revention and family support
eaning of prevention 85
duties of local authorities and social workers 86
texts of family support 91
anisation of servlces 93
s of famiiy-support services 94
cia1 networking 98 5
cia1networking strategies 100
ighbourhood servlces and family centres 105
eo Home Training 108
roup-workapproaches 110
risis support services 111
problem of 'ecological' validity 122
es. In this chapter, we will discuss prevention and family support.
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Objectives Family support Out-of-home Adoption
services care
After reading this chapter, you should know the theoretical positions of p
vention and protection on a continuum of services to families and children
You should understand the difference in practice between preventive
protective services, and between reactive and proactive approaches to
vention. You should also have an understanding of the distinction betwe .I Preventian/protection continuum
primary, secondary and tertiary prevention; and this may inform your
viewpoint, however, a temporary separation can allow time for the
about the state's right to interfere with the way that parents bring up c
and the child to do the work necessary to enable them to live
dren. You will know the legislative context of services for child
again successfully. Thus, a protective service such as foster care
in need and their families, including the duties of local authorities. You
o be a preventive service if it prevents permanent family breakdown.
have a fuller understanding of some of the issues within the pro
cases where the child has been removed and where attempts to
family-support services, for example, '~artnershipwith parents', the e the family are unsuccessful, adoption may be considered. Adoption
tion between 'family support' and 'intensive family preservation se
ears at the far right 'protective' end of the continuum and, indeed, it is a
and the difference between 'child-focused' and 'family-centred' services. that protects the child by providing a safe and stable environment.
will also be introduced to the concept of quality in family-support servic
rtheless, it is also preventive in that children who are nurtured by
Let us begin by considering the continuum of services to families an
ptive parents are less likely to become 'at risk' of child abuse or neglect
children.
n they themselves become parents. Thus, the ends of the continuum
e joined to form a loop.
A continuum of services s
entive and protective sehces
Services to children and families may be placed on a continuum from p
ventive to protective services (see Figure 4.1). At the far left 'preventi ave said that child-welfare services run on a continuum from preven-
end of the continuum, universal services such as health care, education, to protective services. There is sometimes a very fine line between pre-
and access to income are provided for everyone. Such services are n tion and protection. Indeed, depending on what it is we want to
stigmatising because they are universal and they ~rovidethe basic foun ent, we could theoretically classify all services as preventive. When
tion of security, education and health that may prevent families and children rovide universal services, such as health care and education, we are
from becoming 'at risli. Obviously, the success of their preventive functio g to prevent some children being at a disadvantage compared with
depends on the degree to which they are sufficient, readily accessible, an r children. If some children are at a disadvantage despite our efforts,
disbursed in a manner which does not carry a stigma. provide services to prevent them being neglected or abused. If they are
If the provision of universal services does not prevent families ected or abused anyway, we provide services to prevent them being
becoming at risk of child abuse or neglect, one or more of a range of fa oved from their homes and families. If they must be removed, our ser-
support services can be provided to ensure the child's safety while preve es are aimed at preventing permanent separation: and, if permanent sep-
ing the need to remove the child from home. For example, a social work tion becomes inevitable, we try to care for them in such a way that they
may go into the home on a regular basis to help parents learn non-viole 1grow into competent adults whose own children will not be at a disad-
methods of discipline and interact more positively with their child. ntage compared with other children. Thus, our preventive efforts come
If these efforts fail and the child must be removed, protective services
come into play. Such services may comprise some form of out-of-home However, differently phrased, these same efforts could be theoretically
care such as foster or residential care, and they are often seen as indicators ssified as protective. Universal services are designed to protect children
of failure: failure on the part of the parent to parent adequately, and failure such threats as disease, illiteracy, the general effects of poverty,
on the part of the social worker to prevent the child's removal. From a more the poor parenting that often results from life stress. When universal
Určeno pouze pro studijní účely
84 An introductionto working with children
services are insufficient, family-support services aim to protect children
who are neglected or abused or are at risk of being neglected or abused. If
protection can be assured while the child remains at home, so much the
better. If not, the child is protected by being separated from the family and
is reunited only when safety concerns have been addressed. ning of prevention
In practice, the term revenention' is usually used to designate th
that are provided to prevent the child being separated from the family. If t
child must be separated, then the investigation of alleged abuse
the child's removal when necessary, and all subsequent services a
'protective' services.This division between 'prevention' and 'prot
point of the child's removal is purely arbitrary since all servic
and after, lie on the same continuum. However, we sometimes
&vision is arbitrary. Many social workers view prevention and protection
separate, even opposite, services and this is an attitude which has very
consequences. The most damaging of these consequences is the percep
that removing the child implies the failure of prevention: a failure that i
at the door of both the social worker and the parents. Since removal is ass
ated with failure, accommodating the child outside the parental ho unity life which are considered reasonable for children in our society.
