This thesis is a case study of coordination policies and practices in child protection services. The study is an exploratory, descriptive account of the processes and outputs of interagency coordination rather than a hypothesis-testing study or an evaluation of the outcomes of coordination. It is based on empirical research undertaken in two research sites in the north of England. The principal data sources used in the research were: an analysis of the social services departmental case records relating to a sample of 48 children on child protection registers for physical or sexual abuse; interviews with 90 professionals (social workers, teachers, community nurses, police officers, doctors and others), drawn from a sub-sample of the 48 cases; a questionnaire issued to those interviewed and selected others, completed by 81 respondents; and analysis of central government guidance, local interagency procedures and other documents. In Chapter One of the thesis, selected topics in the literature on interagency coordination and the policy background to the study are reviewed. The research methods used and the characteristics of the case sample and the interview and questionnaire respondents are presented in Chapter Two. The principal research findings are presented in Chapters Three to Eleven covering three main topics: i) interagency coordination in the key phases of a case career (namely referral, initial investigation, medical assessment, case conferences, child protection plans and intervention, monitoring and review) ii) an examination of local interagency procedures and the role of Area Child Protection Committees and iii) the perceptions and experiences of respondents concerning interagency work. The thesis concludes that there is a high degree of routinised coordination with a relatively clear division of labour in child protection services; that coordination involves principally the exchange of information, arranging for the sequential and separate performance of key tasks and some limited shared decision-making but that there is little joint hands-on collaboration; that interagency activity peaks in the early phases of the construction of a case and diminishes thereafter; that the implementation of policy guidance may be seen as relatively successful and that there is some support for the idea that interagency coordination strategies tend towards conservatism.

Abstract Service user involvement in service and policy development is vital in order to provide services that meet their needs. In the sensitive and challenging area of statutory child protection, where service users are often marginalized and disempowered, such involvement is likely to be contested and complex. It is, nonetheless, of great importance in order to provide effective responses to the protective needs of children and to the needs of their families, in order to ensure child safety. This qualitative study explores the participation of parents in statutory child protection policy processes in the state of Queensland, Australia. The aims of the study were to understand the Queensland statutory child protection policy context, and to explore the issue of parent participation in policy processes from a number of different perspectives. An analysis of a range of Department of Child Safety (DChS) policy related documents, from the period 1999 – 2007, was undertaken. Focus group interviews were undertaken with statutory child protection practitioners and policy officers, and with non government child and family welfare practitioners. Individual semi structured interviews were undertaken with a number of parents who are statutory child protection service users. What has emerged is a picture of a service system where parents are likely to be excluded at all levels of decision making. The study found that following inquiries into the failure of the service system, in particular the Crime and Misconduct Commission Inquiry (CMC), DChS has emerged as an individualistic child focused service system with a focus on forensic investigation, risk assessment and management, and with a corresponding loss of focus on family support. The findings indicate that how DChS has redefined its approach to child protection impacts significantly on how parents are engaged by the service system. They highlight inequities in the way service user participation rights have been incorporated into policy and enacted in practice, and the lack of recognition afforded parents as service users and stakeholders in the service system. The findings also suggest that DChS policy processes are focused more on progressing reform agendas and efficient service delivery than they are on service user involvement. Negative portrayals and perceptions of parents, and a perceived lack of understanding of the nexus between disadvantage and child welfare, were also found to contribute to their exclusion. The parent interviews provided valuable insights into their experiences of the service system, indicating the sorts of issues they are likely to bring to the policy table. However, the findings illustrate that they lack the necessary information, support and encouragement to participate, and their experiences of the service system have left them mistrustful of engaging in policy processes, should the opportunity arise. Overall, the findings show that while there is likely to be a number of benefits to parent participation in policy processes, and parents themselves have an interest in participating, there are many barriers to this. While a few potential strategies to engage parents in policy processes were identified, these were often also perceived to have limitations. It is considered that a comprehensive socio-structural approach would be needed in order to reposition parents as participators in policy and service development.

