view this in isolation. It is therefore important to recognise that we all may experience various degrees of mental difficulty at some point in our lifetime.

People with good mental health can; develop emotionally, creatively, intellectually and spiritually. They are able to initiate, develop and sustain mutually satisfying personal relationships; they can face problems, resolve and learn from them. They can be confident and assertive, are aware of others and have an ability to empathise; they can use and enjoy fun as well as laugh at themselves and the world. Good mental health is not something we have, but something that we do to take care of ourselves and value who we are as people (www.pmhcwn.org). However people experiencing mental illness do not always possess these attributes therefore need support to achieve wellness.

To make the distinction between people who have children and then develop a mental illness or those who have a diagnosed condition before they have children the focus will be on the experiences of those people with mental illness who become parents and so have already been living with their condition or diagnosis.

The aim of my dissertation will be to explore these issues by critically examining current research, practice, service provision and policy. This will be in the form of a literature based review where I want to question whether people with mental health issues can indeed parent their children safely. Firstly the Methodology used to assimilate the research will be examined with an explanation of the methods selected. Chapter One will define mental health, then focus on the historical context, policy and legislation and on the theories and approaches to ways of working considering the challenges that the social workforce face in supporting service users with mental health needs. Chapter Two will explore the experience of those parents with mental health problems; consider the capacity of people with mental health problems and the experiences of children of the mentally ill. This will be considered, from both a child’s and a parent’s perspective. Chapter Three will focus on the main themes to emerge from my research which are stigma, risk, resilience and attachment. The Results and Findings will be explored which will discuss the findings and present an overview of common themes which have emerged. The Conclusion will then draw together all the information gathered.

Methodology

When approaching this dissertation the decision was made to conduct a literature review of the research currently available. This was because mental health is an area of interest and combined with a placement in a children’s team, where it became obvious that many parents experience mental health issues it was an opportunity to combine the two areas. Previously the author has worked in a statutory provision which was a service supporting children and young people experiencing mental health issues and also had a placement in a community mental health team. All of these experiences have made the author inquisitive to the difficulties that parent’s encounter when attempting to take care of their children and the views of services of their abilities to do so.

The search strategy used to locate appropriate material was to consider the various terms used when thinking about parental mental illness. Therefore a decision was made to search for the following terms; ‘parental mental illness’, ‘children living with the mental illness of parents’ and ‘capacity of parents with mental illness’. When further considering what needed to be learnt, the terms; ‘risk of children with mentally ill parents’ and ‘resilience of children with mentally ill parents’ were then explored as were ‘attachment of mentally ill parents’ and ‘stigma and mental health’. The concentration was on English speaking countries and so research was drawn together from Great Britain, Ireland, The United States of America and Australia. This was felt to be the most pertinent approach, as to broaden the search to further countries could create too much information and a difficulty in assimilating the research. Various databases were searched which included; Science Direct, Jstor and SwetsWise. The British Journal of Psychology, The British Journal of Social Work and Social Care Institute for Excellence proved to be invaluable as did the various mental health websites such as MIND. Government reports and Department of Health documentation added a further breadth to the research which was drawn together. This search produced a significant number of journal articles in the area which were appropriate for the purpose, and coupled with mental health websites and books on parenting capacity a rich variety of material was gathered. The information further obtained from legislation and policy documentation was also invaluable.

If there had been the time to explore this area in further detail it would have been suitable to have conducted a focus group amongst service users within the mental ill health community. From the research available it is clear that this research method was considered to be the most rewarding as service users felt the least threatened by the process (Garley et al 1997). It also garnered the most honesty from the participants and clarity of their experiences. They had felt safe in the knowledge that their recounting of their experiences would not be judged and their parenting abilities would be afforded due respect.

Another option could possibly have been to send out questionnaires to ascertain the level of support service user’s felt they were receiving from community mental health teams and children’s services. However this method may not have produced such a wealth of results as it would not have been a face to face intervention. When viewing research, non face to face approaches have sometimes not been as well responded to by prospective participants.

Chapter One

This chapter will focus on how mental illness is defined; look at the historical context of mental illness service provision, the legislation and policy documentation and approaches and theories to ways of working.