becomes a demonstration of failure, with all the accompanying stigma n the other hand, separation is what we want to prevent, then we
parents, having 'failed' in their parental role, may be viewed as 'bad' parent t worry about providing services to prevent children being disadvan-
by social workers, by foster carers and, worst of all, by their children an
themselves. Children, too, are stigmatised. They cannot live at home, as
children do, and they may feel that this is because they are 'bad' chi
seen as such by their parents, teachers, peers, caregivers and so ch prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their parents
Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 stipulates that t their placement away from home in public (or voluntary) care or cus-
accommodation for a child should not be viewed as failure . It also prevents children who are separated from having to remain in
family or the social worker. However, it is usually not possible to unnecessarily, and it prevents them being stopped from maintaining
ingrained attitudes merely through legislation. Since actions follow fro cal and/or emotional links with their natural families. The approach
attitudes, it is often not possible to legislate actions either. The Act m
include specific duties to be discharged by local authorities but, inevitably,
some interpretation will be necessary to translate a written duty into a par-
ticular action taken with a family. The duty will be interpreted di
depending on the perceived needs of the family, the resou preventing children being received into public or voluntary care away
and the value base of the person doing the interpreting. Thus, t from their families;
duty may result in different actions by different local authorities and even preventing children entering custodial care;
by different social workers within the same authority. preventing the neglect or abuse of children;
Naturally, written guidance has been provided in conjun preventing the effects of poor parenting on children;
Act to help with the interpretation, but it is almost impossible to saving children from those disadvantages in their homes and commu-
thing with sufficient clarity and lack of ambiguity to ensure that it is always nities associated with lack of income, amenities and social experiences;
interpreted by everyone in the same way. Thus, though obvious preventing children from having to remain in care (rehabilitation);
the guidance itself is open to interpretation, and specific services ma
available to families will still differ between authorities an preventing the isolation of children in care.
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by the state to the greatest degree possible.
Children Act 1989 supports the latter view, seeking a balance
en protecting the child and supporting the family. Under Section 17
Act, local authorities have a general duty to safeguard and promote
ing of children by their own families through providing services to
e child and the family. The term 'family' includes anyone with
a1responsibility and anyone the child is living with.
nse that services are universally provided to all; but it is proactive in
nse that local authorities are expected to seek out children who may
need in their area and provide services to prevent family problems
loping. A reactive approach, as we have learned, would involve waiting
the problems had already developed before intervening.
prime question here is: Who are 'children in need?' The concept of
' is obviously relative. Probably no child living in the United Kingdom
need' if compared with children living in the developing world. On the
ividual child or family whicl$.ought to be helped.
within the purview of protection. Children Act itself gives only a very broad definition of what is to
Legal duties of local authorities and social workers
We come now to look at the duties regarding prevention which are ction 17, Children Act 1989).The Act gives no clear indication of what
down in the Children Act 1989, and the context within which those d
were formulated.
A major debate in child welfare concerns the degree to which the stat ' and 'significant impairment' are relative, depending on what commu-
is chosen for purposes of comparison and what standards of health
d development are common in that community. The Act does say that
se matters must be judged with reference to 'all other children in the
end of the political spectrum would still argue that the state has no cal area, not onlj) those who live in a sinzilar, and possibl1~quite disadvan-
ged, comnzu~ziq~to that of the clzild in question' (our italics; Children
ct 1989). This would seem to indicate that local authorities are expected
to set higher standards than those found in the poorest communities;
n at risk of abuse. On the other hand, the Act does instruct local author-
s to give priority to those children who are 'most vulnerable'. Hill
middle ground, believing that the best interests of the child must come fir and Aldgate (1996, p. 7) note that these ambiguities have 'allowed some
Určeno pouze pro studijní účely
authorities to close their doors to all except those seriously at risk. Suc
1workers to be generally inadequate.
the Act.' same vein, several other research studies have examined the imple-
The definition of need in the 1989 Act covers three categories of ch n of services for children in need under Section 17 of the Act. For
dren: children who are not likely to maintain 'a reasonable standar
health and development' without services; children whose health and likely to see children for whom they already had a degree of responsibil-
elopment are likely to be 'significantly impaired' without services; and being 'in need' compared with other children in the community. Some
who could potentially be helped by the provision of services: more childr and 74 per cent to children at risk of neglect or in care, but only 12 per
than social services departments could practically seive. Thus, it is oft ave high priority to children living in homes where the gas, electricity or
left to the social worker to decide how 'need' should be defined.
Colton et al. (1995a,b) carried out a comprehensive evaluative study lton et al. (1995a,b) argue that, if it is departmental policy to move
from an emphasis on protection towards proactive prevention, then
dures for accomplishing this must be specified. Such procedures
and 16 Assistant Directors of Social Services with responsibility for c scouraging social workers fi-omusing protection material to guide them
care. The interviews revealed that social workers interpreted the concept preventive work by issuing alternative guidance designed to emphasise
need in a wide variety of different ways, with little agreement as to how
child 'in need' should be defined. There was also little agreement on how veloping guidance materials in cooperation with other statutory and
ing the guidance in joint training sessions together with other statu-
ment' are opposite sides of the same coin; that is, a child who do
e have discussed, it seems that both local authorities and the social
ers they employ have wide discretion in deciding which childre11 are
ildren with disabilities;
ildren at risk of abuse and neglect;
children with caring responsibilities (e.g., teenage parents, children of
ildren whose home conditions are unsatisfactory (e.g., those who are
omeless, in temporary or substandard accommodation, or in accommo-
ation for homeless families);
Určeno pouze pro studijní účely
a children who may be broadly defined as living in poverty and at high risl
of family breakdown. (Colton et al., 1995a,b
est - and fund - assistance from voluntary and private agencies. Hill
As might be expected, there is a relationship between the types of c
dren 'in need' who are to receive services and the specific purposes
nature, consistency and continuity of provision of services is not
s compatible with a market economy.
then the purpose of the service (and the concomitant duty of the lo
authority) is to prevent ill-treatment and neglect. Thus, the duties impose
by the Act on local authorities indicate the purposes for which family
support services should be ~rovided.These duties are:
us now look at the contexts of family support: that is, the conditions
a preventing ill-treatment and neglect; ch must prevail in order for family-support services to be provided - as
a reducing the need to bring care or related proceedings;
a reducing delinquency and criminal proceedings against children;
minimising the effects of disability on children with disabilities;
a promoting family reunification and contact.
