How can social workers help children in care? A Q-method study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wilkins
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Q Method ◽  
Children In Care

Young people’s participation: views from social workers and independent reviewing officers

2020 ◽  
pp. 89-116
Author(s):  
Clive Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Actual Practice ◽  
Education Planning ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Lack Of Commitment ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Personal Education ◽  
Children Rights

In this chapter social workers’ and independent reviewing officers’ views on the work they carry out with children in care are presented. Pressures on professionals were a recurrent concern. It was also noted that social workers’ understanding of the concept of participation was limited and the examples provided illustrated that children’s and young people’s participation was largely tokenistic. There appeared to be a disconnect/dissonance between professionals’ views of how important participation is and their actual practice with families. Social workers and IROs both stated that children’s participation was very important to them but then went onto explain that generally children played no role in deciding where the review took place, when it took place, who was invited and what was on the agenda. Social workers and IROs also stated that reviews took place without children to meet statutory timescales and that on occasions CIC reviews would take place just after Personal Education Planning meetings leading to very long meetings. Despite legislation giving children rights to have a say in their care and their wishes taken into consideration, there remains a lack of commitment to this from professionals, high caseloads, systemic pressures and a focus on completing paperwork rather than engaging meaningfully with children seems to be the reason for this. This appears to resonate with Forrester’s (2016) idea of ‘zombie social work’, and appears clear evidence of ‘doing things right instead of doing the right thing’ (Munro 2012).

scholarly journals A Study on Senior Managers’ Views of Participation in One Local Authority… a Case of Wilful Blindness?

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1333-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Diaz ◽  
Tricia Aylward
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Meaningful Participation ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Children In Care

Abstract Children in care are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society and senior managers should be committed towards improving their well-being. Empowerment through participation can contribute to this. This study considered the extent to which young people in care were encouraged to participate in decision making, particularly in their review meetings. The paper explores the views of seven senior managers in one local authority in this regard. It formed part of a wider study in which social workers, independent reviewing officers and young people in care were also interviewed. Findings indicate a disconnect between senior managers’ views and other participants. Senior managers were unaware of the challenges that the social workers and independent reviewing officers said they faced. Their understanding of meaningful participation appeared to be limited, their curiosity subdued and their willingness to challenge limited. Senior managers informed that care plans were not up-to-date or considered at the review and were unsure about what opportunities children had to participate and how management could support this. Senior managers reflected that little seemed to have changed in relation to children’s participation in their reviews over the last twenty-five years.

scholarly journals Social workers and children in care

1985 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-110
Author(s):  
R C Benians
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Children In Care

scholarly journals Independent Reviewing Officers’ and social workers’ perceptions of children’s participation in Children in Care Reviews

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 162-173
Author(s):  
Clive Diaz ◽  
Hayley Pert ◽  
Nigel Patrick Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
Children In Care