Defining Mental Illness

Mental illness can affect one in four adults of working age at some point in their life, according to the World Health Foundation (2001). This demonstrates how prevalent mental illness is within our communities and how anyone can be affected by it at some point in their lifetime. However mental illness is defined by society in a variety of ways; there is the legal definition, clinical definitions and popular public misconceptions. This section’s aim is to identify the three definitions of mental illness when considering the legal, clinical and public meanings.

Mental disorder is defined in a legal context as “arrested or incomplete development of mind, psychopathic disorder or any other disorder or disability of the mind” (www.yourrights.org.uk). There are various definitions of mental health and amongst these the Mental Health Act 1983 offers three different definitions for mental disorder: severe mental impairment, which is defined as “a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning and is associated with abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the person concerned” (Mental Health Act 1983, Part 1). Mental impairment, which is defined as “a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind (not amounting to a severe mental impairment) which includes severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning and is associated with abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the person concerned” ( MHA 1983, Part 1). Then psychopathic disorder which is defined as “a persistent disorder or disability of mind (whether or not including significant impairment of intelligence) which results in abnormally aggressive or seriously irresponsible conduct on the part of the person concerned” ( MHA 1983, Part 1). However the 2007 Mental Health Act amendments changes the way the 1983 act defines mental disorder, so that a single definition applies throughout and abolishes references to categories of disorder( MHA 2007)

The clinical definition comes from ICD-10, which is the International Classification of Diseases which was approved by the forty-third World Health Assembly in May 1990 and came into use in World Health Organisation member countries as from 1994. It is the international model for diagnostic categorisation of all general epidemiological conditions and health management. Within the ICD-10 there is classification of mental illness and mental disorders and this is used by clinicians to diagnose and therefore treat those people with mental illness. The foremost definition used is that ” any of various psychiatric conditions, usually characterised by impairment of an individual’s normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioural functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors” (ICD-10 Chapter V).

When considering the public perceptions of mental illness, what is clear are the many negative perceptions of mental illnesses and disorders. The stigma that goes along with being labelled as having a mental illness can have far reaching consequences and needs to be challenged as a social injustice for this group (Cleaver et al 1999). Stigma is largely a social construct, in that society reacts negatively as a result of being fed sensationalist stories by the media. The Mental Health Knowledge Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry within the Maudsley Clinic London aims to promote change in public perception by addressing attitudes towards mental health conditions. The aim is that this will be achieved through ongoing public engagement activities and providing information for friends, families and carers of those with mental illness. Also initiatives such as World Mental Health Day endeavour to change public perceptions by bringing the conditions into the public arena.

People experiencing mental disorders are often excluded from some societal norms due to a lack of knowledge or fear on behalf of the community as the Mental Health and Social Exclusion Report of 2004 puts this “Mental health problems can be both a cause and a consequence of social exclusion” (Mental Health and Social Exclusion Report 2004 p11). What is known is that mental health problems can affect anyone at any point in their life. However the debates around the differing definitions of mental health are important to discuss in relation to exploring the issues for people with mental health problems who are also parents. Stereotypical views of people with mental illness are that they are violent, unstable, and irrational and therefore their abilities to parent are questionable. These perceptions have been perpetuated by an ignorant society and need to be challenged.

The Office for National Statistics has collected data to illustrate the prevalence of common mental health problems in the general population (see fig 1).

Figure 1: Office for National Statistics (2000) Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

According to the Office for National Statistics the average age of early onset psychosis is twenty-two, but up to half of mental health problems start in childhood. For men, the age at which common mental health problems peak is forty-five to forty-nine years and for women fifty-fifty-four years. When looking at the statistics in terms of gender prevalence, women experience higher rates of problems than men and their experiences tend to last longer with greater occurrences of relapse. However what is known is that young men aged twenty-five to thirty-four are the highest risk group for suicide (Office for National Statistics 2000).

Mental health illness is referred to in a variety of ways in the literature and research; therefore for the purposes of this paper, mental illness, mental ill health and mental health problems will be used interchangeably with the main emphasis being placed on the conditions of schizophrenia and psychosis rather than the depressive conditions.

Schizophrenia is a diagnosis given to some people who are experiencing severely disrupted beliefs and experiences. During an episode, a person’s experience and interpretation of the outside world is disrupted. They may experience hallucinations, lose touch with reality or see or hear things that are not there and act in unusual ways. An episode of schizophrenia can last for several weeks and can be very frightening (www.rethink.org). An episode of psychosis can be experienced in much the same way.

