strengthening families: a new approach to child protection presentation to london safeguarding...
TRANSCRIPT
Strengthening families: a new approach to child protection
Presentation to London Safeguarding Children Board Conference December 2010
Joseph Davenport, Barry Luxton, Sarah Peel
Context
Recommendation of the SCR into the death of Peter Connelly tasked the LSCB with assuring;
“that child protection conferences are administered efficiently, attended assiduously, managed authoritatively and produce decisions which are child-focussed, with child protection plans that are purposeful and authoritative”.
Families’ experiencesRecent research undertaken by Family Commission in Haringey;
Only one of the four mothers felt the case conference was a positive experience.
Professionals need to understand how intimidating it is to be so ‘outnumbered’ in a formal meeting;
Parents felt they lacked the necessary information about what would happen;
Parents feel unprepared and one explicitly complained about not having the paperwork on their case in advance;
Families want a more respectful, open, helpful, challenging, but less judgmental form of social work.
If families do not trust their social worker, they will play the game of doing what they believe is expected of them but will not really positively embrace change. They will operate in a climate of being ‘observed’ and ‘judged’ - giving little away.
Research suggests conferences should
Have a greater focus on planning Enable families to present their views Ensure all views are grounded in evidence Promote discussion and explore dissent Place a strong emphasis on relationships Reduce power inequalities Build on strengths
Strengthening Families Framework
From Minnesota to Gateshead and Brent! Two mentions in the Munro first report (Dr Munro is also due to
speak at an international conference in the Netherlands on Signs of Safety approach in Sept 2011)
More similarities with than differences from the traditional business meeting format of Child Protection Conferences…
– Reports– Pre-meetings with families– Multi-agency meeting with parents attending– Decision about harm– Protection plan
…but designed to help families participate more easily, to help all participants assess risk better and for all to be more engaged in the development of a CP plan.
Underpinning influences of SFF
Andrew Turnell & Steve Edwards book “Signs of Safety”
Focus on risk and safety Key learning from Family Group Conferences (FGC) FGC & Restorative Practice UK CP Conferences Messages from Research Signs of Safety and Solution Focused practice Case Mapping
Comprehensive Risk Assessment
Family KnowledgeNetwork and
Culture
Professional KnowledgeNetwork and Authority
Danger SafetyBalanced
Assessmentof Risk
©2000Andrew Turnell PO Box 56 Burswood WA 6100 Australia, [email protected]
Key differences
Building safety for children at risk of harm Visible and transparent analysis of the information
presented to the meeting Analysis of risks as well as safety/protective factors Engages professionals and parents as part of the
solution Seeks cooperation thus highlights lack of cooperation The plan is owned by the conference and is not the work
of the chair – improved working together in core group Clearer about outcomes which indicate effective
safeguarding – better chance of change or timely decision making.
Danger/Harm
Risk Statements
Complicating Factors
Safety
Strengths/Protective Factors
Strengthening Families Framework
Safety Statement/ Outcomes
ℴ Detail re: incident(s)Bringing the family to the attention of the agency.ℴ Pattern/family history
GENOGRAM/ECOMAP
• Strengths demonstrated as protection over timeℴ Pattern/history of exceptions
ℴ Risk to child(ren)ℴ Context of risk
ℴ Condition/behaviours that contribute to greater difficulty for the familyℴ Presence of research based risk factors
ℴ Assets, resources, capacities within family, individual/communityℴ Presence of research based protective factors
(Grey Area)
•Description of the child’s care experience in positive terms
Outline Plan1. Keyworker
2. Visiting frequency3. Outcomes
4. Core Group – who?5. Core Group dates
6. Safety bottom lines7. Review CPC date
Lohrbach, S. & Sawyer, R (2004) Creating a constructive practice: family and professional partnership in high-risk child protection case conferences. Protecting Children, 19(2): 26-35.
The role of Conference Chairs; Active Facilitative Directive Challenging Enabling
Expectations of professionals; Clearer focus on analysis of risks Engagement in the protection plan
Roles
Key elements Chair meets family first Layout of room Refreshments Style of chairing (facilitative) Family can be helped to complete genogram Succinct presentation of information Family gets opportunity to respond Clear and transparent focus on risk, danger, harm,
complicating factors and safety Risk statement Plan – focus on bringing about change Decision
The conference set up
White Board
Potential benefits/challenges
Shifts the balance of power Significant change in the approach of chairs Importance of multi-agency ownership and
engagement Should have a system wide impact The focus must be on risks Requires professionals to synthesise and analyse
information Develops intervention plans rather than monitoring
plans – requires different skill set
Implementation - Haringey
Presentation and discussion at LSCB Role of CPAs in early planning for the ICPC Development work with CPAs Multi-agency briefings for social workers, TMs and
partner agencies Report and minutes formats Practicalities – room, whiteboard and refreshments
The Brent ExperienceInitial Stages; Began by observing a conference in West Berkshire Discussion with the Chair’s on implementing the
approach in Brent. Challenges were the different approach for Chairs to
conferences, lack of money to implement significant
changes, and limits on room size and locations Would other agencies embrace new approach? How would we evaluate its effectiveness?
Implementation; Chairs agreed to share experiences and give it a go
(one opted to retire) Two multi-agency outreach sessions arranged to
demonstrate and explain the new model Initial feedback was that new approach is embraced Agreed a timescale for beginning the new format and
evaluation period by conference attendees Kept the conference room arranged the same, but added
white board as focal point. Chair mainly stands to write All done for a cost of approx. £500 (two white boards,
some supplies, training room rentals, and biscuits!)
The Brent Experience
White Board
White Board is natural
focal point
Conference Room Layout
On The White Board
How significant is the harm or risk of harm to the child(ren)?
Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 High
How likely are the children to suffer harm without Social Care’s involvement?
Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 High
Current Risks/ Concerns
Historic/Complicating Factors
Grey Areas Safety/Protective Factors
Strengths/ Positives
Desired Outcome Actions By Who By When
Sally no longer experiences the emotional harm from domestic violence in the home.
Social worker to refer mother to a domestic violence agency to explore safety planning and cycles of abuse.
Social Worker
Mother
Within 2 weeks
ASAP
Different Colours used
for professionals family, and
Social Care.
The Brent ExperienceResults; Feedback from professionals and family members are
that 68% in favour of new format Anecdotal evidence shows less conflict with families,
less adversarial format, more engagement with plan Greater understanding by family and professionals as to
what the concerns are, acknowledgement of strengths,
and grey areas that need to be done or assessed further More discussion and debate amongst participants on the
plan and decision making CP Plans much SMARTer and built for purpose
around the children and family’s needs.
The Brent Experience
Unexpected Results; Professionals and Social Workers are increasingly
incorporating the 5 categories into their assessments and
reports to conference Social Work managers using categories in supervision to
help gain better understanding and insight into cases
Key Complaints; Takes too long!
“We should have always done them (conferences) this way,
I don’t know why we didn’t” - Health Visitor, 20+ years experience
Hackney Experience
Context of Reclaiming Social Work
Influences are: Strengthening Families Family Network Meetings Behavioural and Systemic Approach
Hackney’s introduction of New Conferencing
Broad consultation Number of workshops for agencies Internal workshops for Hackney CYPS Training for Chairs – Solution
Focussed/Signs of Safety/ Systemic work Work with case holding Units to promote
Signs of Safety assessment tools for children.
For further details…West Berkshire
www.westberks.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=12092
Signs of Safety Websitewww.signsofsafety.net/
Presenter Contact [email protected]