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Across the UK and Ireland, there are a range of processes and interventions offered to adults who, because of personal characteristics or life circumstances, require help to keep themselves safe from potential harm or abuse. The ways in which the statutory and voluntary sectors have chosen to safeguard these adults varies. Different models of intervention and the utilisation of a range of assessment tools, frameworks and approaches have evolved, often in response to policy and practice wisdom. Empirical research in this area is limited. The primary research purpose of the project on which this paper is based is to gather information on the range of tools and frameworks that are used in adult safeguarding practice across the UK and Ireland. In so doing, this paper seeks to contribute and inform the future development of an evidence based adult safeguarding assessment framework.

A team of academics from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland wanted to explore the possibility of adapting a pre-existing assessment framework currently in use in family and childcare social work to consider its utility in assessing carers involved in adult safeguarding referrals. This paper reports on a small pilot study which sought to inform the adaptation of this framework for use in adult safeguarding. This paper is based on a qualitative study involving 11 semi-structured telephone interviews with adult safeguarding social work managers and experienced practitioners. Two to four professionals from each region of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland were interviewed to elicit their perceptions and experiences of engaging in adult safeguarding assessment processes and their views about models of assessment.

This study identified considerable variation in and between the nations under review, in terms of the assessment frameworks and tools used in adult safeguarding practice. To a large extent, the assessment frameworks and tools in use were not evidence based or accredited. Participants acknowledged the value of using assessment frameworks and tools whilst also identifying barriers in undertaking effective assessments.

There is limited evidence available in the literature regarding the utility of assessment frameworks and tools in adult safeguarding practice. This primary research identifies four themes derived from professional’s experiences of using such frameworks and identifies broader recommendations for policy and practice in this area.

The purpose of this paper is to outline the duties and powers of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act (ASPSA) 2007 and place them in the wider Scottish adult protection legislative framework. It considers the potential value of a standalone adult safeguarding statute.

The authors draw upon their research and practice expertise to consider the merits of the ASPSA 2007. They take a case study approach to explore its implementation in one particular Scottish local authority, drawing on the qualitative and quantitative data contained in its annual reports.

Skilled, knowledgeable and well-supported practitioners are key to effective screening, investigations and intervention. Protection orders are being used as intended for a very small number of cases.

The lack of national statistical reports means that there is limited scope for comparison between the local and national data.

Adult support and protection requires ongoing investment of time and leadership in councils and other local agencies to instigate and maintain good practice. Aspects that require further attention are self-neglect; capacity and consent and residents in care homes who pose potential risks to other residents and staff.

ASPSA 2007 has helped to raise awareness of adults at risk of harm within the local communities and as social issue more generally.

The authors provide a critical appraisal of the implementation of Scottish adult safeguarding legislation over the last six years. They consider similar developments in England and Wales and argue for comparative research to test these out. Finally, they signpost future directions for bridging separate policy streams.

Scotland now has three key statutes that provide a legal framework for the support and protection of adults at risk of harm: Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act (2000), Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act (2003) and Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act (2007). This article provides details of the 2007 act and highlights its interaction with the other two. The author argues that an effective adult support and protection strategy will need to address all three acts. A pyramid of intervention is used to explain the increasing levels of intervention that are now available in Scotland. The article also highlights how Scotland continues to diverge from the rest of the UK. It argues that comparative studies within the UK as well as the wider world, using tools such as the pyramid, could improve our understanding of this important and rapidly changing area of law.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the similarities and differences of legal responses to older adults who may be at risk of harm or abuse in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the USA.

The authors draw upon a review of elder abuse and adult protection undertaken on behalf of the commissioner for older people in Northern Ireland. This paper focusses on the desk top mapping of the different legal approaches and draws upon wider literature to frame the discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different legal responses.

Arguments exist both for and against each legal approach. Differences in defining the scope and powers of adult protection legislation in the UK and internationally are highlighted.

This review was undertaken in late 2013; while the authors have updated the mapping to take account of subsequent changes, some statutory guidance is not yet available. While the expertise of a group of experienced professionals in the field of adult safeguarding was utilized, it was not feasible to employ a formal survey or consensus model.

Some countries have already introduced APL and others are considering doing so. The potential advantages and challenges of introducing APL are highlighted.

The introduction of legislation may give professionals increased powers to prevent and reduce abuse of adults, but this would also change the dynamic of relationships within families and between families and professionals.

This paper provides an accessible discussion of APL across the UK and internationally which to date has been lacking from the literature.

This article seeks to explore the difference that adult support and protection legislation may have made to work with adults at risk of harm in Scotland.

The article is based upon findings of a joint academic and practitioner qualitative research project that interviewed 29 social service practitioners across three local authorities.

