Search results for ‘Subject term:"vulnerable children"’ Sort:
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Decision-making and justice : do they register?
- Author:
- CORNWELL N.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Today, 3.8.89, 1989, pp.22-23.
- Publisher:
- British Association of Social Workers
Analyses the decision-making process in child protection work and the four possible exits where no further action is taken.
Perception of risk among child protection workers
- Authors:
- SULLIVAN Catherine, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 30(7), July 2008, pp.699-704.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Differences in ratings of the severity of risk for children involved in the child welfare system among less experienced and more experienced social workers are examined. Sixty-three social workers from a south western Ontario CAS participated: twenty-seven with less than three years of experience and thirty-six with more than three years of experience. Social workers read two scenarios and were asked to determine the extent of risk present to the child and indicate if that child should be taken into care. The findings indicate that social workers with different levels of experience do not differ in their perceptions of risk and in their decisions with regards to managing risk in the community. Increases in the number of children taken into care is not attributable to differential decision making based on experience.
Social workers' decisions on removal: predictions from their initial perceptions of the child's features, parents' features, and child's quality of life
- Authors:
- DAVIDSON-ARAD Bilha, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Service Research, 31(4), 2005, pp.1-23.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This study examined whether social workers' decisions on removal could be predicted by features of the children, the parents, and the children's quality of life as the workers perceive and assess them at the beginning of their decision making process. The study was carried out on 99 children at risk in Israel, between three and thirteen years old, most of whom had suffered neglect or psychological injury. The findings show that the examined features of the parents and children had only limited predictive power and the early quality of life assessments non-even though quality of life assessments made after the decision (on a different but analogous group of children) did distinguish between children that the workers decided to remove and those they decided to keep at home. The low predictive power of the studied variables suggest that the information available to social workers at the beginning of the process in inadequate for making decisions on removal and that time is needed to gather the information they need. The study findings also contribute to our understanding of the 'grey area' which most children who come to the attention of social service agencies are located. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Research into practice
- Author:
- HOLLAND Sally
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 1.4.04, 2004, p.52.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Reports on a study which looked at 20 in-depth assessment of child protection cases in the statutory and voluntary sectors in two urban settings. The assessments were made to aid decision making in the family court. Discusses the complex nature of in-depth assessments, and the importance of practitioners feeling equipped to carry out analysis for the decision making process.
Previous life experiences and the vulnerability of children adopted from out-of-home care: the impact of adverse childhood experiences and child welfare decision making
- Authors:
- TREGEAGLE Susan, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 96, 2019, pp.55-63.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Despite the increasing use of adoption to provide permanence for children living in out-of-home care, relatively little is known about the children involved. This paper presents findings on the previous life experiences of an entire cohort of ‘difficult to place’ adoptees who were placed in Australia over 26 years. Understanding the vulnerability of these children is important for practitioners supporting adoptive families, as well as policy-makers and researchers who are assessing the outcomes of adoption from care. The study describes a group of children who have experiences which may make them vulnerable to poor adult outcomes. The severity of their pre-care experiences is high, with implications for health and wellbeing difficulties in adulthood. Child welfare interventions after entry to out-of-home care are also associated with poor outcomes. Furthermore, a high number of adoptees presented with behavioural difficulties which further compromised their welfare. The study demonstrates that, while adoptive families can be successfully recruited for highly vulnerable children, there are important issues for timing of decision-making about permanency and for recruitment, training and support of adoptive families. Furthermore, policy makers and practitioners need to consider these vulnerabilities when comparing adoption with other forms of out-of-home care and assessing outcomes of adoption compared to the general community or fostered children. (Edited publisher abstract)
Reasoning and bias: heuristics in safety assessment and placement decisions for children at risk
- Authors:
- ENOSH Guy, BAYER-TOPILSY Tali