Now we have considered to whom services ought to be ~rovidedand
ugh the Act encourages a proactive approach and does not permit local
ildren who are already abused or neglected or are at imminent risk of
assistance for rehousing abusers; assistance in kind; cash assistance; and family-support services can only be effectively provided in a society
day-care and out-of-school activities. The Act also stipulates that services h is working towards diminishing the gap between the rich and the
should be provided in a non-stigmatising way, and should enhance the
authority of parents. Children should participate in decision-making, and the opposite direction. Social polarisation has occurred and levels of child
service provision should be sensitive to the needs of ethnic minority com- rty have increased (Colton et al., 1995a,b).
munities. Participation in decision-malung is discussed later in the chapter, lman (1988, p. 211) correctly states that social deprivation remains
and service to ethnic minorities is discussed in Chapter 7.
As we have seen, local authorities are expected to seek out children
need in their area and provide services to them to prevent problems develop- herent strategy on the part of central government in relation to primary
ing. The process of seeking out children in need includes ~ublishinginfo ention. In his view:
mation about available services, and developing strategies which encourage
children and families to come forward. It also includes facilitating the provi-
poverty, improving the health of lower-income groups, and the provision
of adequate housing for all would do much to prevent children having to
ndure either of these two outcomes.
nificantly, when asked what services they would like but were not
eceiving, the parents in Colton et al.'s (1995a) study of children in need in
Určeno pouze pro studijní účely
Wales gave first priority to material goods and better housing. The stu
also found that, although children living in poverty are 'children in n
under the 1989 Act:
number of children living in poverty; (b) because of limited resources,
provision, despite the desire of managers to engage in more preventi
tently to users depending on the particular social worker involved;
(d) given the resource constraints, child care managers could see
hope of altering the situation. (Colton et al., 1995a,p. 102)
Some groups of children are particularly vulnerable to poverty. Accordi
ethnic minority groups experience disadvantage in many areas of their lives.
Reviewing the comparatively large body of research on the practice of rospects of all young people, including those with inadequate qualifica-
ons and/or those who leave thqeducation system prematurely. Further,
Thoburn (1997, p. 291) reports that:
and young people. These should be set at an adequate level and
welfare seivices tend to come disproportionately from certain
nge of support services at a local level to counter the effects of poverty
in society. Amongst those who are over-represented are children
d social exclusion. These may include family and community centres,
single parent or reconstituted families; those who are badly hou
bt counselling services, credit unions, child health clinics and care and
incomes below the recognized poverty line. The parents and chi1
ving touched on the issue of poverty, we will now look briefly at
er contextual factor related to family support: the way that services
population, and children of mixed racial parentage tend also to be ov
represented.
Colton et al. (1995a,b) argue that perhaps more than any other facto
at these services are organised. Research indicates that the organisation
mily support contained in Part I11 of the Children Act 1989 (Colton
al., 1995a,b). For example, rather than providing employment for local
abitants, social seivice departments tend to draft in workers from out-
prise three elements. rather than locally. ~ndeed,it is difficult to escape the impression that
Určeno pouze pro studijní účely
94 An introductionto working with children
social services departments are designed to operate in ways that are boun xpanding on this, family preservation services are:
to be self-defeating, and that frustrate any effort to develop effective fa
support services, or to fashion an authentic ~ a r t n e r s h i ~with parents, signed to help families alleviate crises that, if left unaddressed might
dren and local communities. ad to the out-of-home placement of children. Although more com-
An important family-support service, as we shall see later in the chapter only used to prevent the need to remove children from their homes,
is the family centre. Here too, Colton et al.'s (1995a,b) study showed tha mily preservation services may also be a means to reunite children in
the statutory sector has been slow in establishing these centres and do ster care with their families. The goals of such services are to maintain
not always allow them to be run in ways that empower local inhabitan safety of children in their own homes, when appropriate, and to
while boosting the local economy. st families in obtaining services and other support necessary to
ress the family's needs.
General Accounting Office, USA, quoted in Whittaker, 1996, p. 118)
Types of family-support services
ttaler (1996) notes that 'family support' and 'intensive family preserva-
Having discussed two of the contexts of family support, let us look now ' are the two dominant expressions of a shift away from child-centred to
the types of family-support services which are ~rovided.It might be noted mily-focused service. He distinguishes the following essential foundations
that some family-support services are ~rovidedat a national or departme n which family-oriented prevention rests:
tal level while others are community-based and are sometimes referred to
as community prevention programmes. Let us begin with a brief, general Part~zerslzip- the meeting of clients and professionals on common
discussion of community-based prevention programmes. ground and as a unified team.
Mz~tuality- creating an atmosphere where clients and professionals
communicate openly about thermost sensitive of concerns in a relation-
Community-basedprevention programmes ship built on openness, mutuaYrespect and trust.
