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Implementing article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in child protection decision-making: a critical analysis of the challenges and opportunities for social work
- Author:
- McCAFFERTY Paul
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 23(4), 2017, pp.327-341.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
One of the most frequently cited principles in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is Article 12. This article provides a critical analysis of the challenges that child protection social work faces when implementing Article 12 in social work decision-making whilst simultaneously keeping children safe. The article begins with an outline of the general reasons for involving children in decisions that affect them but argues that despite being beneficial, implementing Article 12 has proved to be problematic due to theoretical, practical and ethical challenges within social work which will be examined. The article continues by arguing that it is possible to overcome these obstacles using Lundy’s model of conceptualising Article 12 as a real-world tool that offers practical solutions to help social work/workers overcome rather than avoid the identified challenges. It is intended that these suggestions will help empower social work/workers to discharge their legal obligation to enable children to be heard in decisions that affect them. The article concludes by arguing for a more empowering approach to children’s involvement in social work decision-making with some reflections on the future of Article 12 within the social work paradigm. (Publisher abstract)
Living independently: a study of the housing needs of elderly and disabled people
- Author:
- McCAFFERTY Paul
- Publisher:
- HMSO/Great Britain. Department of the Environment
- Publication year:
- 1994
- Pagination:
- 269p.,tables.
- Place of publication:
- London
Sets out the main findings of a programme of research on the housing needs of disabled and older people. The programme aims were to: provide reliable estimates of those requiring subsidised housing provision by local authorities and housing associations; identify more accurate indicators of need for subsidised housing for use in informing the allocation of capital resources to local authorities and housing associations; and to examine the extent to which the unmet need for subsidised housing provision can be met in the most cost-effective way.
Parenting a child with autism: considering the stresses, supports and implications for social work practice
- Authors:
- McCAFFERTY Paul, McCUTCHEON Judith
- Journal article citation:
- Child Care in Practice, 27(4), 2021, pp.389-405.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Caring for a child that has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has implications for parents’ social and emotional health and well-being. The following article presents the findings from a review of the literature to help elucidate some of the issues that these parents experience. The article begins by arguing that early intervention is the key to supporting parents that care for children with ASD but that with the current reduction of services to this population of parents, that early intervention is not always possible. The article continues by highlighting some of the emotional and social consequences parents encounter as outlined in the literature. These consequences include heightened levels of stress and anxiety - particularly in mothers - compromised parental mental and emotional health and well-being, depression, isolation, guilt and loneliness. The article offers some recommendations for practice to help mitigate these negative consequences. The article hopes to demonstrate that a systemic, family-centred, trans-disciplinary approach is crucial to alleviating parental stress and that the social work practitioner is ideally positioned to encourage the protective factors which could potentially enhance family resilience. This article will further argue that the impact of caring for a child(ren) with ASD is a family issue, and that specialist training, with regards to children with ASD and the stresses experienced by their parents, should be available to all social work professionals. Finally, in an effort to help policy makers and legislators as well as researchers and practitioners better respond to parental needs, recommendations are made for further research. (Edited publisher abstract)
Permanency decisions in child welfare: a qualitative study
- Authors:
- McCAFFERTY Paul, DUFFY Joe, HAYES David
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 51(6), 2021, pp.2134-2154.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article presents findings from an exploratory in-depth qualitative research project with seventeen child welfare professionals exploring their permanency decisions with regards to Looked after Children. Thinking aloud-protocols and semi-structured interviews, in conjunction with a specifically constructed vignette were used to explore the permanency decisions of child welfare workers. Findings from this innovative research suggest that different decisions were taken by participants based on viewing the same vignette. However, even though the decisions differed, they clustered around the more interventionist options with most favouring adoption and foster care despite viable alternatives offered. There was broad consistency related to the rationale for the decisions taken, but this did not translate into a consistent permanency option being chosen. Possible reasons to account for this are that the decisions were heuristically constructed, idiosyncratic to individual inclinations and influenced by factors other than the individual needs of the service user. The implications of this are that children and families do not get a consistent and reliable response to their permanency needs. We therefore recommend the greater use of structured decision-making tools in permanency decisions to increase their objectivity and consistency. (Edited publisher abstract)
The role of housing agency services in helping disabled people
- Authors:
- MACKINTOSH Sheila, LEATHER Philip, McCAFFERTY Paul
- Publisher:
- HMSO/Great Britain. Department of the Environment
- Publication year:
- 1993
- Pagination:
- 113p.,tables,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Research study comparing and contrasting the clients, type of service, and the costs of 3 different kinds of agency which provide housing advice and help with adaptations for disabled people. The 3 types of agency were: Care and Repair and Staying Put projects; the Walbrook Disabled Persons Housing Service; and agencies run by local authorities which provide a more varied service.