ICT-Enabled Social Innovation in Children’s Services

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Lara Montero ◽  
William Hayward
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Service Management ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Social Welfare Services ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
Ict System

ICT has become increasingly prevalent in the development and provision of social services for children and families. ICT has enabled social innovation in children’s services and the wider social services sector through its contribution to the transformation of service management and implementation, cost-efficiency improvement and the effectiveness of service delivery. ICT-enabled social innovation (IESI) can help to address the increased demand on social welfare services, for example through improved coordination between professionals and enhanced communication with service users. These changes are presented through a number of case studies of ICT in children’s services in Europe. One of these is the development of tools for data collection by the National Child Protection Observatory in cooperation with local authorities in France. Another example is the KOMBIT standardised ICT system for the case management of children at risk in Denmark. One further example is Alborada, a shared information system in Andalucía (Spain), which facilitates data sharing and coordination between professionals from health, education and social services working with children with developmental difficulties. The analysis of the case studies has allowed the formulation of some key recommendations for the development of ICT-enabled innovation in children’s services in terms of the role that policy can play in driving forward ICT-enabled services, ICT’s role in meeting children’s needs, and professionals’ training and development for the successful introduction and implementation of ICT in children’s services.

scholarly journals Considerations in the use of local and national data for evaluating innovation in children’s social care

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oli Preston ◽  
Rebecca Godar ◽  
Michelle Lefevre ◽  
Janet Boddy ◽  
Carlene Firmin
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Care ◽  
National Level ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Infrastructure ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to explore the possibilities in using such national, statutory data sets for evaluating change and the challenges of understanding service patterns and outcomes in complex cases when only a limited view can be gained using existing data. The discussion also explores how methodologies can adapt to an evaluation in these circumstances. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines the use of data routinely collected by local authorities (LAs) as part of the evaluation of innovation. Issues entailed are discussed and illustrated through two case studies of evaluations conducted by the research team within the context of children’s social care in England. Findings The quantitative analysis of LA data can play an important role in evaluating innovation but researchers will need to address challenges related to: selection of a suitable methodology; identifying appropriate comparator data; accessing data and assessing its quality; and sustaining and increasing the value of analytic work beyond the end of the research. Examples are provided of how the two case studies experienced and addressed these challenges. Research limitations/implications • Quasi-experimental methods can be beneficial tools for understanding the impact of innovation in children’s services, but researchers should also consider the complexity of children’s social care and the use of mixed and appropriate methods. • Those funding innovative practice should consider the additional burden on those working with data and the related data infrastructure if wishing to document and analyse innovation in a robust way. • Data, which may be assumed to be uniform may in fact not be when considered at a multi-area or national level, and further study of the data recording practice of social care professionals is required. Originality/value The paper discusses some common issues experienced in quasi-experimental approaches to the quantitative evaluation of children’s services, which have, until recently, been rarely used in the sector. There are important considerations, which are of relevance to researchers, service leads in children’s social care, data and performance leads and funders of innovation.

The Politics of Children's Services Reform

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Purcell
Keyword(s):  
Child Abuse ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
National Level ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Family Service ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
Local Agencies ◽  
Welfare Agencies

Comparative research has identified two broad types of child welfare system. In child protection systems the principal remit of welfare agencies is to identify and respond to actual or potential incidences of child abuse or maltreatment. In contrast family service systems are characterised by a stronger spirit of partnership between the state and families and an emphasis on working to prevent the need for coercive state intervention. This book examines the development of children’s services reform in England over recent decades to explain a shift from family service polices towards a narrower child protection approach. Successive waves of reform in England have invariably been framed as responses to high-profile child abuse inquires and media generated scandal including the cases of Victoria Climbié and Baby P. However, this book challenges the idea that it is the apparent failings of local agencies, including child and family social workers, that drive successive waves of reform. Instead, it turns the spotlight on the process of policy-making at the national level, and highlights the role played by party political leaders and senior government ministers in driving reform. The book is informed by 45 interviews with key decision-makers including ministers, senior civil servants, children’s charity leaders, local authority directors and social work researchers.

Child Protection or Family Support — Directions in Family Welfare for the 80's

1987 ◽  
Vol 11 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 16-19
Author(s):  
Phillip A. Swain
Keyword(s):  
Family Support ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Continuum Of Care ◽  
Family Welfare ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
The Family ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
The Continuum

Child Protection and Family Support. These are two aspects of our work in family and children's services that have been much discussed over recent years. Can you protect a child whilst at the same time purport to support the family? Should the two functions be organisationally and structurally separated? Are they really just parts of the continuum of care and commitment which we all share in families and children? These and other similar questions have been frequently repeated during the first half of the 80's as we all searched for ways to meet the obvious deficiencies in the networks of families and children's services that had been established. But as we look to the remainder of the 80's there a number of critical issues which are well indentified but which we have yet to really come to grips with.

In whose best interests?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val Gillies ◽  
Rosalind Edwards ◽  
Nicola Horsley
Keyword(s):  
Early Intervention ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Economic Rationale ◽  
Children’S Services

This chapter analyses the intricate network of interests and their agendas that characterise social policy provision generally, focusing down on social investment in children's services and the early intervention field. In particular, the chapter looks at three key stakeholder groups with interests in early intervention: business, politicians and professionals, and their interlinked alliances and partnerships. It examines how corporate money, power, and influence have pervaded various children's services, from child protection work to family and early intervention initiatives to education services. This occurs through ‘philanthrocapitalism’ — an amalgam of an economic rationale of early intervention coupled with moral notions of social philanthropy.

Leadership and Change: A Dialogue of Theory and Practice

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elspeth Humphries ◽  
Beres Senden
Keyword(s):  
Service Management ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Actual Experience ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Graduate Certificate ◽  
Leadership And Change

Managers of children's services often find themselves taking on responsibilities for which they have no training, and consequently they must learn the role on the job. To answer the need for management training, the Child Studies Department at the Canberra Institute of Technology developed a Graduate Certificate in Children's Service Management. The course aims to develop leadership and an ability to manage change in a field that must be responsive to rapidly changing ideas and requirements. This article focuses on leadership and change by looking at some theoretical ideas that are fundamental in the graduate certificate, and a director's application of those ideas to her service. Two voices interweave throughout the article: providing first a theoretical perspective and then an account of an actual experience of leadership in action.

Early help and children’s services: exploring provision and practice across English local authorities

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-86
Author(s):  
Steven Lucas ◽  
Philip John Archard
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Diverse Workforce ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
Children’S Services

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore early help provision to children and families not reaching the Children Act (1989) child in need threshold, across all 152 English local authorities in 2017. Design/methodology/approach A freedom of information request was used, in September 2017, to obtain information regarding recorded numbers, attributes and referral reasons for Early Help cases, case categorisation, professional groups involved in this provision and models of practice. Findings Responses revealed there are no common protocols categorising referrals and identified needs of children and young people. Child behavioural issues were the most frequently occurring category followed by parenting issues and child emotional well-being. The numbers of children engaged by Early Help services varied with a range between Barnsley with 7.8% of children under 18 years old and Richmond on Thames with 0.33% and only exceeded children in need in a 7 out of 71 reporting authorities. Models of practice used were most commonly based on the assessment framework, which operates at all social work thresholds including child protection. The enquiry found a diverse workforce involved in Early Help and sets it within a context of local thresholds for dealing with large increases in referral rates to children’s services departments in recent years. Originality/value The study provides a unique insight into the nature and scope of Early Help provision across England. The relationship between existing thresholds of intervention in the child welfare system is underexplored in the social work literature.

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