The legislation was seen as positive, giving greater attention to adults at risk. Views about the actual difference it made to the practitioners' practice varied, and were more likely in new rather than ongoing work. Three differences were noted: duties of investigation, protection orders and improved shared responsibility within the local authority and across other agencies, but to a lesser extent NHS staff. Overall it gave effective responses, more quickly for the adults at risk. Whilst the law brought greater clarity of role, there were tensions for practitioners in balancing an adult's right to autonomy with practitioners' safeguarding responsibilities.

The paper demonstrates that a dedicated law can improve safeguarding practice by clarifying the role of social work practitioners and the responsibilities of other agencies. The right to request access to records and banning orders were seen as valuable new measures in safeguarding adults at risk. As such the study from the first UK country to use dedicated adult safeguarding law offers a valuable insight for policy makers, professionals and campaign groups from other countries, which might be considering similar action.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceived low number of Scottish criminal convictions in cases of ill-treatment or wilful neglect of adults where the victims experienced mental disorder, and/or incapacity. Human rights and anti-discrimination legislation are drawn upon to consider whether victims are gaining equality of access to justice through the charging and conviction of those who commit these offences.

The paper uses the concept of parity of participation to first set out the wider legal framework in which access of justice takes place and to try to determine how it may be working in practice. Second the paper explores Scottish guidance, research and case law in relation ill-treatment or wilful neglect to evaluate the seeming lack of progress towards criminal convictions.

Whilst the legal framework, at least on paper, appears to promote equality of access to justice, little is known about how it is working in practice; in particular whether cultural barriers to participation are being addressed. Evaluation of Scottish statistical data on cases of ill-treatment and wilful neglect revealed a small number of cases progressing to court though there were challenges in constructing a pathway from charges to convictions. There also appeared to be no Scottish legal opinions published in connection with these cases. In addition lack of research means that little is known about why cases progress, and how victims might be being supported through the process.

It is suggested that these gaps in information, in comparison to England and Wales, might be hindering practice. In particular the apparent lack of operational definitions for ill-treatment and wilful neglect in Scotland may reduce the use of this type of criminal offence. As such criminal offences embedded within civil mental health and mental capacity legislation may currently be hidden in plain sight. The human rights consequences of the issues raised in this paper are argued as significant. Research is needed to fill these gaps and inform future guidance and training.

Improved Scottish guidance and publicity of this issue is required. Local inter-agency discussions and training could develop a better understanding of how these offences have been defined and how disabled people might be supported through the legal processes. The Scottish publication of statistical information for charging and convictions might usefully record these offences separately to give them a greater public profile in the future.

This paper highlights the dearth of publicly available information on the number and nature of Scottish prosecutions for ill-treatment or wilful neglect. It suggest ways in how this might be addressed.

To better understand how leadership behaviours are operationalised to foster organisational identification during change, to maximise the success of change initiatives.

Utilising the Delphi Technique, 15 Australian senior leaders and leadership subject matter experts were canvassed regarding their opinions on the role of leadership in nurturing organisational identification during change. Their perspectives on a preliminary leadership competency framework developed in an earlier research phase were also obtained.

Organisational identification was considered an important organisational construct that can yield a range of positive outcomes – including when guiding organisations (and their members) through change. However, organisational identification currently appears to be more of an academic term than a concept employed in leadership practice. Four key themes emerged regarding the leadership behaviours deemed most effective when encouraging organisational identification during change: (1) effective communication, (2) focus on relationships, (3) stewardship of the organisation and the change it is undertaking, and (4) management of self. The refined leadership competency framework consisted of 12 competencies within four competency domains: (1) Leadership and governance in organisational change, (2) Relationship management and communication skills, (3) Management of people, organisational systems and processes and (4) Personal characteristics and capabilities.

The study outlines a range of specific and observable leadership competencies and behaviours that can be employed to foster organisational identification during change. The findings should be of interest to organisations examining identity processes in response to business disruptions, including ensuring their members retain a sense of connection to the organisation during times of uncertainty and altered work practices.

In order to effectively serve diverse communities, an organization must first create an internal culture of empathy and acceptance. An organizational read can be an opportunity to create this culture as well as create times, spaces, and experiences to transfer knowledge and build community beyond an organization on a topic of importance that has an impact on the communities it serves. The University of Tennessee Libraries' 2019 organizational read program featured Robin DiAngelo's book White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, which helped create diversity conversations to enable personal changes that facilitated more effective engagement. This chapter provides an overview of the Libraries' organizational read, including its structure and evaluation, and discusses the success of the program in building community engagement and outreach. Examples are shared regarding how the program has impacted the Libraries' outreach efforts to three new communities, as well as details for future iterations and plans for the program to continue to expand beyond the Libraries. Ideas are provided for adapting the program to other types of communities that want to build bridges for change.