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 45(6), 2015, pp.1771-1787.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Whether the decision-making process for children at risk is biased against families from lower socio-economic or minority statuses remains a vexing question for social work practice and research. This study successfully isolates the subjective decision-making process and the intervening effect of overexposure of disadvantaged families to the welfare system by utilising a vignette-based factorial survey. The vignettes were drawn from actual welfare files of high, low and ambiguous risk and then edited to correspond with the experimental manipulation. One hundred and five child welfare case workers were asked to evaluate the vignettes, as follows: (i) to assess the level of risk to the child (‘subjective risk’) and (ii) to decide whether they would recommend out-of-home placement. Children of minority and low socio-economic groups were more likely to be assessed as being at risk and were more likely to be removed from the home. Furthermore, even for the vignettes of high ‘objective risk’, after statistically controlling for the subjective risk assessment, families from a low socio-economic background were more likely to have their children removed from home. Important implications to social work practice and education which emerge from this innovative study are discussed. (Publisher abstract)
Safeguarding babies and very young children from abuse and neglect
- Authors:
- WARD Harriet, BROWN Rebecca, WESTLAKE David
- Publisher:
- Jessica Kingsley
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 240p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Based on a research study following babies identified as likely to suffer significant harm before their first birthdays until they were three years old, this book explores key issues surrounding the safeguarding process. These include; how decisions to remove children from their families are made, and whether interventions from social workers and other professionals work are effective and the impact they have on children's life pathways. It also examines the role various participants, including parents, have in decision-making. The findings of the study reveal a close link between decisions, maltreatment and children's developmental problems, and provide key implications and recommendations for policy and practice. The book is aimed at anyone involved in safeguarding children, including practitioners, policymakers, academics and researchers. Topics covered include: initial assessments, core assessments and Section 47 Enquiries; the children; the parents and their circumstances; referrals and assessments; pathways to permanence, temporary measures to safeguard children; how far were the children safeguarded; professional perspectives; and parents' perspectives. The book concludes with a summary of the key findings, their implications for policy and practice, and a discussion of methodological limitations concerning recruitment and retention of the study sample.
The participation and decision making of 'at risk' youth in community music projects: an exploration of three case studies
- Author:
- RIMMER Mark
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Youth Studies, 15(3), May 2012, pp.329-350.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Community arts activities, especially those targeting young people considered to be 'at risk', are one of the forms of youth participation which have benefited from increased government support in the UK since the late 1990s. Drawing on findings from a three-year ESRC funded project, this article considers the nature of young people's participation in project-related decision making, using 3 examples of community music projects in the North of England. The projects were in school and youth centre settings, and information for the study was gathered through group discussion, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews with young people, community musicians and project partners. The article discusses community music participation and describes the projects and participants' perceptions, with illustrative quotations. The author identifies the degree of decision-making influence granted to young people as a prominent factor in the projects' ability to sustain young people's involvement, and notes the significance of incorporating the needs and interests of young people into project activities as a means of encouraging them to participate.
The red book: impact of UK government spending decisions on children, young people and families 2010/11
- Author:
- ACTION FOR CHILDREN
- Publisher:
- Action for Children
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 71p.
- Place of publication:
- Watford
This book, the first of four annual reports on the effects of the Government’s decisions within the current spending period, offers evidence-based analysis of decisions made in the 2010 spending review on the lives of the most vulnerable and neglected children and young people. It is based on the views of the social care professionals working in Action for Children services. It identifies specific actions the coalition Government can undertake both now and in the longer term to ensure that unintended and serious consequences are identified and that their impacts can be mitigated. It recognises the efforts made to ensure that early intervention approaches for children and vulnerable families are protected but more needs to be done. The book is aimed at the Government and policymakers as a contribution to policy decisions.
Infants suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm: a prospective longitudinal study: research brief
- Authors:
- WARD Harriet, et al
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department for Education
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 8p.
- Place of publication:
- London
The aim of this study was to explore the decision-making process influencing the life pathways and developmental progress of a sample of very young children identified as suffering, or likely to suffer, significant harm. The study took place in 10 local authorities, and focused on a sample of 57 children who were the subject of a core assessment, section 47 enquiry, or became looked after before their first birthdays. It followed 43 of the children until they were 3 years old. Information was gathered from case files and interviews held with birth parents, carers, social workers and team leaders, children's guardians, managers, judges, magistrates and local authority solicitors, and from focus groups held with health visitors. This research brief describes key findings of the study, including factors that shaped decisions, and the implications of the findings for policy and practice.