The Social Worker S Guide To Children And Families Law

Now fully updated and with up-to-the-minute guidance, this is the only book you will need to make sense of the key elements of law involved in social work with children and families in England and Wales. Accessible and jargon-free, this everyday reference explains the fundamental concepts of parental responsibility and human rights, and the provisions of private and public law, including care proceedings and adoption. This second edition incorporates recent changes including the Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance for inter-agency working, the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Crime and Courts Act 2013 as well as the latest case law. Checklists, charts and highlighted points allow for easy reference, and illustrative case scenarios put the law into context. This comprehensive and easy-to-use guide will be an invaluable resource for practising social workers, as well as trainees, students and those studying for post-qualifying awards.

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.

Social work with children and families is a challenging, complex but ultimately rewarding pathway for the student social worker. This fully-revised new edition aims to guide the student through the legislation, policy and law that surrounds social work with children and families, while providing a solid foundation for critical thinking. Vital skills and methods such as communication, observation and assessments are explored in detail while the ethical and value base of social work practice underpins the text. Recommendations from the Munro Review into Child Protection are referred to throughout.

Social workers working with children and families are required to make complex and difficult decisions on a daily basis, which often result in court proceedings. This book is a comprehensive guide for childcare lawyers and other professionals in the UK seeking to understand the policies and procedures involved in social work practice. This second edition has been thoroughly updated to take account of all recent UK developments, including the reissued Public Law Outline, the revised 'Working Together to Safeguard Children' (March 2010), new UK case law in respect of section 5 social work records and local authority duties, guidance relating to the Integrated Children's System (ICS), and new guidance for secure accommodation provision. Contents include: the legal framework * why do lawyers need to know about social work? * the referral to the local authority * the local authority response - the s47 investigation * the assessment process * child protection planning * the local authority's duties towards looked-after children * fostering * adoption and permanency * leaving care * how to analyze the local authority's decision-making process

The UK legal system in the area of social work with children and families can be bewildering and complex and it is vital therefore that any textbook on the subject uses case law, case studies and research to critically-engage social workers and students alike. This book does just that - by examining, and putting into clear practical context, the current law and policy relating to social work with children and families. A guide for both students on placement as well as Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) entering their first roles within children and families teams, Practical Child Law for Social Workers is essential reading for a fast-paced and complex area of social work.

The English legal system in the area of social work with children and families can be bewildering and complex and it is vital therefore that any textbook on the subject uses case law, case studies and research to critically-engage social workers and students alike. This book does just that - by examining, and putting into clear practical context, the current law and policy relating to social work with children and families. A guide for both students on placement as well as Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs) entering their first roles within children and families teams, Practical Child Law for Social Workers is essential reading for a fast-paced and complex area of social work.

′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.