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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 August 2022

Laura Häkkilä, Piia Seppälä, Juulia Hietamäki and Timo Toikko

The study covers two different forms of financial support for households, income support for single parents and reimbursements for depression medicines, and explores their…

Abstract

Purpose

The study covers two different forms of financial support for households, income support for single parents and reimbursements for depression medicines, and explores their relationships with the demand for child protection services.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were retrieved from the Sotkanet, the Finnish Indicator Bank, and included 292 Finnish municipalities. It was hypothesised that the effect of income support for single-parent households on the need for child protection is mediated by reimbursements for depression medicines. The hypotheses were tested by using a conditional process analysis program, PROCESS (Model 4).

Findings

It was found that income support reduces the proportion of reimbursements for depression medicines in a municipality, which in turn reduces the need for child protection services. At the level of social policy, the study tentatively suggests that the social welfare system may affect the demand for child protection by investing in income support for single-parent households.

Research limitations/implications

The choice of variables does not fully explain the effect of the mechanism. The relationships that are found in this study can have hidden factors which affect them. Further, the data have only 292 cases, which is quite a small sample, and is limited to Finland.

Originality/value

The study suggests that the social welfare system may affect the demand for child protection by investing in income support for single-parent households.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 42 no. 13/14
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2006

Beth R. Crisp and Pam Green Lister

The purpose of this research is to explore nurses' perceptions of their current skills and knowledge and training needs to identify cases of child abuse and their understanding of…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore nurses' perceptions of their current skills and knowledge and training needs to identify cases of child abuse and their understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to child abuse. Nurses, including health visitors and midwives, have been recognised as having a key role in the protection and care of children, especially in identifying and referring possible cases of child abuse and neglect.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire concerning knowledge and training needs in child protection was sent to all nurses employed in a Scottish NHS Primary Care Trust (approximately 1,900), of whom one‐third (667) responded. These survey results were complemented by semi‐structured interviews with 99 members of the nursing workforce.

Findings

Almost all training in child protection had been confined to health visitors, resulting in the Trust giving an implicit message that child protection is not a role in which other nurses need have any involvement. In general, those nurses who both worked with children and had involvement in child protection issues, considered themselves to be most in need of knowledge around child protection work, to have the greatest level of knowledge and to consider further training a priority.

Research limitations/implications

Nurses who had an interest or involvement in child protection work were more likely to participate in the research, which may have biased the results.

Practical implications

Training strategies need to address the diversity of nurses' involvements in child protection work through the development of training programmes which are appropriate for different workplaces and different occupational groupings. Nurses in some settings will need to be first convinced they have the potential to play an important role in protecting children from abuse and neglect.

Originality/value

Many NHS Trusts have in recent years introduced mandatory training in child protection for all staff in contact with children. However, previously published studies have considered training issues only in respect of nurses identified as working directly with children, whereas this study explores child protection issues for all nurses employed in a primary care NHS Trust.

Details

Health Education, vol. 106 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2006

Judith Masson

This article examines the use of emergency intervention for child protection in England by the police and social services to establish when and why powers are used and what…

453

Abstract

This article examines the use of emergency intervention for child protection in England by the police and social services to establish when and why powers are used and what subsequently happens. It is based on two studies in England between 1998 and 2004: 1) The Police Protection Study (PP), which examined the use of police protection through a survey of 16 (of the 43) police forces in England and Wales and record reading (311 cases) and interviews (57) in eight forces. 2) The Emergency Protection Orders (EPO) study, which examined EPO applications though a national survey of courts, an analysis of cases (86) from six social services departments, and interviews (78) with social workers, lawyers, court staff and magistrates. There are wide variations in the use of emergency powers. The police act independently and in response to social workers' requests. Social workers resort to emergency powers in well‐known, serious cases when parents refuse co‐operation. EPOs are followed by care proceedings.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2008

Rachel Filinson, Claudine McCreadie, Janet Askham and Dinah Mathew

The parallels between child abuse and adult abuse have been frequently noted as public awareness of both has increased in recent decades. Both can involve the concealed…

Abstract

The parallels between child abuse and adult abuse have been frequently noted as public awareness of both has increased in recent decades. Both can involve the concealed victimisation of a weaker family member, for both interventions are difficult to implement because practitioners are loath to intrude into the privacy of the family and risk causing harm, and combating abuse of either type demands multi‐agency working. Significant differences between the two abuse constituencies have also been stressed, namely that adults are not invariably dependents reliant for care on the persons mistreating them and have the autonomy to resist efforts to intervene on their behalf.