Reciprocity - where we truly operate on ... the 'helper principle', where
In North America, a good deal of attention has been paid to community-
giving help and receiving help goes both ways and between all the
based prevention programmes, a generic term which encompasses various
lcey players: professional to client, client to professional, professional to
types of family support and family preservation programmes and services.
professional, and client to client.
Family-support services may be defined as:
Social assets - where assessment begins not by looking at what is going
Community-based activities designed to promote the well-being of vul- wrong in clients (deficits),but at what is going right (strengths).
nerable children and their families. The goals of family support services Resilience - where we are always alert to those protective factors and
are to increase the strength and stability of families, increase parents' mechanisms that blunt and divert the effects of known risk factors
confidence in their parenting abilities, afford children a stable and sup- and permit individuals, families and groups to overcome extraordinary
portive family environment, and otherwise enhance child development. and difficult life situations.
Examples include: respite care for parents and caregivers, early develop- Opti71zizatio1z- where our goal is always on creating the conditions
mental screening of children; mentoring, tutoring, and health education within which each individual, each client family, group and neighbour-
for youth, and a range of home visiting programs and center-based activi- hood fully exploits its developmental potential.
ties, such as drop in centers and parent support groups. Natural lzeali~zg- where our search is for those approaches to change
(General Accounting Office, USA, quoted in Whittaker, 1996, p. 117) which draw fully on the clients' ability to heal themselves through ritual,
celebration and reflection.
By contrast, '"intensive family preservation services" are brief, highly inten- Social ilztegratiolz - where our work with the 'private troubles' of individ-
sive services generally delivered in the client's home with the overarching ual clients is seen in the context of raising public social concern about
goal of preventing unnecessary out-of-home placement' (Whittaker, 1996, the critical function of individuals, families, small groups and neighbour-
p. 118). hoods in maintaining social order and promoting public safety.
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0 Coherence - here used.. .to describe processes through which individu- s' are children who have received less than adequate parenting, and
als, families and groups discern a sense of meaning beyond the struggles ave been neglected or abused. The 'volunteered' are children whose
of day-to-dayexistence.
sense of hope: hope that things can change for the better, that the powe personal or interpersonal stresses, deprivation or disability. 'Villains'
for change resides within, that someone is listening... and cares.
(Whittaker, 1996, pp. 123-4) concern on the part of either their parents or the authorities
rn,1997). It should be noted that 'villains' have usually been 'vic-
still has low actual priority - would go far towards alleviating the
which the programmes are provided. aily work of the child-and-family social worlcer is a combination of
ssment, social-care planning, and the provision of a social-casework or
ual or group basis. The precise mix will vary with each case. Social-
e planning requires skills in negotiation, mediation and advocacy.
mplex cases, especially those involving the likelihood of significant
to the child, necessitate that the social worlcer is effective in working
multi-disciplinary groups: a task which requires diplomacy, flexibility,
Community child-care teams an ability to recognise and iw~rkwithin various, and occasionally
Family support senrices are often provided through community child-car flicting, political frameworks. fb is also essential that the social worlcer
teams. As we have seen, in England and Wales, Section 17 of the Childre
Act 1989 requires local authority social services departments to ~rovidea ose ~roblemsrange from poverty to mental illness or learning disability.
range of services for children in need. This responsibility is devolved to com-
munity child-care teams. Parents or children may seek help directly from
these teams, or they may be referred by another agency (Thoburn, 1997). he exercise of professional discretion is a leey part of the worlc of child-
When contacted, the child-and-family social worlcer must assess -family social workers. In Thoburn's view,
whether any child in the family is 'in need' under the terms of the 1989 Act
and decide how the identified need can best be met (Thoburn, 1997).
Some children may be in need of protective s e ~ c e s .In such cases, the
social worker is first required to seek to prevent the child suffering mal- varied and flexible caseworlc service. The results of their decisions
treatment or further maltreatment through the use of family-support provi- be life enhancing or life threatening. (1997, pp. 294-5)
sions. There is also a formal child-~rotectionadministrative system designed
to ensure a coordinated interdisciplinary response to children who may be
suffering significant harm as a consequence of maltreatment. If parents do mily support enshrined in the Children Act 1989, child-care social work-
not cooperate fully and compulsory measures are required to protect the
child, the social worker may apply to the Family Proceedings Court for 'expert' to 'partner'. She argues that this has not been without opposi-
either a supervision order or care order (Thoburn, 1997). These court from child-and-family social workers who have worked in an era when
orders will be discussed in Chapter 5.
The children served by community child-care teams have been charac-
terised as 'victims, volunteered or villains', or a combination of the three. essment, or permanent family placement.
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(1997, p. 295) affirms:
s serve to help or inhibit their capacity to cope in the community.
Child and family social work went a long way along the ~ a t hof techni
good deal of work on the potential of social networks to complement
competence and practice dominated by official ~rocedures.Consu
support formal caring provision has been undertaken in the United
ted the vital role performed by informal caregivers, mutual aid groups
without the accurate empathy, warmth and genuineness which have 1 volunteers in the provision of social welfare to local communities
been known to be associated with effective practice.
nal Institute of Social Work, 1982). The report advocated that, in
associated with the 'expert' role and accept that the real 'experts' dividuals and families, social workers should engage in ameliorative
respect to a family's functioning are the family members themselves.
Thoburn identifies five pointers to positive practice by child-and-f reate, stimulate and support networks in the community. The report
een community worker and social worker.
