Parents who neglect children present considerable challenges to child welfare professionals, and are often resistant to change. This book addresses an urgent need to ensure that social care interventions provide better long term outcomes for neglected children across services.
Based on a substantial research study into social care provision for children, it provides a rare insight into the experiences of neglected children over a period of five years, examining the responsiveness of parents and children to social care support and their progress. Close-focus study of the decisions made on either side of services – by the children, the parents, the caregivers and related social and healthcare professionals – shows what works and what doesn’t, in the long term. This important book highlights gaps in provision for neglected children after the initial referral stage, the risks and potential for professional interventions and how well the child protection system and the courts protect children. It suggests ways that local authorities and other professionals can meet the complex needs of the children most likely to fall through the safety net, the factors related to good outcomes for them and how to improve safeguarding strategies within and beyond children’s services.
Providing a critical account of policy, systems and practice, this book is essential reading for anyone who needs the latest evidence about safeguarding children, including policymakers, social workers and professionals in health care and the family justice system.
Table of Content
Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction: What We Know. 2. Study Aims and Methods. 3 The Children and their Early Experiences. 4. Services and Interventions. 5. Case Management: Responding to Risk and Working with Safeguarding Procedures and the Courts. 6. Case Management: Working with Parents and Children and Overall Patterns of Case Management. 7. Social Workers’ Perspectives. 8. Interviews with Parents and Children. 9. The Children’s Progress and Outcomes. 10. Explaining Outcomes. 11. Implications for Policy and Practice. Appendix. References. Index.
About the author
Eleanor Lutman is Research Associate at the Centre for Family Policy and Child Welfare, Bristol University, UK.
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