Details

The Journal of Adult Protection, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1466-8203

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 May 2020

Israa A. El Husseiny, Amira Gamal El-Din and Khaled Zakaria Amin

This paper aims to fill a gap in the existing literature by shedding the light on four main issues. First, the relationship between child-at-risk protection and sustainable…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to fill a gap in the existing literature by shedding the light on four main issues. First, the relationship between child-at-risk protection and sustainable development and the key factors contributing to the failure or success of child-at-risk protection systems. Second, the main characteristics and limitations of the current institutional arrangements of the child-at-risk protection system in Egypt. Third, the budget allocations to child protection-relevant entities in Egypt. Fourth, the way forward to enhance the effectiveness of the child-at-risk protection system in Egypt.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used in this paper is of a qualitative nature. The authors relied on desk review of the international and national reports (including the un-published ones) and the relevant literature on the topic. Additionally, the authors reviewed the relevant laws and regulations and analyzed the fiscal data extracted from Egypt’s State budget. Also, semi-structured interviews were conducted with some officials from the different governmental entities covered by the study.

Findings

From the institutional perspective, the authors find that the current child-at-risk protection system in Egypt needs effective institutional arrangements, as it is attributed with the limited activation of the child protection committees, lack of coordination mechanisms and overlapping mandates with regards to case management. Hence, the authors propose two institutional approaches that could help in enhancing the performance of the current system. While the first approach has decentralized nature, the other is centralized. From the fiscal perspective, the authors analyze the trend and composition of the budget allocations to the child protection-relevant entities in Egypt. They show that such allocations are relatively small especially when items not related to child protection are excluded.

Originality/value

The paper analyzes the main characteristics and limitations of the current institutional arrangements of the child-at-risk protection system in Egypt. Moreover, it proposes two alternative institutional approaches to deal with such limitations and enhance the effectiveness of the current system. The paper also provides an analysis of the budget allocations to the child protection-relevant entities in Egypt. These issues have not been addressed sufficiently in the Egyptian context.

Details

Review of Economics and Political Science, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2356-9980

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 March 2010

June Thoburn

This article is an extended version of an ‘experts’ briefing' commissioned to inform senior child welfare managers in English local authorities and voluntary agencies about the…

Abstract

This article is an extended version of an ‘experts’ briefing' commissioned to inform senior child welfare managers in English local authorities and voluntary agencies about the available evidence to inform the provision of effective services in complex child protection cases. It starts by noting how differences in the approach to service provision in different jurisdictions affect both the nature of research conducted and its transferability across national boundaries. It then summarises the characteristics both of parents who are likely to maltreat their children and also of the children most likely to be maltreated. The factors that make some families ‘hard to engage’ or ‘hard to help/change’ are then discussed, as are the essential elements of effective professional practice in child protection. Particular attention is paid to effective approaches to helping families and young people who are hard to identify or engage.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 January 2022

Ciarán Murphy

The backdrop to the Munro Review of Child Protection was a narrative propagated in the British national press, and perpetuated particularly by the then opposition Conservative…

Abstract

Purpose

The backdrop to the Munro Review of Child Protection was a narrative propagated in the British national press, and perpetuated particularly by the then opposition Conservative Party, that the case of “Baby P” evidenced the English child protection system was “failing” and in need of reform. Subsequently, the review asserted that the system had become “over-bureaucratised” and “defensive” at the expense of social worker discretion in the interests of the individual child, highlighting the need for “radical reform”. This paper aims to report on the extent of, and continued barriers to, social worker discretion within the contemporary English child protection.

Design/methodology/approach

As an ethnographic case study of a single English child protection team, the study used a sequential and iterative mixed method design, encompassing observation, document analysis, focus groups, questionnaire, interviews and “Critical Realist Grounded Theory”.