However to appreciate contemporary understanding of mental illness, the historical context needs to be explained and how parents have been viewed by society.

Historical Context

Historically those individuals who experience mental illness may be treated for their condition by their local General Practitioner in the local community, however those individuals who require more intensive interventions may fall under the support of The Mental Health Act 1983. Following years of the institutionalisation of individuals with mental health disorders came the Mental Health Act 1983, which made provision for these people to be supported in the community. This important legislation made provision for the safety and well being of those people experiencing mental distress. For the first time, mental illness was recognised as a condition that could be managed in the community and newly formed community mental health teams would be the people to assist. The Mental Health Act 1983 made provision for individuals needing treatment to be detained under section, which meant that they could be legally detained to ensure that appropriate treatment was administered either in the form of therapeutic intervention and or medication. This act was further amended in 2007, where one of the main amendments was to make provision for Community Treatment Order (CTO). This declared that a patient could be re-called for treatment in hospital if they had been discharged into the community and were not complying with the restrictions of their order.

Policies imposed by local authorities must work within the guidelines of both The Mental Health Acts 1983 and 2007 and The Children Act 1989 in conjunction with the Care Programme Approach 2008. These government laws state how the care and treatment of people with mental health and the care and protection of children should be managed. A comprehensive care plan should address all the issues around the person and allow for their ability to parent by assessing their parenting capacity.

Every Child Matters (2002) was one such provision developed to support children,” the main duties being to cooperate and improve well-being, and to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in England” (www.everychildmatters.gov.uk ). Every Child Matters was developed following Lord Laming’s report of 2002 which was implemented following Victoria Climbie’s death in 2000. He highlighted within his report that a lack of integrative working across the different services and agencies had contributed to Victoria’s death. Every Child Matters legislates for improving information sharing between agencies to ensure the safety of children known to local authorities and this would be done by reducing the technical difficulties with the different interfaces used by the diverse services (ECM 2002). A huge challenge to overcome with much work still needed in this area as health, education and social services remain largely fragmented (ECM 2002). To attempt to overcome this, a common assessment framework was devised across services to ensure the information followed each child and reducing the necessity for duplication of information. These tools were then used to ensure that if a parent came to the attention of mental health services then the worker would be able to instantly determine if their children were also known to children’s services.

Legislation and Policy Documentation

The National Service Framework for Mental Health, from the Department of Health (1999) document states that local authorities have a duty to provide effective services for people with mental illnesses. Its aim is for individuals, who may or may not be parents, with a severe mental illness to be able to access and receive the range of mental health services that they need and consequently crises will be anticipated and averted. Therefore even if a parent is considered to pose a threat to their child they should be maintained with parenting support in advance. The recommendation being that there will be the integration of health and social care services with a strong emphasis on Interprofessional collaboration and this joined up working will promote the active participation of service users.

The Mental Health and Social Exclusion Report of 2004 activated by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister detailed in action sixteen “better support for parents and their children” (Mental Health and Exclusion Report 2004 p105). This challenge was taken up by the Action Sixteen Group who would review its implementation. This body comprised of ;the Social Care Institute for Excellence, Barnardos, the Department of Health, National Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services Support Service, Family Action and the Mental Health Commission. This membership of the Action Sixteen Group brought together professionals who were dedicated to improving outcomes for parents affected by mental illness and their children. The key messages to emerge from their discussions were that the mental health services should ‘think family’ (www.scie.org.uk). This would be achieved by improved awareness, sharing of information across services and the development of resources for positive practice.

Action Sixteen worked together to review the existing provisions for parents with mental health needs, including the needs of mentally unwell parents who were also belonging to an ethnic minority group and or were also disabled parents. It determined that parents need to be enabled to lead fulfilling lives in the way that they chose. That sigma and discrimination must be challenged and the rights of parents must be promoted, social exclusion must be confronted through implementing evidence-based practice and getting the basics in order must be a priority (Fowler et al 2009). This means enabling mentally ill parents to have access to decent housing, advice on finance and benefits, training and employment. (Fowler et al 2009). All of this needs to be approached from an informed viewpoint and the most appropriate theories and ways of working considered.

