Child Protection Practice

"The timing of the publication with the revised Working Together guidelines could not be more advantageous. This book is a unique and important contribution to child care literature. No agency should be without." - Child Abuse Review Professionals concerned with the protection of children face many challenges. This work demands knowledge from several disciplines, a wide variety of skills, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The editors, Howard Dubowitz, a pediatrician, and Diane DePanfilis, a social worker, together with over 70 experts in this field offer what is known about how best to work with maltreated children and their families, in a very practical, concise, and user-friendly way. Structured to follow the life of a case from the time a report of child maltreatment is made through the various pathways in the child protection system, this edited volume synthesizes the best practice principles for responding to reports of child abuse and neglect; engaging children and other family members in intervention; developing cross-cultural practice competencies; assessing risk, evaluating safety, and conducting family assessments; defining outcomes and planning intervention; evaluating risk reduction; and making permanency decisions; and discusses the unique legal, medical, ethical, and other practice issues that work in the child protection field involves. Professionals facing tough dilemmas in practice should find valuable guidance in these pages.

This open access book critically explores what child protection policy and professional practice would mean if practice was grounded in human rights standards. This book inspires a new direction in child protection research – one that critically assesses child protection policy and professional practice with regard to human rights in general, and the rights of the child in particular. Each chapter author seeks to approach the rights of the child from their own academic field of interest and through a comparative lens, making the research relevant across nation-state practices. The book is split into five parts to focus on the most important aspects of child protection. The first part explains the origins, aim, and scope of the book; the second part explores aspects of professionalism and organization through law and policy; and the third part discusses several key issues in child protection and professional practice in depth. The fourth part discusses selected areas of importance to child protection practices (low-impact in-house measures, public care in residential care and foster care respectively) and the fifth part provides an analytical summary of the book. Overall, it contributes to the present need for a more comprehensive academic debate regarding the rights of the child, and the supranational perspective this brings to child protection policy and practice across and within nation-states. .

Walking This Path Together is an edited collection devoted to improving the lives of children and families that come to the attention of child welfare authorities by demonstrating and advocating for socially just child welfare practices. In this new, updated edition, authors provide special consideration to the historical and political context of child welfare in Canada and theoretical ideas and concrete practices that support practitioners, educators and students who are looking for anti-racist, anti-oppressive and anti-colonial perspectives on child welfare practice.

How do practitioners step up to the professional challenge of keeping children safe? Leading author Harry Ferguson draws on his own research, personal experience and real-life case studies to challenge the way we think about child protection. This highly original and engaging book captures the daily reality of practice within life's most personal spaces, and offers a rare insight into the lived experience of working with vulnerable children, their parents and other carers. An inspiring declaration of the need for a new, intimate approach to child protection, this ground-breaking book lays the foundations of skilful, authoritative practice. It is a must for Social Work student and practitioners within this challenging field.

This book presents in-depth, candid case studies that are designed to allow someone studying child protection to understand the complicated, challenging situations that occur in the field. The contributors cover eight common situations that practitioners face, including working with assessing risk, managing different professional perspectives, and handling uncooperative clients. The detailed analysis they provide will help students understand why particular decisions are made, and how practitioners can overcome similar predicaments at work through reflective practice.

Around 85 children die each year in the UK due to abuse or neglect. A number of these deaths are later deemed preventable because the child involved was known to either social services or to a health professional. Cases such as those of Baby P and Victoria Climbie highlighted the failings of these organisations, ones set up to safeguard children. It is the responsibility of every health professional worldwide to identify and respond to child abuse and yet that very responsibility is both emotionally and strategically challenging. The Child Protection Practice Manual: Training practitioners how to safeguard children equips professionals with the ability to recognise a child at risk and the knowledge of how to work with a child already suffering abuse. Practical advice is offered on how to navigate the multi-disciplinary processes. Fictional case studies and exercises immerse the reader in scenarios, from which the authors lead readers through learning points, recommendations, and legislation. With new definitions in child protection ranging from child sexual exploitation, gang violence, radicalisation and internet bullying through to female genital mutilation, witchcraft and spirit possession, honour based violence and forced marriage, this book will be a valuable resource.

In 1994 a group of researchers and decision makers met to discuss the state of child welfare. Also present were a few practitioners and two youth in care. Six years later, when they met again, the number of practitioners and youth had grown considerably and were joined by a strong contingent of foster parents. Thus the findings and insights presented were affirmed or challenged by those most affected -- those on the front line. It was an exciting event, worth capturing in book form. Kathleen Kufeldt and Brad McKenzie have gathered the papers presented at the 2000 Symposium and have organised them under four themes: incidence and characteristics of child maltreatment; the continuum of care; policy and practice; and future directions. An analysis and synthesis of the work informs each of these themes, while an eight-point research agenda developed in an earlier symposium is used to assess developments to date and provide guidance for the future.

This unique, multidisciplinary resource incorporates cutting-edge research and best practices in child welfare into a text that aims to teach and refine advanced child welfare skills for aspiring child welfare professionals. Featuring real-life examples and stories from the field, the handbook discusses existing methods and challenges in the field of child welfare practice. Chapters also include materials for instructors to use in classrooms or training settings. Among the topics covered: Overview of child welfare policies and how the child welfare system works Assessment tools and strategies used to identify various types of child abuse and neglect Individual, family, and community-level approaches to preventing child maltreatment and preserving families Promoting stability after foster care placement Effective collaboration while working with special populations Clinical supervision in child welfare practice Strategies for healthy professional development of child welfare practitioners The Handbook on Child Welfare Practice is a valuable resource as both a textbook in child welfare practice courses and a practical reference for child welfare professionals. This book will help develop a more knowledgeable and skilled child welfare workforce prepared to address the significant public health concern of child maltreatment.