Social Work With Children And Their Families

′An excellent introduction to social work with children and families. It links practice with legislation and highlights relevant research findings′. - Mr Dan Burrows,Cardiff School of Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University Working with children and families is one of the most challenging, skilled, but ultimately rewarding, areas of social work practice. Social workers need to be able to work with a diverse group of children and their families: from babies to teenagers, single parents to two-parent families and multi-carer families, as well as with a diverse group of professionals, such as the police, schools, hospitals, health centres and various community organisations. They need to be able to understand the law, policy and legislation that surrounds social work with children and families, while continually developing their own skills. Such skills include communication, preparation and planning, intervention, recognition, identification and assessment of significant harm, recording and report writing, managing oneself and the work, problem solving, research and analysis and decision making. This fully revised new edition aims to guide you through all of these areas and more. There are chapters on safeguarding, substitute care for children, family support for children and families, life story work and direct work with children.

How can professionals build constructive relationships with families where the parents dispute professional allegations of serious child abuse? How can meaningful safety for children be created in these families? How can professionals work together constructively in such cases? Situations where parents refute child abuse allegations made against them are often deemed to be impossible or untreatable by statutory and treatment professionals. These cases can consume enormous amounts of professional time and energy and frequently become bogged down by ongoing professional-family mistrust and dispute. Often, the decision to close such cases comes about not because the children are safe, but rather because the professionalsrun out of ideas, time and energy. Working with ‘Denied’ Child Abuse presents an innovative, safety-focused, partnership-based, model called Resolutions, which provides an alternative approach for responding rigourously and creatively to such cases. It describes each stage of this practical model and demonstrates the approach through many case examples from therapists, statutory social workers and other professionals working in Europe, North America and Australasia. The book is key reading for legal, health and social care professionals working in the area of child protection.

Social work with children and families is constantly in the headlines and social workers′ decisions are subject to ever increasing scrutiny at all levels. This aspirational book supports students and newly qualified social workers and suggests practical ways in which they might thrive, rather than just survive, in practice Written at a time when Social Work Reform Board and the Munro Enquiry are charged with looking at issues of effectiveness within children and families social work, the book tackles the different challenges that students and practitioners can be faced with, outlining common pitfalls and how to avoid these. Key topics covered include: - Legislation and policy - Child development - Safeguarding and child protection - Assessment - Communication - Looking after yourself Reflective questions are used throughout the book, ensuring that students critically evaluate their own practice. Case examples and case studies drawn from the authors′ recent practice are included throughout the book to illuminate the realities of contemporary social work with children and families. This text will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, particularly as they prepare to go on placement. It will also provide valuable reading for qualified social workers who are interested in fresh and effective approaches to practice.

Carefully researched and highly readable, this textbook explores what enables good and effective practice in local authority field social work delivered to children, young people and their families. The book sets the context for local authority social work practice and then chapter-by-chapter takes the reader carefully through the social work process. Detailed case studies work really well in embedding the legal and theoretical context firmly within the practice challenges of safeguarding children. Overall the book is about social workers effecting change so that children can continue to live successfully with their families and within their communities. Key features include: " Strong links between theory and practice; " Core themes relevant to training and practice- assessment, decision-making, interprofessional collaboration and reflective practice; " Accessible and jargon-free, also includes a useful glossary of relevant legislation; " Learning points and case study exercises in each chapter. Written in a lively and engaging style, students and newly qualified social workers will find this book provides a helpful introduction to children and families local authority social work as it exists today. It will be invaluable for students taking courses in child and family social work and child protection. The book will also appeal to experienced practitioners who want to explore action research or create the space for reflective practice as part of their continuous professional development. It will help other professionals involved in supporting children develop insight into the practice of social workers.

Social workers are constantly making decisions under pressure. How do policy, law, research and theory influence what they do? This important book provides the answers with a crystal-clear map of the field of social work with children and families. Focused on four major themes - family support work, child protection, adoption and fostering, and residential child care, and reveals in detail all the challenges that social workers face every day. Edited by the highly respected Martin Davies, this authoritative and illuminating book argues that the skill of the social worker can have life-enhancing consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in society. It is an essential investment for students, educators and practitioners alike.

This book will provide you with the initial developing knowledge and skills needed to practice ethically and effectively with children and families. It will take you on a journey, introducing you to all the relevant theory, legislation and skills for practice, using case studies, activities and research summaries to help you navigate the complexities and challenges along the way. Since launching in 2003, Transforming Social Work Practice has become the market-leading series for social work students. These books use activities and case studies to build critical thinking and reflection skills and will help social work students to develop good practice through learning. This best-selling student series is: · Affordable · Written to the Professional Capabilities Framework · Mapped to the social work curriculum · Practical with clear links between theory and practice

Effectively engage clients in working for personal change Social Work Practice with Children and Families presents the framework for family health social work and its applications in various practice environments. This vital textbook provides a unique blend of academic deliberations and practical service guidelines. Case examples or discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter to facilitate more in-depth understanding and discussion among graduate and undergraduate students, professors, and educators in health and human service areas. Social Work Practice with Children and Families is organized into two major sections entitled “Practice Interventions” and “Policy, Programs, and Emerging Families.” This book will supply you with intervention and change strategies for promoting the physical, mental, emotional, social, economic, cultural, and spiritual growth and development of the family unit and each of its members, resulting in its holistic well-being. The book covers a wide variety of family dynamics that you will encounter, including gay/lesbian parents, single parents, and grandparents as caregivers. In this resource, you will also find case studies, adaptive strategies, and intervention models for working with families dealing with: abuse and violence disability loss and grief HIV/AIDS migrating and seasonal farm work and more! Social Work Practice with Children and Families will show you how to adopt and use family health social work practice methodology and models in your casework. As a supplemental text, it will help you harness the resources of the household, the government, and the community to develop interventions and services that promote the interests and welfare of your clients and their loved ones.

Professional social work has changed considerably over the last forty years coinciding with the demise of the social democratic consensus of the post-war years and the emergence and now domination of neoliberalism. Rather than the state through the government of the day ensuring citizens' basic needs were met via the welfare state, the belief in free market economics entails people having to be self-reliant and self-responsible. This has involved social work with children and families moving from a helping and supportive role to one that is more authoritarian, this often involving telling parents to change their behaviour and lifestyle or face the consequences. This book outlines the development of social work with children and families over the period in question, drawing on the author's unique practice experience and his extensive writings. It charts the highs and lows of social work, the latter including the dominance of managerialism which emphasises speedy completion of bureaucracy so as to ration resources and assess/manage risk. Despite this, the argument is for a critical practice which addresses service users immediate needs while simultaneously aiming towards a more socially just and equal society. This book is essential reading for everyone interested in social work including academics, students, practitioners and managers both in the UK and overseas. Social care and allied professionals more generally will also find it insightful, as will academics, students and educators of social policy and related disciplines.