Ways of Working

The challenges for the social work profession to assist mental health service users are immense, diverse and complex. When approaching work with any vulnerable service user group it is important for social workers to maintain their social work values and recommend a holistic approach to their interventions with families (GSCC codes of Practice 2002). This would mean balancing practical and emotional support, offering appropriate counselling and working in a therapeutic way to best support parents with mental health needs (Darlington et al 2005). As previously discussed parents with mental health issues may experience social exclusion or isolation and it is a challenge for social workers to support these individuals to maintain a more integrative life. They also need to be aware of the power relationship between those who provide and those who access mental health services and the disempowering consequences of being labelled a mental health service user (Williams and Keating 2000). Research studies have shown that it is a considerable challenge for people with mental illnesses to sustain and maintain social contacts and relationships (Huxley and Thornicroft 2003). Further research into this area as to how parents with mental illnesses can be encouraged to lead a more integrative life is needed.

The requirements for the social work workforce within the mental health sector are clear guidelines for working in an integrated team, with strong leadership and comprehensible policies to enable improved multi agency working. This is further challenged by maintaining and preserving the separate skill bases of each profession within a community mental health team. Community psychiatric nurses (CPN) have trained to specifically achieve a qualification, as indeed have their social work colleagues and the’ blurring’ of roles may create disquiet amongst individuals. With the new Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) role being made available to professionals from other disciplines this may create further challenges within multi-disciplinary working.

Only those professionals trained to become a health professional have the ability to administer medication and a large part of their role in working with the mentally ill is to ensure medication compliance. However medication is best supported if it works in conjunction with therapies (www.rethink.org) and the most recognised therapy to assist with mentally unwell individuals is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy was developed by Aaron Beck (1921- ) in the 1960’s as a psychological approach to assist people in changing how they thought and felt (Beck 1975). This approach is widely recognised today as the foremost ‘talking therapy’ when working with the mentally ill.

Any professional will need to approach working with a mentally ill service user from an informed position. The experiences of the vast majority of people with mental health problems are that they are labelled. Labelling theory was first applied to the term “mentally ill” in 1966 when Thomas Scheff’s book- Being Mentally Ill was published. Scheff’s claim was that mental illness perceptions needed to be challenged as mental illness was a social construction. He purports that no one is deviant and no action is deviant unless society deemed it to be so and that symptoms of mental illness are regarded as violations of societal norms (Scheff 1966), so to challenge society’s view of their perception of mental illness is one way to assist those with mental illness and the stigma they experience as a result of labelling.

When considering a parent with mental illness and the approaches to working with these individuals a holistic approach would appear to be the most pertinent to consider appropriate. This means taking into account the persons physical and spiritual health as well as their mental health needs (Hunt 2009). The Care Programme Approach is now recognised as the best way to do this. The Care Programme Approach 2008 or CPA as it is referred to within services is a way of developing a plan of work individualised to each person’s needs. The Care Programme Approach has four main elements as defined in “Building Bridges: A guide to arrangements for inter-agency working for the care and protection of severely mentally ill people” (DoH 1995 p1). It works by assessing a person’s needs and then developing a plan in response to those needs; the plan is then implemented and reviewed regularly to ensure that it is continuing to meet the individual’s needs (www.dh.gov.uk).

The latest development in policy implementation is New Horizons; a government program of action which has been launched to improve the mental well-being of people in England and drive up the quality of mental health care. New Horizons is a comprehensive initiative that will be delivered by local government, the voluntary sector and professionals with an aim of creating a society that values mental health. This will be achieved by ensuring the foundations of good mental health begin in childhood and continue through the lifespan, emphasising the importance of prevention as well as treatment and recovery (New Horizons 2009). All professionals will be encouraged to identify children whose parents may be experiencing difficulties and signpost them to appropriate services.

The next chapter will consider how policy and legislation works in supporting parents with mental ill health by considering their experiences, how their capacity is measured and how their children view both their parent’s illness and treatment.

Chapter Two

This chapter will focus on the experiences of parents with mental health problems, their ability to parent, their parenting capacity and the experiences of children of the mentally ill. The numbers of parents who experience mental health issues is not clear but it is estimated that in excess of thirty per cent of the population may be affected.