In a semi-longitudinal exploratory study using observational and in-depth interviewing methods the following questions were explored through an intensive analysis of 10 families involving 17 allegedly abused children. / 1. What are the factors to which social work practitioners in different organisational settings (a hospital based child abuse service and a statutory child protection service) give salience in their assessment of alleged child abuse cases and what is the nature of their observed models of practice? / 2. What is the nature of the interaction between different organisations, and in particular between the core organisations (the hospital, police and child protection services) in cases of alleged child abuse? / 3. How do parents perceive their experiences related to the alleged abuse of their children, and how do they perceive their interactions with core organisations? / Professionals were interviewed about their unfolding perceptions throughout the life of each case, with a total of 134 interviews being conducted with practitioners (an average of 13.4 per case). A total of 46 practice episodes were also observed (an average of 4.6 per case), including office interviews, home visits, groups sessions, meetings, case conferences and a court hearing. For all but one of the ten families it was also possible to conduct lengthy, in-depth home interviews with the parents about their experiences relating to the alleged abuse and their contact with services, thus bringing the combined total of professionals' and parents' in-depth interviews to 143. / A content analysis of the field notes yielded a number of themes and key findings. In relation to the first question, it was found that social workers in both the hospital and the child protection service gave salience to quite different variables and both groups attended to a much narrower range of variables than the framework of psycho-social assessment traditionally taught in professional social work education. / In relation to the second question, it was found that a pattern of marked tensions was evident in the relationship between the child protection service and both the hospital and the police. This mirrored the inter-organisational tensions which existed at a broader political level between these organisations. The tensions at the service delivery level were conceptualised as gate keeping disputes, dispositional disputes and domain disputes.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Marriage is one of the oldest institutions of mankind. It is the coming together of a man and woman for the purpose of procreation and society. In our society marriage is a social institution in which a male individual marries a female individual, provided both have attained their respective adulthood as specified by the law of the state. Although the definition of marriage varies with culture it can, in a nutshell, be defined as a social union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between the two of them, between them and their children and between them and their in-laws. It therefore falls within the ambit of those who are specifically trained in psycho-socio counselling to minimise the damaging consequences of a failed marriage.

Child sexual abuse has occurred since the beginning of human history. Physical and emotional abuse as well as neglect was known to people, but child sexual abuse was hidden because of the social restriction surrounding sexual contact with children. Even though reporting is now more socially accepted, it is still difficult to determine the prevalence of child sexual abuse, because it remains under-reported. Sexual abuse of a child is highly complicated and has various effects on a child and the functioning of the child. The goal of the research was to explore the experiences of designated social workers working with cases of alleged child sexual abuse in the South African context. A qualitative research approach was utilised in order to obtain the information of their personal experiences as designated social workers working with cases of alleged child sexual abuse. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, guided by an interview schedule. Snowball sampling was used to select designated social workers working at child protection organisations and the Department of Social Development in the Western Cape. Ten participants (all female) formed the sample for the study. The research is based on the personcentred theory, developed by Carl Rogers (1961) (Corey, 2013:159). This theory implies that people’s experiences and perceptions will be their reality (Henderson & Thompson, 2011:191). The findings of the study suggested that the role and responsibilities of designated social workers are to do prevention work, to be the first response, to ensure that the abuse is reported, to provide support and empowerment to the child and family concerned and also to do risk and safety assessments to assess the likelihood that the abuse occurred. Designated social workers also need to investigate the child’s circumstances and establish whether the child is in need of care and protection and they must safeguard the child either through a safety plan or finding the child a suitable and safe placement. Furthermore, it was found that the fundamental skills and principles of social work support designated social workers and that the more years of experience designated social workers have, the more confident they feel when they must work with cases of alleged child sexual abuse. Additional training for designated social workers working with cases of alleged child sexual abuse is also necessary. Designated social workers face many challenges when working with cases of alleged child sexual abuse. Designated social workers reported that working with the police can be challenging, organisations and departments often work in isolation, challenges are being faced at medical centres, child sexual abuse is a silent crime that is being hidden away, there is a lack of resources, designated social workers deal with many challenging emotional experiences, staff turnover is a reality, there are limitations in the child protection system and community and family characteristics are risk factors for child sexual abuse. Supportive factors for designated social workers when they must deal with cases of alleged child sexual abuse include good supervision, peer support, support from social auxiliary workers, organisational protocols and guidelines and the South African legislation. Designated social workers feel that they do have the ability to make a difference. / Mini Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM / This paper reports on the findings of a study on the importance of documentation for unaccompanied separated migrant children on South African soil. The objectives of the study is to identify what the international and national laws and policies state about protecting children’s rights, particularly, their socio-economic rights, in the context of irregular migration. Their rights to have legal documentation, their right to education as well as health care, among others. Most importantly, the paper attempts to gain an understanding of the role and obligations of South African stakeholders in terms of the requirements of documentation and the implementation of the relevant laws and policies. To understand what the relevant stakeholders such as NGO’s, DE, Health, DSD and DHA do to protect USMC’s socio-economic rights. Their right to documentation, their right to education, to health care, to the justice system and child protection systems.

