Synopses & Reviews
Praise for the First Edition The book makes the fully justified claim that] it will be essential reading for professionals undergoing qualifying and post-qualifying training. It is to be hoped that it will enjoy an even wider readership. -Child Abuse Review This new edition is essential reading for anyone concerned with improving child protection practice. Building on the strengths of the First Edition, it provides a deeper understanding of how practice judgments and decisions can be improved in child protection work. Updates include: An account of how intuition, emotion, and analytic thinking are combined in practice An analysis of how the nature of the task determines what combination is needed An updated chapter on how we can detect errors New material on how organizations can promote good reasoning skills A simpler way to understand risk assessment instruments Illustrated with detailed case studies throughout, it will be invaluable reading for students, researchers, and practitioners in all areas of child protection, including social work, education, health, and policing.
Review
“This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding or influencing the future of child protection in England. Our services and professional ethos approach yet another crossroad, defined not least by individual tragedies more so than the unspoken successes. This collection of essays offers cool thought and consideration into a heated and emotive landscape.”
Review
“At a time when the public discourse is often seeking black and white answers to high profile child protection failings, this volume provides policy makers and practitioners with a measured and reflective analysis that is much needed.”
Review
“Keeping the ship afloat on the turbulent tides of multi-agency child safeguarding has never been more challenging. This publication creates a precious space in which we can reflect on the impact of the external influences and cultural shifts, which have the potential to both enable and disable our best efforts to respond to the recommendations of the Munro review.”
Review
“A valuable insight into the operation of the child protection system and how services for our most vulnerable children can be improved.”
Review
“A nourishing and recommended read for busy people.”
Synopsis
This new edition is essential reading for anyone concerned with improving child protection practice. Building on the strengths of the First Edition, it provides a deeper understanding of how practice judgments and decisions can be improved in child protection work.
Synopsis
Three years after the publication of the influential Munro Report in 2011, Moving on from Munro draws together a range of experts in the field of child protection to critically examine the effects that the Munro reforms have had on multi-agency child protections systems in the United Kingdom. Focusing on topics such as early intervention, vulnerable adolescents, and multi-agency responses to young people at risk, policy and practice specialists join academics in different areas of childrens services to consider what good services look like. They then consider the challenges that stand in the way of improving services and how to overcome them.
Synopsis
As they intervene in families to reduce the risk of harm to children, child-protection social workers are confronting increasingly high levels of hostility and aggression from some parents. Child Protection details applied theories of aggression in conjunction with the skills required for dealing with anger, conflict, and aggressive acts. Employing tools and reflective exercises to assist the application of theory to day-to-day child-protection practice, this indispensable and practical text is ideal for social work students, practitioners, and academics specializing in child protection.
About the Author
Maggie Blyth is the independent chair of the Kent Safeguarding Children Board and coeditor of many books, including, most recently, Effective Safeguarding for Children and Young People, also published by the Policy Press at the University of Bristol.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter One: Introduction
Aggression and social work internationally; Failures in practice and training; Using case studies to explore child protection practice; Child protection and safeguarding; Structure of the book; Tensions in child protection practice; Incidence of conflict in child protection; Incidence of aggression against social workers; Nature of abuse and violence against social workers; Under-reporting of aggression against social workers; Conflict and aggression in the workplace; Health impacts on social workers; Protecting social workers form aggression; Points for practice
Chapter Two: Theories of conflict and aggression
Theory for conflict and aggression; Definition of conflict; Definition of aggression; Passive-aggressive behaviour; Biology and aggression; Social learning theory and aggression; Violation of social norms; Frustration-aggression hypothesis; Displaced and safety-valve aggression; Stress; Environmental stressors and aggression; Stress and the social work role; Gender and aggression; Alcohol and aggression; Drug misuse and aggression; Mental health and aggression; Social interaction theory; Self-control and aggression; Points for practice
Chapter Three: Managing conflict with colleagues
Conflicts in the workplace; Case Study 3.1: Victoria Climbiand#233;; The impact of underfunding; Organisational structure and stress; Physical working environment and stress; Managing stress in the workplace; Case Study 3.2: Peter Connelly; Understaffing, staff turnover and workloads; Information and communication technology; Performance management; Agency context and the fostering of conflict; Addressing conflicts stemming from the agency context; Integrative negotiation; Conflict between individual social workers; When negotiation fails; Points for practice
Chapter Four: Conflict with management
Conflict with managers; Case Study 4.1: Victoria Climbiand#233;; Excessive caseloads; Negotiating on workloads; Inadequate supervision; Negotiating with front-line managers; Assertive, non-assertive and aggressive behaviours; Socialisation and assertiveness; Belief systems and assertiveness; Non-verbal communication and assertion; Case Study 4.2: Lost in care; Conflict with front-line management; Conflict with senior management; Power relationships in the workplace; When negotiation fails; Points for practice
Chapter Five: Conflict between teams and agencies
Conflict between multidisciplinary colleagues; Case Study 5.1: Victoria Climbiand#233;; Conflict between social workers at Brent and medical colleagues; Power in negotiations with multidisciplinary colleagues; Making requests to others; Conflict between social workers at Haringey and medical colleagues; Self-assertion in integrative negotiation; Assertive non-verbal communication in meetings; Conflict between social workers and police colleagues; Case Study 5.2 Child sexual abuse by foster carers; Conflict between social work colleagues in different teams; Addressing conflict between teams and agencies; Latent conflict within and between agencies; Anti-oppressive practice and professional self-assertion; Points for practice
Chapter Six: Conflict and substitute carers
Conflict with substitute carers; Case Study 6.1: Child sexual abuse by foster carers; Non-compliance with a programme of activity; Challenging substitute caregivers, parents and partners; Building hostile alliances; Bystanders and audiences; Personal and professional self-confidence; Self-esteem and social work; The impact of aggression on social workers; Hostage theory; Learned helplessness; Learned helplessness and hostage theory in practice; Case Study 6.2: Ryan Lovell-Hancox; Diversion by caregiver; Resistant and reluctant caregivers; Employing personal and professional rights; Points for practice
Chapter Seven: Managing conflict with mothers
Conflict with parents; Case Study 7.1: Peter Connelly; Parental background and aggression scripts; Lying to professionals; Investigative interviewing; Disguised compliance by a parent; Negotiating in bad faith; Aggression towards professionals; The failure to challenge; Dealing with verbal detours and distractions; Case Study 7.2: Ajit Singh; Non-cooperation with child protection plans; Games people play; Use of complaints to obstruct intervention; Complaints as aggression; Giving constructive feedback; Mental health of the mother; Points for practice
Chapter Eight: Managing conflict with fathers
Conflict with fathers; Case Study 8.1: Richard Fraser; The threat of violence; Aggressive Incident Model; The risk management of aggression; Organisations and risk management; Non-compliance with school attendance requirement; Case Study 8.2: Ainlee Labonete; Verbal aggression and physical violence; Dealing with verbal aggression; Preventing access to children; Intimate child protection practice; Anxiety management; Points for practice
Chapter Nine: Managing conflict with children
Conflict with children; Case Study 9.1: Doncaster brothers; Childrenand#8217;s aggression scripts; Aggression and anti-social behaviour; Dealing with potential physical aggression; Dealing with an imminent assault; Experiencing an assault; Case Study 9.2: The Pindown experience; The anger of social workers; Anger management; The aggression of social workers; The contribution of social workers to aggressive interactions; Points for practice
Chapter Ten: Concluding remarks
Conflict in child protection work
Appendix
References
Index