Safeguarding Children Across Services – serie

Neglect is the most common form of child abuse, but recognizing the signs, assessing the family's and the child's needs, and undertaking intervention can be difficult and complicated. This book, based on extensive research of the evidence, outlines how neglect can be recognized, examining the signs that parents give to signal their need for help, and the signs that a child's needs are not being met. It then covers how practitioners should respond, including assessment, planning, and appropriate interventions. The authors examine whether practitioners are well-equipped to recognize child neglect, and whether professional responses to help could be swifter. Finally, the prevention of child neglect is considered, and a proposal for a public health approach and early intervention is outlined. The book includes case studies and makes recommendations for policy and practice.This book will help practitioners to understand better child neglect and to improve practice in this important area. It will be vital for all those likely to encounter child neglect, including child and family social workers, health visitors, teachers with safeguarding responsibilities, nursery staff, and educational psychologists.

Adolescent neglect is a significant problem within child protection, but focus on child neglect and other forms of maltreatment means that it can often be overlooked.This book outlines how adolescent neglect differs from child neglect, the context of why it is overlooked, how it is defined, the causes and consequences of neglect, young people's views, and what professionals can do. Based on original research, the book establishes an evidence base and considers the implications for policy and practice. The concluding chapter sets out a practice-based framework for recognizing and working with adolescent neglect. Each chapter includes reflection points to stimulate thinking on key issues. This will be essential reading for all those who work with young people, particularly those in social work, health services and education, as well as academics, policymakers and students in these fields.

Safeguarding Children Across Services brings together the latest evidence on safeguarding children from abuse and neglect. Providing an overview of 15 research projects, it addresses the key policy and practice issues across health, social care and education services and the family justice system.The authors set out the latest findings on identification of abuse and neglect, methods of prevention, general interventions, and specific interventions for families with additional or complex needs. They examine the evidence on effective inter-agency practice and how it can be improved. Each chapter ends with principal messages for policy and practice.Providing a critical account of policy, systems and practice, this book is essential reading for anyone who needs the latest guidance in relation to safeguarding children, including policymakers, social workers, professionals in health care and the family justice system and other practitioners working with children.

The decision whether or not to reunify a child in care with their birth family is one of the most serious taken by children's services, and often involves considerable risk.This book examines the long-term consequences of this decision for children who entered public care for abuse or neglect. It compares the experiences and progress of children who remained in care or returned to their birth families up to four years after the decision was taken. It covers how the decision is made, the factors taken into account when making it and provides important suggestions for effective decision-making. It compares the progress made by the children in relation to their safety, stability and emotional well-being. The book demonstrates that, contrary to common belief, long-term care can be a positive option for maltreated children.This book provides important messages for reunification policy and practice in relation to maltreated children. It will be essential reading for social work practitioners, researchers and policy makers.

Safeguarding babies and very young children is a highly complex process, involving difficult decisions surrounding their needs, care, and whether they need to be separated from their families.This book, based on a research study which followed babies who were identified as likely to suffer significant harm before their first birthdays until they were three years old, explores key issues surrounding the safeguarding process. These include how the decision whether to remove children from their families are made, whether social work interventions work and the impact they have on children's life pathways. It also examines the role various participants, including parents, have in decision-making. The findings of the study show a close link between decisions, maltreatment and children's developmental problems, and provide key implications and recommendations for policy and practice.This significant book will be essential reading for all those involved in safeguarding children, including practitioners and policymakers, academics and researchers.

Parents who neglect children present considerable challenges to child welfare professionals, and are often resistant to change. This book addresses an urgent need to ensure that social care interventions provide better long term outcomes for neglected children across services. Based on a substantial research study into social care provision for children, it provides a rare insight into the experiences of neglected children over a period of five years, examining the responsiveness of parents and children to social care support and their progress. Close-focus study of the decisions made on either side of services - by the children, the parents, the caregivers and related social and healthcare professionals - shows what works and what doesn't, in the long term. This important book highlights gaps in provision for neglected children after the initial referral stage, the risks and potential for professional interventions and how well the child protection system and the courts protect children. It suggests ways that local authorities and other professionals can meet the complex needs of the children most likely to fall through the safety net, the factors related to good outcomes for them and how to improve safeguarding strategies within and beyond children's services. Providing a critical account of policy, systems and practice, this book is essential reading for anyone who needs the latest evidence about safeguarding children, including policymakers, social workers and professionals in health care and the family justice system.