Les promesses d’égalité pour tous dans l’éducation au moment de la Révolution ne se réalisent pas dans les années qui suivent. La France n’a pas les moyens de mettre en œuvre une éducation à la hauteur de ses ambitions. Avec Napoléon puis le retour de la monarchie, les congrégations retrouvent la place privilégiée qu’elles occupaient sous l’Ancien Régime afin de suppléer ces manques. Les deux freins principaux à cette égalité que sont le niveau social et la différence de genre, ainsi que les solutions pour lever ces freins, sont étudiés dans cette thèse en s’appuyant sur l’exemple concret de la cité maritime de Fécamp (Seine-Maritime, France) de 1806 à 1906 où trois congrégations, les sœurs de la Providence de Rouen, les frères des écoles chrétiennes et les sœurs de Saint Vincent de Paul, se partagent l’éducation (au travers des écoles et des orphelinats) avec les maîtres ou personnels laïques. / The promise of equality for all in education at the time of the Revolution will not be achieved in the following years. France does not have the means to set up education for its ambitions. With Napoleon and the return of the monarchy, the congregations find the privileged position they held under the old regime to supplement these deficiencies. The two main obstacles to equality that are socially and gender difference, and solutions to address these brakes, are studied in this thesis based on the concrete example of the maritime city of Fécamp (Seine maritime, France) from 1806 to 1906 where three congregations, the sisters of Providence of Rouen, the Christian brothers and the sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul, shared education (through schools and orphanages) with teachers and laic personnel.

This thesis examines different components of ethical research: vulnerability, sensitive research topics, Indigenous participants, informed consent, protecting participant privacy, and minimizing harm. Each element is examined in general and in the context of a case study, with the analysis focusing on solutions for addressing each ethical component. This thesis then examines the current state of the literature on child protection mediation, concluding that there is a gap in the literature regarding the timing of child protection mediations. The literature review provides context for the case study that is presented in the thesis. The case study examines the timing of child protection mediation in British Columbia. It is presented to provide an example for future researchers of how ethical dilemmas can arise and be addressed. Each ethical element is discussed on how the issue came to the attention of the research team, what options were considered, and what was added to the research protocol to manage ethical concerns. / Graduate

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No / Prompted by findings from the Munro Review of Child Protection, this paper provides a critical analysis of the combination of changes that appear to have undermined social workers' ability to develop strong partnerships with children and their families. Here, we engage with a number of now familiar lines of critique that have exposed the negative consequences of aspects of New Labour's modernisation agenda (such as excessive standardisation). However, we challenge our readers to think more broadly about the political foundations of the New Labour project and, in particular, to consider how neo-liberal policies have in the past and are likely in the future to lead to the intensification of inequalities, thus undermining effective family work. Efforts to deal with excessive rules and procedures, or the revision of performance targets, as suggested in the Munro Review, will not mitigate the corrosive effects of rising social inequality. If we are to think systemically, as Munro suggests, then we must consider the likely regressive impact of impending public sector and welfare cuts and challenge any moves to sideline family support and restrict social work to a narrow focus on child protection.