Experience of Parents with Mental Health Problems

When considering the research available, what is clear is that the focus has been mainly on the female experience as women were found to be the main caregivers, Nicholson et al (1998). In a study, using focus groups with mothers, to explore the problems they faced as a result of their mental illnesses Nicholson et al concluded that the experiences these mothers recounted detailed ” their concerns, their struggles and their successes” (Nicholson et al 1998 p 638). They discussed the anxiety of stigma and the worry of having their children removed by social services as well as the everyday struggles of looking after children (Nicholson et al 1998).

In a study, to explore the experiences of new mothers Mowbray et al (1995) found that motherhood was a role of great significance for many women with mental health problems. The mothers in their study articulated just how important the experience of being a mother was to them, the joy that it brought for them and the growth in personal development it produced (Mowbray et al 1995). What is known is that parenting is viewed by society as being highly valued and although this is a common thread to all societies and cultures, most perceptions are that parents with mental illness are viewed negatively, (Mowbray et al 1995). Furthermore as parents with mental health problems are de-valued by society and their parenting capacities and abilities are questioned they fear that their children will be removed from their care therefore they avoid contact with social services even if they are aware they need support. This all adds to the stress that parents experience in coping with their mental illness and the demands of parenting. Nicholson et al (1998) found that parents felt unable to ask for the support they may need due to the fear that social services would remove their children from their care. This was a great fear for the mothers in this study but further studies have also corroborated this, for example Cleaver et al (1998) reviewed data from research and discovered that forty- two per cent of children who were initially referred to child protection services following an assessment of their parent(s) mental health became subject to care proceedings. This indicates an equal fear on behalf of the professionals involved with parents with mental ill health, the need to protect balanced against the needs of the parent to maintain normal family life. Parents have therefore identified that they will be viewed as flawed by society and perhaps incapable of fulfilling one of society’s most treasured roles and have their parenting abilities and capacity questioned (Ackerson 2003).

Parenting Capacity

Parents with mental illness may have difficulty in caring for their children because they feel a need to focus on their own needs or are unable to recognise their children’s needs and this can impact on their parenting capacity. Other influences can also impact such as relationship breakdown, poverty, unemployment and social exclusion.

There is a real difficulty in attempting to establish just how many parents have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or psychosis although it is estimated that as many as nine million adults may have a mental health need (www.family-action.org.uk ) Many of these illnesses go undetected with some parents refusing to acknowledge that they have a problem for fear of the consequences for their children (Beardslee et al 1983). For many parents the greatest fear being the removal of their children by social services. This is largely due to much of the current service provision being aimed at protecting children considered to be at risk from harm rather than supporting mentally ill parents to overcome the disabilities that hinder their parenting role. This could be better supported by intervention before a risk to the child becomes apparent (Kearney et al 2003). This is in direct conflict with the Children Act 1989, which recommends that wherever possible parents should be supported to care for their own children at home. This all creates a culture of fear for parents, as they cannot be honest about what they are experiencing as this may result in the removal of their children. However what is known is that there is a significant number of parents whose children are known to social services have a mental health problem (Crossing Bridges 1998).

Having a mental illness can impact on the parents’ ability to care for their children in a variety of ways such as; being unable to provide food, clothing, shelter and warmth or indeed be able to keep their children safe from harm (White et al 1995). However if a parent makes what is perceived to be an unwise or eccentric decision this does not necessarily mean that they are lacking in capacity (Mental Capacity Act 2005).

All parents are expected to provide; a safe physical and a secure emotional environment for their children, they are expected to demonstrate appropriate behaviour and provide opportunitie

According to Butler and Roberts (2004), there is a vast contrast in the shape and size of families in Britain today, with a significant increase in the number of people living alone; in same sex relationships; the number of divorces; single parent families; and Black and Ethnic Minority families (Boylan and Allan, 2008). This paper will seek to explain the impact that social work practice can have on marginalized families and moreover, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) children and families.

Families who are in receipt of social work services may feel stigmatized by the visits of a social worker, far less than that of a health visitor and parents whose children have disabilities for example, may be offended by their inclusion on a register looked after by social services; and may also feel they are in receipt of ‘charity’ if such services are provided on a voluntary basis (Butler and Roberts, 2004). Aldgate and Statham (2001:73) found that parents value recognition of the circumstances surrounding their difficulties and the importance of respect for their different approaches to parenting and furthermore, that “parents respond well to being treated with dignity.” Butler and Roberts (2004:137) maintain that these values are “…what is needed to do the job, assuming that the job is one of helping families resolve their difficulties.” Banks (2006) emphasizes that every social worker needs to understand that personal and professional values can impact significantly upon children and families, with a need for an ongoing ability to scrutinise their own values (Banks, 2001).

