Government spending has been cut over the last year but the rhetoric from the top has been no less sympathetic to the preventative approach. The Early Action Task Force has said the conventional language of 'prevention' used around early action projects presupposes problems, victims and perpetrators, and called for the use of a new language of 'readiness' associated with assets and strengths. This report makes a number of recommendations to government, including ring-fencing spending on early-action projects; setting up an early-action fund centrally held by the Treasury; and creating a ‘minister for early action’. The report also calls on government to explore guarantees or insurances on social impact bonds to stimulate the public to invest. Meanwhile, charity funders are encouraged to consider the optimum point for intervention each time they fund, by developing a “one step sooner” mindset. The report also calls on funders to collaborate on developing a shared evidence base with consistent measurement of early-action projects. The report also recommends that new language around early action needs to be developed, saying the language of ‘prevention’ is pessimistic, reductive and discouraging, while the language of ‘readiness’ is motivating, optimistic and aspirational.
Government spending has been cut over the last year but the rhetoric from the top has been no less sympathetic to the preventative approach. The Early Action Task Force has said the conventional language of 'prevention' used around early action projects presupposes problems, victims and perpetrators, and called for the use of a new language of 'readiness' associated with assets and strengths. This report makes a number of recommendations to government, including ring-fencing spending on early-action projects; setting up an early-action fund centrally held by the Treasury; and creating a ‘minister for early action’. The report also calls on government to explore guarantees or insurances on social impact bonds to stimulate the public to invest. Meanwhile, charity funders are encouraged to consider the optimum point for intervention each time they fund, by developing a “one step sooner” mindset. The report also calls on funders to collaborate on developing a shared evidence base with consistent measurement of early-action projects. The report also recommends that new language around early action needs to be developed, saying the language of ‘prevention’ is pessimistic, reductive and discouraging, while the language of ‘readiness’ is motivating, optimistic and aspirational.
Subject terms:
prevention, social policy, children, early intervention;
Communication disability is the most common disability in children. It can often be misdiagnosed as bad – and even criminal – behaviour. In this article, the author argues that failure to detect this disability results in children being excluded, punished and even criminalised. If diagnosed correctly in early childhood, this disability can easily be resolved. However, failure to do so can lead...
Communication disability is the most common disability in children. It can often be misdiagnosed as bad – and even criminal – behaviour. In this article, the author argues that failure to detect this disability results in children being excluded, punished and even criminalised. If diagnosed correctly in early childhood, this disability can easily be resolved. However, failure to do so can lead to less responsiveness to therapy. The article outlines some of the underlining causes of communication disability, noting the correlation between it and poorly educated mothers. It also highlights some of the long term effects of the condition, such as 60% of young offenders having communication difficulties, and discusses the cost to society in general when the condition is not diagnosed. In ending, the article calls for early years screening to detect speech, language and communication needs, the encouragement of local commissioners and service providers to use ‘warning signs’ to flag the problem, and ensuring that specialist assessment and intervention is available to children and young people who are already in the justice pathway.
Subject terms:
communication disorders, children, diagnosis, early intervention;
British Journal of Social Work, 38(4), June 2008, pp.645-661.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the nature of Finnish child welfare as a strategy of social control. It applies Michel Foucault's "history of the present" approach to illuminate what is hidden or taken for granted in the present practice and discourse. The article problematises child welfare in the present and illuminates its current formations by recourse to the past. Since Finnish child welfare has developed in connection with the Anglo-American and Central European discourses of the field, the provided insights are also transferable to international contexts in the contemporary conditions of governance.
The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the nature of Finnish child welfare as a strategy of social control. It applies Michel Foucault's "history of the present" approach to illuminate what is hidden or taken for granted in the present practice and discourse. The article problematises child welfare in the present and illuminates its current formations by recourse to the past. Since Finnish child welfare has developed in connection with the Anglo-American and Central European discourses of the field, the provided insights are also transferable to international contexts in the contemporary conditions of governance.
Subject terms:
child protection, children, childrens social care, early intervention;
Many more couples with learning difficulties are living together, getting married and having children. Argues that early intervention and support would enable them to successfully care for their children and prevent the need for care orders.
Many more couples with learning difficulties are living together, getting married and having children. Argues that early intervention and support would enable them to successfully care for their children and prevent the need for care orders.
Subject terms:
intervention, parents with learning disabilities, children, early intervention;
This report describes six ambitions for early mental health support for children. These are based on the ideas children shared with the Children's Commissioner's Office. Alongside this the report has been shaped by wider engagement and thinking conducted to date on mental health with stakeholders, policymakers, organisations and charities, and parents and carers. The six ambitions are: Ambition 1...
(Edited publisher abstract)
This report describes six ambitions for early mental health support for children. These are based on the ideas children shared with the Children's Commissioner's Office. Alongside this the report has been shaped by wider engagement and thinking conducted to date on mental health with stakeholders, policymakers, organisations and charities, and parents and carers. The six ambitions are: Ambition 1 - Every family receives support to promote good mental health and wellbeing through pregnancy and the early years through Family Hubs, including mental health support for parents where needed; Ambition 2 - All children are protected from harm and taught the digital skills they need to be safe online, making the online world safe and exciting place for children to have fun, learn and connect with others, and all; Ambition 3 - All children have plentiful access to safe and fun spaces to play with their friends; Ambition 4 - All children's needs are met where they are and they receive support in school, through families of schools; Ambition 5 - The taboo of accessing support needs to be broken by making sure children can access it quickly, locally, in their communities or online; Ambition 6 - Specialist NHS support is available for any child who needs it, with no child turned away or stuck in a spiral of escalation whilst waiting for support.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
early intervention, children, mental health services, mental health problems, access to services;
Flying Start is an enhanced early years programme in Wales which is targeted at areas where a high proportion of households with children are recipients of income-related benefits or tax credits. Child protection interventions are known to be concentrated in more deprived areas. Flying Start could have the effect of reducing risk to children or, conversely, it could result in more children coming...