Emotional maltreatment is widespread and has a profoundly harmful effect on a child's development. The effects of abuse are often carried into adulthood, and emotionally abused children are more likely to experience a range of problems as adults including depression, substance misuse and eating disorders. This book sets out to identify 'what works' in preventing emotional maltreatment from recurring. Since most emotional maltreatment takes place within the family home, involves the primary care-giver and reflects ongoing patterns of damaging parent-child interaction rather than isolated incidents, interventions directly targeting parent-child interactions are highlighted. The authors explore the available treatments, identifying which approaches work, who they work with and the limitations of each. Conclusions and recommendations based on the key findings are presented, including implications for practice and over-arching issues to be addressed.Safeguarding Children from Emotional Maltreatment is essential reading for all practitioners working in the field of emotional abuse and neglect, including social workers, health visitors, community paediatricians and psychologists.

Neglect is the most common form of child abuse, but recognizing the signs, assessing the family's and the child's needs, and undertaking intervention can be difficult and complicated. This book, based on extensive research of the evidence, outlines how neglect can be recognized, examining the signs that parents give to signal their need for help, and the signs that a child's needs are not being met. It then covers how practitioners should respond, including assessment, planning, and appropriate interventions. The authors examine whether practitioners are well-equipped to recognize child neglect, and whether professional responses to help could be swifter. Finally, the prevention of child neglect is considered, and a proposal for a public health approach and early intervention is outlined. The book includes case studies and makes recommendations for policy and practice.This book will help practitioners to understand better child neglect and to improve practice in this important area. It will be vital for all those likely to encounter child neglect, including child and family social workers, health visitors, teachers with safeguarding responsibilities, nursery staff, and educational psychologists.

Adolescent neglect is a significant problem within child protection, but focus on child neglect and other forms of maltreatment means that it can often be overlooked.This book outlines how adolescent neglect differs from child neglect, the context of why it is overlooked, how it is defined, the causes and consequences of neglect, young people's views, and what professionals can do. Based on original research, the book establishes an evidence base and considers the implications for policy and practice. The concluding chapter sets out a practice-based framework for recognizing and working with adolescent neglect. Each chapter includes reflection points to stimulate thinking on key issues. This will be essential reading for all those who work with young people, particularly those in social work, health services and education, as well as academics, policymakers and students in these fields.

Safeguarding Children Across Services brings together the latest evidence on safeguarding children from abuse and neglect. Providing an overview of 15 research projects, it addresses the key policy and practice issues across health, social care and education services and the family justice system.The authors set out the latest findings on identification of abuse and neglect, methods of prevention, general interventions, and specific interventions for families with additional or complex needs. They examine the evidence on effective inter-agency practice and how it can be improved. Each chapter ends with principal messages for policy and practice.Providing a critical account of policy, systems and practice, this book is essential reading for anyone who needs the latest guidance in relation to safeguarding children, including policymakers, social workers, professionals in health care and the family justice system and other practitioners working with children.

The decision whether or not to reunify a child in care with their birth family is one of the most serious taken by children's services, and often involves considerable risk.This book examines the long-term consequences of this decision for children who entered public care for abuse or neglect. It compares the experiences and progress of children who remained in care or returned to their birth families up to four years after the decision was taken. It covers how the decision is made, the factors taken into account when making it and provides important suggestions for effective decision-making. It compares the progress made by the children in relation to their safety, stability and emotional well-being. The book demonstrates that, contrary to common belief, long-term care can be a positive option for maltreated children.This book provides important messages for reunification policy and practice in relation to maltreated children. It will be essential reading for social work practitioners, researchers and policy makers.

Safeguarding babies and very young children is a highly complex process, involving difficult decisions surrounding their needs, care, and whether they need to be separated from their families.This book, based on a research study which followed babies who were identified as likely to suffer significant harm before their first birthdays until they were three years old, explores key issues surrounding the safeguarding process. These include how the decision whether to remove children from their families are made, whether social work interventions work and the impact they have on children's life pathways. It also examines the role various participants, including parents, have in decision-making. The findings of the study show a close link between decisions, maltreatment and children's developmental problems, and provide key implications and recommendations for policy and practice.This significant book will be essential reading for all those involved in safeguarding children, including practitioners and policymakers, academics and researchers.