It is unlikely that anyone would argue that parenting is not an occupation which is highly skilled and demanding; but considering the best practice to support families who are faced with difficulties is based around ‘partnership approaches’, which have the potential of developing particular relationships best suited to helping families solve their difficulties (Butler and Roberts, 2004). The strength of this method of social work lies at the heart of addressing the power imbalance between social worker and service user (Butler and Roberts, 2004) and as Coit (1978, in Butler and Roberts, 2004: 132) states: “partnership at a local level tends to mask structural inequalities and class antagonisms.” However, as Butler and Roberts point out, to achieve this requires a willingness of the social worker to think differently about their role with families, as they did in the past.

Social work practice before the introduction of the Children Act (1989) perceived families as needy and inadequate; it also adopted the concept of ‘dangerously dysfunctional’ families, which researchers in the 1980s became uncertain of the efficacy of that approach (Adams, Dominelli and Payne, 2009). The Children Act (1989) was by far a highly significant development in English law but contains “no magic cure for family problems,” as stated by (Allen, 2008: 1).

However, the 1989 Act’s legal framework, according to Adams, et al. (2009) set out clear expectations and principles that underpinned social work practice with children and families that included; the need for children to remain within their family network if possible, in the emergence of difficulties, families are to be supported in doing this; if intervention is to occur, evidence must be produced to support such action is preferable to no formal court order being made.

Allen (2008) explains that the object of the 1989 Act is to provide people who care for children the necessary legal tools to further the best interests of those children in their care. The harrowing death of Victoria Climbe and Lord Laming’s (2003) subsequent inquiry prompted the government to introduce the Children Act 2004 and the Every Child Matters (ECM) Green paper, which central features were early intervention and joined up working (Kirton, 2009). However, some writers have argued the effectiveness of (ECM) and described it as a lifeless vision of childhood based on a work ethic of academic achievement and social conformity (Williams, 2004 cited in Kirton, 2009).

Despite social work’s best intentions to meet the needs of children and families (Butler and Roberts, 2004), the Department of Health reported that it was continuing to fail comprehensively with BME families. In a study carried out by the Social Services Inspectorate of eight local authorities’ services to BME children and their families found that:

most councils did not have strategies in place to deliver appropriate services to ethnic minorities and that families were often offered services that were not appropriate or sensitive to their needs (Department of Health 2000: 1)

There are many generations of BME families in Britain who historically have lived with racism and the failure of social work to address the tendency to pathologize them based on “crude racial stereotypes” (Butler and Roberts, 2004: 71). According to the Bernardo’s website (2010), BME families are at a greater risk of experiencing poverty, higher rates of ill health, poor housing and racism. Dominelli (1997: 6) affirms that “racism is fundamental to the process of social exclusion and subordination among ethnic minorities… and flowing from this, their exploitation and oppression.” Dominelli (1997: 22) is clear in her close examination of racism and found that “no aspect of social work is free from it” stemming from White cultural domination in everyday routines. Butler and Roberts (2004) add that BME service users are treated the same as White service users and that a major failure of social work practitioners and planners is their adoption of a ‘colour blind’ approach. Furthermore, it may be the case that some people need to be treated differently in order to take account of experiences of racism and the value of cultural differences and strengths (Butler and Roberts, 2004).

Richards and Ince’s (2000) survey of 157 local authorities found some examples of good practice which offer a positive development to build on. Richards and Ince found that some local authorities’ anti-racist practice and culturally sensitive services were kept consistently up to date with further training and team meetings to stay on top of any issues, however, Butler and Roberts (2004) argue that this is rare and see social work as part of the problem and as the first step in making it part of the solution.

This paper set about to explain how social work practice might impact on children and families, with a closer focus on Black and Minority Ethnic families. It found evidence of a continued failure within social work to address the needs of BME families who are ethnically and culturally diverse through social work’s colour blind approach. Despite some rare examples of good practice, it could be that indeed social work itself is part of the problem faced by BME families.