Findings

The study found that social worker discretion was continuing to be undermined by the “Baby P effect”; not only in the sense of increasing numbers of children within the system but also by the perpetual fear of being “named”, “blamed” and “shamed”, akin to Peter Connelly’s social workers.

Originality/value

The paper considers how discretion is manifested in contemporary child protection, especially in the context of the “child-centred” system envisaged by the Munro Review. It concludes that the British media and politicians have a continued role to play in reducing the risk associated with the social worker’s discretionary space.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 July 2021

Simone Collier and India Bryce

Adverse childhood experiences that are consistently experienced over a sustained period of time throughout childhood result in an accumulation of childhood adversity, which is…

Abstract

Purpose

Adverse childhood experiences that are consistently experienced over a sustained period of time throughout childhood result in an accumulation of childhood adversity, which is often referred to in the literature as cumulative harm. This paper aims to closely examine statutory child protection practice, which favours an episodic and incident-focused approach to assessing risk and harm, failing to account for the evaluation of the accumulation of adversity and harm, commonly experienced by children exposed to maltreatment. The paper defines an existing gap in practice frameworks to adequately identify and respond to the accumulation of adversity.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on practice experiences in Queensland Australia, the paper examines service delivery responses to cumulative harm in the context of the Intensive Family Support model of service delivery.

Findings

Within current frameworks for child protection service delivery, there is no method of assessing the diverse and cumulative effects of ongoing chronic child maltreatment and adversity, despite research confirming that cumulative harm very often co-occurs with other child protection concerns. To effectively and collaboratively intervene in matters of chronic and cumulative abuse and neglect, practitioners and stakeholders must be guided by frameworks and assessments that accurately recognise and acknowledge the impact of ongoing exposure to adverse experiences and maltreatment.

Research limitations/implications

The need for a valid and reliable assessment method that draws together all elements contributing to the chronic maltreatment experience for a child and family: multiplicity, diversity and severity.

Social implications

Practice solutions tailored to each child’s specific cumulative experiences of adversity and maltreatment will promote better social, emotional and health outcomes across the lifespan.

Originality/value

This paper highlights a significant gap in assessment and practice frameworks and advances the impetus for cumulative harm to be proactively integrated into social care and service delivery.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1995

Gill Evans

Summarizes the responsibilities that schools have to include childprotection and prevention of abuse within the curriculum. Describes howthe Department for Education is making £3…

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Abstract

Summarizes the responsibilities that schools have to include child protection and prevention of abuse within the curriculum. Describes how the Department for Education is making £3 million available for training of one teacher in each school to handle issues of child abuse, and lists the roles of these teachers. Explains how any programme designed to prevent abuse must be suitable for all children, whether they have suffered abuse or not. Lists the six key concepts that underpin such educational programmes. Observes how failure to boost self‐esteem and encourage assertiveness skills will make children and young people more vulnerable to abuse. Describes cross‐curricular exercises and topic themes that make it possible to focus on the key concepts relevant to the prevention of child abuse.

Details

Health Education, vol. 95 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 December 2022

Elina Aaltio and Sirpa Kannasoja

While studies on service users’ participation and their perceptions on the quality of services exist, agreement between family members’ and practitioners’ assessments of the…

Abstract

Purpose

While studies on service users’ participation and their perceptions on the quality of services exist, agreement between family members’ and practitioners’ assessments of the family’s situation has received less interest. The purpose of this paper is to investigate agreement and its effect on outcomes by comparing the viewpoints of three groups of informants (children, mothers and practitioners) in the context of statutory child protection in two study groups – one applying a systemic approach (SPM) and a service-as-usual control group (SAU).

Design/methodology/approach

A quasi-experimental repeated-measures study design was applied. Outcome data comprised 112 cases (SPM cases n = 56 and SAU cases n = 56) at three sites. Data was collected from all participants at baseline and six months later.

Findings

First, practitioners’ analyses of a child’s need for protection did not meet family members’ expressed need for help. Second, child–mother agreement on the need for service intervention at T1 predicted a decrease in practitioner-assessed abuse or neglect from T1 to T2. In this sample, no differences were found between the two groups.

Originality/value

This study highlights the importance of making explicit the viewpoints of children, parents and practitioners in casework and research to improve understanding of how their perspectives differ over the course of the process and how possible initial disagreements affect outcomes.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

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