(Edited publisher abstract)
Flying Start is an enhanced early years programme in Wales which is targeted at areas where a high proportion of households with children are recipients of income-related benefits or tax credits. Child protection interventions are known to be concentrated in more deprived areas. Flying Start could have the effect of reducing risk to children or, conversely, it could result in more children coming to the attention of social services. Administrative data were used to identify children in public care and on child protection registers in Wales on 31 March 2015 and to identify lower super output areas covered by Flying Start services. Child welfare intervention rates were examined, and a comparison was made between areas within deprivation quintiles where Flying Start was operating and areas where it was not. In areas where Flying Start services are provided, child welfare intervention rates are higher than in areas where they are not, after controlling for multiple deprivation. Further work is needed to establish why child welfare intervention rates are higher in Flying Start areas and what effect there might be longer term.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
child protection, early intervention, prevention, poverty, children;
Journal of Children's Services, 16(1), 2021, pp.74-86.
Publisher:
Emerald
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...
(Edited publisher abstract)
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.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
social work, early intervention, children, social services, childrens social care;
Children and Youth Services Review, 113, 2020, p.104998.
Publisher:
Elsevier
...across both datasets. Trauma-informed early intervention services are a critical prevention strategy for children who experience trauma and the settings that serve them. The current study found significant beneficial effects of TIES services for the classroom environments of young children impacted by trauma exposure. Implications for effective prevention strategies for school based early intervention
(Publisher abstract)
Trauma-Informed Elementary Schools (TIES) is a classroom-level intervention program designed to bring trauma-informed services to early elementary. The initial results from the TIES’s pilot study were promising. The current study examined the effectiveness of the TIES program by extending the pilot evaluation with an improved study design and sample size. The quality of trauma-informed classroom interaction was measured using the CLASS (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) at the beginning of the school year and the end of the school year. Analyses compared TIES classrooms and non-TIES classrooms using all data (74 classrooms) and a subset of focused data (42 classrooms). The TIES classrooms showed significant improvements, while no significant improvements were observed in non-TIES classrooms across both datasets. Trauma-informed early intervention services are a critical prevention strategy for children who experience trauma and the settings that serve them. The current study found significant beneficial effects of TIES services for the classroom environments of young children impacted by trauma exposure. Implications for effective prevention strategies for school based early intervention programs are discussed.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
traumas, school social work, early intervention, children, prevention;
British Journal of Social Work, 46(5), 2016, pp.1175-1190.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
The home visit is at the heart of social work practice with children and families; it is what children and families' social workers do more than any other single activity (except for recording), and it is through the home visit that assessments are made on a daily basis about risk, protection and welfare of children. And yet it is, more than any other activity, an example of what Pithouse has...
(Edited publisher abstract)
The home visit is at the heart of social work practice with children and families; it is what children and families' social workers do more than any other single activity (except for recording), and it is through the home visit that assessments are made on a daily basis about risk, protection and welfare of children. And yet it is, more than any other activity, an example of what Pithouse has called an ‘invisible trade’: it happens behind closed doors, in the most secret and intimate spaces of family life. Drawing on conceptual tools associated with the work of Foucault, this article sets out to provide a critical, chronological review of research, policy and practice on home visiting. It aims to explain how and in what ways changing discourses have shaped the emergence, legitimacy, research and practice of the social work home visit to children and families at significant time periods and in a UK context. It concludes by highlighting the importance for the social work profession of engagement and critical reflection on the identified themes as part of their daily practice.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
child protection, early intervention, children, families, social work theories;
Children and Youth Services Review, 59, 2015, pp.38-46.
Publisher:
Elsevier
...of supports and services for children medically diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in an urban community in eastern Canada, four specific disjunctures are revealed and discussed. These disjunctures make various disconnections between school-aged children diagnosed with FASD and institutional supports visible. The study also illustrates how the ambiguity of institutional policies
(Edited publisher abstract)
Institutional ethnography (IE) is a method of inquiry that offers emancipatory possibilities. This paper reveals how IE's emancipatory value is linked to identifying and examining disjunctures, which are discrepancies and disconnections between what is understood to be happening versus what is actually being experienced. Using examples from an IE study that examined the social organisation of supports and services for children medically diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in an urban community in eastern Canada, four specific disjunctures are revealed and discussed. These disjunctures make various disconnections between school-aged children diagnosed with FASD and institutional supports visible. The study also illustrates how the ambiguity of institutional policies and communication makes it difficult for children living with FASD to thrive. It also reveals how caregivers are required to be FASD experts while not being seen or treated as experts. The author argues that IE studies can draw evidence-based attention to specific institutional policies and practices that are missing or require change.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
foetal alcohol syndrome, children, early intervention, diagnosis, policy;