1991b,c).These pointers also derive from two important social-workval ore recently, the Griffiths Report proposed that local authorities
respect for individuals, families and communities; and a commitment
maximising the rights and freedoms of children and parents and giving them
as much choice as possible in the provision of services. The five pointers -
factors which Thoburn believes to be particularly important - are as follo 90. At first glance, it seems perfectly reasonable to seek informal
efore formal processes are put into place, but an alternative interpre-
o Prevention (of family disintegration);
is that agencies are seelang to avoid their own responsibilities by
0 Protection (of the child and other vulnerable family members);
0 Permanence (the importance of the child's sense of);
at 'social workers should respond with caution to pressures to use alterna-
0 Partnership (with family members and with other professionals);
s to formal provisions, particularly in times of economic restraint when
0 Preparation (of the social worker and of family members before impor-
ncies may be seeking to cut the costs of providing care and support to
tant meetings, courts, etc.).
Community-based teams may ~rovidethe services discussed in the follow- munity-based support systems, social-network analysis is a method that
ing sections. It should be noted that the examples of services selected for
this text are by no means exhaustive.
Socialnetworking
wide range of preventive work with children and families.
Network analysis has largely developed from systems theory. A syste zcilding on the perso~znllinlzs of clients - e.g., relatives and neighbours -
approach to social-work practice may be used to analyse the complexity o
Určeno pouze pro studijní účely
2. Lidzing clients wit72 volu~zteerswho have the experience andlor s
tackle the clients' problems.
3. Brilzgi~zgtogether those with sil~zilnrexperie~zcesor problenzs, thus fa
ing the formation of informal mutual aid networks aimed at: (a) develo
ing further sources of support; (b) sharing knowledge; (c) buildi
existing community networks.
communities -with the aim of promoting social functioning and o
sation.
churches, and formal agencies).
Reigate (1996) argues that networhng enables the social worker to s
to be aware of: (a) the perceptions of clients; (b) how social networ
operates to strengthen or undermine the individual's social fun
(Reigate, 1996).
When undertaking network analysis, the relationship between individu-
als and their environments may be anal~sedat three levels:
(a) the nzicro level, which consists of the individuals' personal peer rela-
tionships or social support networks;
(b) the mezzo (or meso) level, where networks are examined in terms of
issues of access to resources and social functioning; partly supporting his two children by his first wife, and this first marriage is
(c) the llzncro level, which involves analysis of the relationship between a source of both financial and emotional stress within his present family.
people and more formal community organisations - for example, volun- Sue's elderly father, Paul, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease five years
tary and political groupings, clubs, societies, etc.
ht, wanders around the house, and starts shouting when he becomes
theory in Chapter 2. onfused. He is cared for during the day by Sue's sister Jean, who also pro-
Let us turn now from theoiy to practice. What strategies might a so vides care for John and Sue's two children when they come home from
worlter use to understand a client's social networlts? school. Jean, who has two teenagers of her own, has recently said she can
no longer cope with caring for Sue's family as well. John and Sue, who both
work full time to male ends meet, are suffering marital discord, and there
Social networking strategies has been an allegation by his teacher that their eldest son, Mark, is being
It has been suggested that clients should be asked to record their lives
using structured diaries. A standardised format should be used which The social worker tries to depict the family in its social environment by
incorporates a structure that reflects what is already known about the gen- drawing an eco-map (Figure 4.2), using the common symbols shown in
era1pattern of a specific client's day. Diaries for adults and children should Figure 4.3, and placing the client family in the centre circle. To draw an
be kept for a fortnight and a week, respectively. eco-map, the social worker must also know how to draw a genograln - that
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Určeno pouze pro studijní účely
A male of unknown age
A 27-year-old female
.m A deceased male (died at age 67)
51 m.93 Q A married couple (married in 1993)
A married couple with 2 children: an 8-year-
old daughter and a 3-year-old son
A married couple, wife pregnant
s.91 d.93
'2-D A couple separated in 1991, divorced in 1993
1992 0 An unmarried couple, living together
, since 1992, with a 4-year-old son
A married couple with an adopted daughter
Figure 4.4 Genogram symbols
cond initiative related to family support is neighbourhood services, par-
member, as shown in Figures 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7. Such separate maps
also be necessary if, as mentioned above, family members give conflicti
information about their relationships with each other. In the Hickson case,
for example, the social worker might well wish to draw separate maps for cognised as a major element in preventive service provision, the phrase
each of the children though these are not shown in the text.
The information collected through the eco-map and other forms of net-
work analysis will help the social worker and the family to better under-
stand the complexities of their social environment. This information may
be used as a clinical tool to aid and direct work with the family, both imme-
diately and for purposes of referral. It may also be summarised for use in ample, they are located in neighbourhoods where there is a marked inci-
case recording or to help in the monitoring of resources and their use over a
given period. In addition, the network analysis will have significance in away from home. They emphasise family strengths rather than labelling
fieldwork assessments and reviews (Reigate, 1996). families as problems and they do not stigmatise users. Their services are
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re 4.7 Eco-map- Mark Hickson
Figure 4.6 Eco-map-Sue Hickson
community also had a high proportion of black and ethnic minority
he parents interviewed in Smith's (1996) study identified common
ues of concern in relation to bringing up children. These included the
or supported by the Children's Society. Two of the centres worked mainly ng up children as a lone parent, the need for day care so that parents
with referred clients and offered direct counselling, access visits, lay go out to work, the importance of free time, the value of social con-
sessions and advice on parenting slalls, budgeting and diet. Two were t, and the importance of support networks - friends, family, baby sitting.