Purpose The research reported here forms part of a study of children’s participation in children in care reviews and decision making in one local authority in England. The purpose of this paper is to outline the views of 11 social workers and 8 Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) and explores their perceptions of children’s participation in reviews. The paper considers the barriers to young people participating meaningfully in decision making and how practice could be improved in this vital area so that children’s voices are more clearly heard and when possible acted upon by professionals. Design/methodology/approach The data reported here derive from a qualitative cross-sectional study in one English local authority. The entire study involved interviewing children in care, IROs, social workers and senior managers about young people’s participation in their reviews. Findings from the interviews with young people and senior managers have been reported elsewhere (Diaz and Aylward, 2018; Diaz et al., 2018); this paper focusses on the interviews with social workers and IROs. Specifically, the authors were interested in gaining insight into their views about the following research questions: To what degree do children and young people meaningfully participate in reviews? What are the barriers to participation? What can be done to improve children and young people’s participation in reviews? Findings During this process seven themes were identified, five of which concerned barriers to effective participation and two which concerned factors that appeared to support effective participation. These are summarised below and explained further in the following sections. Barriers to effective participation: social workers and IROs’ high caseloads and ensuing time pressures; high turnover of social workers and inexperienced staff; lack of understanding and training of professionals in participation; children and young people’s negative experiences of reviews and consequent reticence in taking part; and structure and process of the review not being child-centred. Factors which assist participation: quality of the relationship between the child and professionals; and the child or young person chairing their own review meeting. Research limitations/implications Although these findings reflect practice in one local authority, their consistency with other research in this area suggests that they are applicable more widely. Practical implications The practice of children chairing their own reviews was pioneered by The Children’s Society in North West England in the 1990s (Welsby, 1996), and has more recently been implemented with some success by IROs in Gloucestershire (see Thomas, 2015, p. 47). A key recommendation from this study would be for research to explore how this practice could be developed and embedded more widely. Previous research has noted the tension between the review being viewed as an administrative process and as a vehicle of participation (Pert et al., 2014). This study highlighted practitioner reservations about young people chairing their own reviews, but it also gave examples of how this had been done successfully and how it could improve children’s participation in decision making. At the very least, it is essential that young people play a role in deciding where the review is going to take place, when it will take place, who is going to be invited and what will be included on the agenda. Social implications The paper highlights that in this Local Authority caseloads for social workers were very high and this, combined with a high turnover of staff and an inexperienced workforce, meant that children in care struggled to have a consistent social worker. This often meant that young people were not able to build up a positive working relationship with their social worker, which negatively impacted on their ability to play a meaningful role in decision making. Originality/value There have been very few recent studies that have considered professionals’ perspectives of children’s participation in key meetings and decision making, so that this provides a timely and worthwhile contribution to this important area of work.

‘Just another person in the room’: young people’s views on their participation in Child in Care Reviews

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Diaz ◽  
Hayley Pert ◽  
Nigel Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Creative Methods ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Bureaucratic Constraints

This article discusses a key meeting for children in care – the Child in Care Review – and examines the extent to which children and young people are able to participate and exert a level of control over their lives. The research, conducted in England, formed part of a wider exploration of the views and experiences of all those involved in such reviews, namely Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs), social workers, senior managers and – the focus of this article – the young people concerned. Most of the children interviewed said that they found their reviews frustrating and stressful, often attributing this to poor relationships with social workers and scepticism about the value of the review process. However, they recognised the workload pressures facing social workers and the bureaucratic constraints affecting the service they received. The article argues for the continuing importance of the IRO role, given the consistency it provides for children in care. It also shows that while it provides an opportunity for children’s participation in discussions about their future, the Child in Care Review is underperforming. The developing practice of children chairing their own reviews offers one way forward and the article calls for this to be developed and for other creative methods to be introduced to enable young people to play a meaningful part in meetings that affect them.

When it goes wrong

2020 ◽  
pp. 137-154
Author(s):  
Clive Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Do So

This chapter looks at the complaints process - what happens when children in care are dissatisfied with the services they receive. Despite the introduction of guidelines and procedures aimed at encouraging and supporting children and young people to complain about the services they receive, children in care still face barriers to doing so in practice. Following semi-structured interviews with children in care, social workers, senior managers and independent reviewing officers from two English local authorities, the research uncovered issues of concern. Complaints by children in care are managed at the lowest possible level and senior managers have an overly optimistic view about children in care being informed of complaint procedures and being encouraged to do so. Children in care are worried about complaining and their voices are often not heard. However, when issues are clearly defined, independent reviewing officers have some degree of success in resolving complaints from children in care.

What to Know and Do to Help Your Adopted or Foster Child Succeed in Japanese Schools

2020 ◽  
pp. 241-265
Author(s):  
Melodie Cook
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Foster Child ◽  
Similar Position ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Japanese Schools ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Core Issues

In this chapter, I begin by giving background information about adoption and fostering in Japan, detail how adopted and foster children feel, and explain seven core issues faced by children in care. I then examine the root cause for such issues, trauma, and how it affects adopted and fostered children’s performance in school. Next, using my own family’s experiences as well as others’ in a similar position to mine that I have studied, I illustrate issues faced by non-Japanese adoptive and foster parents and how we can mitigate against them. It is my hope that this chapter will inform prospective and current adoptive and foster parents and encourage them to work with social workers, case workers, and educators to make our children’s experiences of schooling as good as they can be.

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