'neighbourhood centres' running various activities, some of them open to
anyone and some available only to referred clients. These centres also pro- major finding was that levels of need were very high both among users
vided counselling and space to other community groups in the form of
office facilities and meeting rooms. The last two centres were run by local where the latter were lone parents. It was also found that large num-
organisations and had adopted, or were planning to adopt, a 'community of children who were not living in families referred to the centres by
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social workers and were not considered 'at risk' were nonetheless growin attentiveness to one another, loolung at each other when speak-
up in highly disadvantaged circumstances. a friendly tone of voice, and so forth.
Encouragingly, most users felt that the family centres had had a positiv informed by social learning theory (remember Skinner and
impact on their own lives and those of their children: 97 per cent said the see the section on 'Cultural issues in child developmentJ in
would recommend the centre to someone else; 86 per cent said that th er 2). First, VHT reinforces positive communication: desired behav-
centre had made a difference to them; and 84 per cent said the centre ha
made a difference to their children. Moreover, the family centres were see to react appropriately to their child's behaviour, and rewards and
as: accessible - a safe place to go, with welcoming staff; available - ther ges positive interaction. Secondly, the home trainer applies the
was always someone to talk to; a community resource - to use the hone
get a lift, hire a room for a celebration; and a collective resource.
Smith concludes that all three types of family centre helped parents and
their children. However, in view of the high levels of disadvantage found in n addition to reinforcement, VHT utilises the modelling principle,
many areas, she also considers that, over the longer term, the type of centre olds that many behaviours are learned through imitation. While
which gives open access to community members and supports existing to the parents, the home trainer consistently applies the communi-
community resources is likely to benefit more families than centres which principles of VHT, thus serving as a model. The parents also serve as
are accessible only through social-workreferrals.
e their own positive behaviours.
llowing an initial meeting on referral, the video home trainer visits
agree to participate in the training, appointments are made for the
ming weeks. In the first week, the video home trainer records a typi-
time or game, for 10 to 20 minutes. In the second week, the home
been given the pivotal role in the activities of local authorities that effective r reviews a selection of positive segments of interaction with the par-
family-support services necessitate (Colton et al., 1995a,b).Family-support This is done to show the parents that they are able to communicate
services should play a central role in the delivery of services and need to be their children in a positive way. Reflections are made on significant
decentralised on a local neighbourhood basis. bal communication - which family members usually have not
before - and all positive interactions are encouraged. This 'immedi-
Video Home Training
eo-feedback approach' seeks to reinforce positive communication in
Video Home Training (VHT) is an innovative and increasingly popular
technique for helping children, young people and their families. Janssens
and Kemper (1996)note that, at the time of writing, VHT had already been municate effectively with their children without further support. The
used in the Netherlands for more than ten years. VHT is characterised by
short-term, home-based, filmed video-feedback of family interaction. nssens and Kemper's (1996) research demonstrates that VHT is effec-
The basic assumption underpinning VHT is that a child's behavioural in improving the quality of parent-child communication and reducing
problems are related to dysfunctional interaction between parents and dren's behaviour problems. However, their research examined the
child. Thus, the goal of VHT is to improve parent-child relationships by
resolving communication problems between parents and their offspring.
VHT seeks to improve the quality of ~arentalcommunication by stimulat- children's behaviour problems.
ing the land of interactions which are seen as forming the basis of urther work is also necessary to ascertain whether VHT has a positive
communication. Such positive interactions include parents and children pact on other aspects of family functioning. In the meantime, Janssens
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Homemaker services amily preservation. Nevertheless, it tends to be insufficiently sup-
Homemaker service is provided to enable children to receive car
to be feasible in rural areas. Lisbeth Schorr (1991) has identified
of possible conflict between effective services in general and bureau-
methods which may help to explain this. For example, most govern-
comes into the home for a few hours or more a day, and sometimes fo
hours a day. In addition to the help provided by the homemaker, child
fare will try to facilitate the provision of other social or health se
any categories (or sometimes no category at all) may not be pro-
needed by family members.
service to hold families together in a crisis. While it still serves
r discretion may be at odds with the traditional training of profession-
pose, the present conception permits its application to a broader
d managers and with conventional approaches to ensuring account-
Intensiveness and individualisation are at odds with pressures to
equity despite insufficient funds. A long-term preventive orientation
at a programme's ability to evolve over time is at odds with the per-
child-rearing techniques in general; problem-solving strategies; n
budgeting and house-keeping; and safety.
orr (1991) recommends creative funding approaches such as the
egorisation of certain categorical funds. These approaches could be
is temporarily ill or absent, the presence of a homemaker will preven
cted to geographic areas that are at risk, so that eligibility for service
hazard babysitting arrangements, children scattered among relatives, or Id be linked to residency in the area, not to individual failure or need.
care at all. In cases of abandonment, a homemaker can spare the child
geographic area would create a 'critical mass' of services that would
locate their parents or make other arrangements for their long-term care. A fficient to malce a difference at a relatively low cost. Such an approach
Id address the argument - mentioned earlier - that it is whole areas
not individual children in those areas which are 'in need'.
provide support to help the parents cope constructively. She may als
enable the parents and the agency to develop a sound plan for the
ed. In general, day care can be divided into three major categories. The
the homemalcer may enable the parents to balance the care of the il
with the needs of the other children in the family. If children are at
problem situations. It is an economical service compared with the cost of
most out-of-home care for children; it is less stressful than foster care, nder the auspices of an umbrella sponsoring organisation.
especially when a number of children are involved; and it accords with the
Family day care offers several advantages to parents and children. Parents
can often find daycare close to home, which males transportation easier.
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er cent had no kitchen area; 57 per cent had no policy on equal oppor-
ities; 64 per cent had no hygierik procedures; and the majority of staff
4:;
no formal qualifications.
andappa et al. (1996) examined day-care services for children under
in England. More than 95 per cent of such care is provided by organi-
s (voluntary or private) in the independent sector. In England, there
currently over a quarter of a million childminders, day nurseries, play-
tion, at least in part, it is recommended that post-secondary instituti
should ~rovidecoordinated training and education opportunities for
early-childhood workforce, expand their focus from centre-based pr ly half of the playgroups and day nurseries and almost a quarter of
inders surveyed had accepted children placed by a social worker or
visitor. Although independent-sector providers were often ready to
their slulls in the following areas: guiding children with behaviour cha
lenges; providing culturally sensitive care and inclusive care for childr s not fully utilised by local authorities.
Candappa et al. (1996) also found that the new statutory require-
child-care arrangements. To make the training more accessible, they should
develop better credit and transfer procedures between institutions and d practice. For example, almost a quarter of day-care providers in
reduce the barriers which limit access to training for some populations.
To further complicate the training issue, there has been little work done as not discussed with them by the local authority when they were regis-
in the area of hoine-based care on which to base decisions about what con-
stitutes good education for caregivers and how it should be delivered and
supported.
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concerned. Colton et al. (1995a,b) also highlight ~roblemswith regard ues in monitoringquality
services for children with disabilities under the 1989 Act.
hat we have looked at some of the types of family-support services
discrete service or as part of a package of care, and for the parent p may be provided, it is time to turn to issues of quality. How effective
the various services in giving support to families? How do we know
ment, and a link with the community for socially isolated families. F
ents in difficult circumstances, it can provide relief from the stress o
in long-term poverty and relief for sick parents. It can also be a mea
building parents' self-esteem and can act as an early diversion from
tial physical abuse. For the children it can provide a different and r
experience, an alternative to long-term and/or full-time out-of-home
ment and a relief from stressful family living.
e measurement
and as an enabler. 'Social workers offer the resource of respite care - they
also bring parents the opportunity of reflecting on their needs and of using
counselling and support to look at how they might use their strengths most
effectivelyto promote their children's welfare' ( ~ l d ~ a t eet al., 1996, p. 150)
The provision of short-term accommodation requires careful considera- ns. Funding for services is increasingly tightly tied to clearly defined
tion of the details of practice and the organisation of services. Aldgate comes, specified time-limited interventions and constant monitoring.
et al.'s (1996) work indicates that the following issues may be important s has made agencies and practitioners 'acutely aware of the need to
when arranging short-term accommodation. Family worries should be ecify precisely the intended outgomes of their interventions and then to
acknowledged and discussed in decision-malung. There should be no hid-
term accommodation is and what it is not. The ~ a r t n e r s h i ~should
rooted in reality; families must know what is realistically'available and initiatives. However, Whittaker notes that this caused major problems
choices are open to them. Written agreements are essential; they ex researchers, policy-makers and practitioners. For one thing, 'placement'
partnership by setting out what is expected of all parties. User s been found to be a relatively low-frequency event which is difficult to
edict. Secondly, it is now well known that 'placement' as an outcome is
bject to a wide range of factors independent of services, including formal
d informal administrative policies; the presence or absence of resources;
givers' homes; this provides parents and children with a good sense of
it feels to be there. Placement with a family of similar ethnic origin
religion is most likely to meet a child's needs and safeguard his or her w n emotionally disturbed child. Thus placement cannot necessarily be
fare most effectively. However, caregiver families with different cultur uated with failure; and indeed, in the UK, as we have seen, Section 17 of
these aspects of the child's family life sensitively; and there should not be viewed as failure by the family or the social worker.
In the United States, a number of tragic and well-publicised child deaths
user and caregiver families is essential; among other things, it is importa
family preservation. In light of this, some have called for greater
taken the trouble to find out about their needs and wishes. y felt that there should be less focus on the physical location of the child
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t the success of a group designed to increase parenting slcills where
development when we consider the Loolung After Children (LAC) mat tain desired behaviours in parents' interaction with their children.
als in Chapter 6. ever, we will probably not male the measurements necessary to enable
hold any such conversation. Veiy rarely do social workers measure the
ts of their interventions with children and families, even when they
Specifyingintervention components
A related issue is the task of carefully specifying the intervention
ponents of 'preventive programmes. Whittaker (1996, p. 121) astutely
slated into objective evidence of success that others can use and evalu-
observes that evaluate the success of our agency's programmes? And if we do not
model legislation is silent on the specifics of intervention while eloquent
on its values. The result is all too often the veneer of reform without the
substance. As is the case with all social welfare intervention, the central ding of the effectiveness, or otherwise, of policies enshrined in legisla-
question is simple yet elusive:
such as the Children Act? The next time you worlc with a child or
What of treatment/education/social support/concrete
resources for what duration of time and intensity will ~roducethe out- k about an intervention you might use to achieve that. Then think
comes of interest to differing types of children and families?
Although a good deal has been written about effective preventive pro-
grammes, their components have seldom been subject to rigorous empirical
evaluation. In relation to family preservation, further research is required to
establish the importance and contribution of caseload size, the teaching of
cognitive problem-solving skills (such as anger management), and the mobil-
isation of social support, including the provision of concrete resources. n outcomes have been selected, and key interventions chosen, the
Likewise, with regard to placement services, both residential and therapeu- issue arising in preventive work with families concerns staff training
tic fostering represent a series of 'blaclc boxes' rather than a clearly specified
and empiricallyvalidated set of interventions. Similarly,with respect to fam-
ily intervention, fundamental questions about the length, illtensity and ain and hope' strategy. He argues that:
nature of the intervention remain unanswered. Some of these questions
have major implications for budgets as well as for treatment ~lanning.For
If intervention is the 'blaclc box', training is the 'black hole' in lnost social
services departments. To the extent that it exists, it is often didactic and
instance, 'familyintervention' could mean any or all of the following: diffuse as opposed to experimental and skill-oriented. ...its content is
e Periodic contact with a local and lightly trained family worlcer linked, driven by the desires and interests of practitioners rather than either the
perhaps, to mutual aid and self-help; demands of client families or relevant intervention research on 'what
e Training in parenting slulls from a highly skilled parent educator on a works'. Moreover, much of our training is patchwork, episodic with little
groupwork basis; attention given to follow-up, worker supports and either training needs
.Family therapy with a therapist trained to ~ost-graduatelevel; assessment or evaluation.
.Occasional consultation with a parent volunteer via telephone. In Whittaker's view, inore attention needs to be devoted to the careful and
(Whittaker, 1996) systematic development of training in family-oriented prevention to ensure
We cannot therefore talk about the 'success' of 'family intervention' without effective dissemination of innovative interventions. In other words, when
first defining both 'success' and 'family intervention'. We might talk instead you have done something new and clever with a child or family and you
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The problem of 'ecological validity' Case example 4.1 Salimah and Tasneem W
salimah W (6 years, 3 months)
follows: Tasneem W (4years, 7 months)
Does the environment experienced by clients in a service program have Saliinah and Tasneem are the daughters of Iris (23) and Mohammed (36).
the properties it is supposed or assumed to have by the practitioner? Iris and Mohammed have recently moved from the Welsh valleys to
(Whittalter, 1996,p. 123) London in hopes of finding work. Mohammed emigrated to the UK seven
In other words, does the client's perception of her environment (family,
years ago from Iran. He says that he was a doctor in his own country but
friends, finances, physical living arrangements, etc.) fit with the social his qualifications are not recognised here and he refuses any other sort of
worker's perception? If it does not, it is apt to be the social worker's percep- work, saying that it is beneath him. Iris, who is Welsh, has found a job as a
tion that takes precedence, probably to the client's detriment. Whittaker
cleaner. She does this job in the 5venings when Mohammed is at home to
(1996, p. 123) considers that 'while environmental intervention lies at the
look after the children. She earns2verylittle but gives all her income iinme-
centre of the mission of social work, it exists at the margins of its practice'.
diately to Mohammed who manages the family's money.
That is, we generally do not take the time to find out what environmental Iris has no contact with her family. She says her mother threw her out
factors are important to the client and what those factors mean in the con-
when she became pregnant at 16 and she hasn't talked to any member of
text of the client's unique view of the world. What does it mean to a deaf her family since. Mohammed has extended family in another part of
child, for example, that all of his peer group and his parents have normal London. Iris says that six or seven of them visit eveiy month or so but they
hearing? talk in Mohammed's language and ignore her because she produced only
Whittaker (1996, p. 123) rightly argues that increased emphasis should daughters and she is white. Mohammed says his family is supportive and
be placed on ecological validity in all its forms: he couldn't manage without them.
Salimah, who was in school in Wales, has recently started school in
greater emphasis on culture, gender, and sexual orientation in crafting London, and it was Salimah's teacher who referred the family to social ser-
interventions; greater involvement of indigenous communities in the vices. The teacher says that Salimah talks hardly at all, either to her or to
development of the intervention and its evaluation through participatory the other children. She is always spotlessly clean when she comes to school
action research; greater focus on environmentally directed intervention and never gets herself dirty. She does what she is told but the school work
and on 'situated practice' (i.e. practice that occurs in the real life envi- seems to be beyond her. She is mercilessly teased by the other children and
ronments of our client families, as opposed to the sterile context of the seems to be an intensely unhappy child. The teacher has never seen
clinic or social agency). bruises but wonders about physical and sexual abuse.
Salimah's home is as spotless as herself and her mother as silent. There
In this chapter, we have talked about proactive and reactive preventive ser- are no toys in evidence and no sign that children live in the house. On the
vices and the categories of 'children in need' who are eligible to receive social worker's first visit, Salimah and Tasneem sat quietly on the sofa
those services. We have also discussed the types of family-support s e ~ c e s beside their father and refused to speak to her. She did manage to get Iris
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alone in the kitchen for a few minutes but when they went back into the
living room Mohammed did all the talking. Mohammed told her not to
come again because he could Iook after his family and they were doing fine.
a What proactive preventive approaches could have helped this family?
a What micro, mezzo and macro factors come into play?
a What would vou do now if vou were the social worker?
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