There is still much to learn about what it means to be a child and family social worker. Child and family social workers have a job that often entails making difficult decisions regarding vulnerable children and families in collaboration with other professionals, under stressful conditions in an increasing cost-restrictive climate and with diminishing resources. The lived experience of these social workers has been rarely researched and is poorly understood. Using primarily a deductive qualitative approach, seventeen Scottish social workers were interviewed by employing the framework of ‘organisational justice’. The organisational justice framework is mostly used quantitatively and was converted to a qualitative interview schedule in order to gain further insight as to the experience of the social workers. The advantages of using the organisational justice framework in a qualitative way is that it allows for a deeper analysis of people’s experience within their agency. With regards to the social work profession, analysis of the field data allowed for insight into the organisational elements that are primary influences on a social worker’s working life. Utilising a secondary, more inductive approach, emotions experienced by the respondents also emerged. The results suggest that social workers experience a range of emotions that have been under-explored. The results also offer a deeper understanding of where these emotions stem from because not only are they due to personal experiences, they are also the product of working in a profession that is regarded with ambivalence by the public, unlike other ‘people’ professions that are generally the subject of admiration such as nursing. The research has shown that an organisational justice framework can be used to access qualitative perspectives as well as quantitative ones. Above all, this research concludes that there are aspects of the lived experience of child and family social work practitioners that have hitherto been under-examined and need to be fully understood in order to ensure best practice. Areas of impact for education, practice and policy are discussed at the end.

Risk assessment is ‘risky business’ when we consider that it is based on the individual values, knowledge, experience and personality of thousands of unique social workers throughout the Country. And, combined with the personalities, charisma, charm and manipulative capacities of families we essentially have nothing but a bunch of checklists or ticky boxes. I would argue that the very structure of the organizational capacity to effect change with families in crisis is as senseless as it is useless: We cannot apply a systematized set of procedures, guidelines and solutions to the human condition. People are not mechanical, they are not engines that contain in similar fashion, parts and pieces that can be replaced or even understood. They are unique, they are complex, they contain immeasurable differences in their thinking, doing and believing: They can apply rules, values, and experiences to manipulate, charm, and confuse workers. So, just how do we prescribe a methodology to the madness of crisis? How do we ensure that outcomes are based on a thorough, thoughtful and critical analysis of each and every family who comes to the attention of the child protection authorities and ensure safety while protecting the child’s right to remain in the biological family home? We have created complexity within the systems that manage us and have thereby made insignificant the significance of human work. What is needed is a complete restructuring of the systems we work within; the way we work, the way we think and the way we approach our understanding of risk and safety. But considering the depth of practice this would need to reach, the number of workers that would have to change, the belief systems, social systems, bureaucracy and barriers that would have to be overcome, we need to ask, “is this possible?” Can we successfully implement a change of such magnitude in child protection practice today? The purpose of this research is to support organizations, regions and even entire provinces across Canada in their pursuit of change within the child protection field. It is based on the premise that child protection reforms of the past have ill-addressed the needs of children and families; the deficit based frameworks utilized until recent years have often left families broken and helpless in the struggle to keep their children at home. This study will take an in-depth look at the historical context of social work highlighting the need for systemic, organizational and legislative change while identifying a process for successful implementation of the Signs of Safety practice framework by first exposing the indicators of success. Utilizing an auto-ethnographical methodology grounded in the critical race theory I will provide my personal experiences working within organizations, the successes, the challenges and the barriers to change of this magnitude. / Graduate / hebditchconsulting@gmail.com

Throughout the early 20th century, eugenics discourse came to colour many facets of social policy making across Canada. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the ways by which eugenics and the mental hygiene movement impacted the practice of child protection during the early 20th century. I argue that the construction and propagation of the term and classification of ‘feeble-mindedness’ was used by child protection workers to exclude an increasing number of children from both care and society. During this period, social workers were complicit in the sorting, classifying and segregating of children deemed ‘feeble-minded’ with the expressed purpose of eradicating certain classes of people from society and moreover the gene pool. Women shouldered the burden of the social reform movement, as they were considered both the solution to, and the cause, of social ills. Controlling women’s reproduction was seen as the best way to ensure ‘race betterment’. Women at the intersection of race, class and ability were often constructed as ‘feeble-minded’ and segregated for fear that they would reproduce ‘their kind’. Initially, the child protection system blatantly excluded those deemed ‘unworthy’ or ‘unreformable’. Under the rubric of eugenics, however, child protection’s role shifted and the system became complicit in the application of eugenic principle to child and family life and women’s reproduction under the auspice of ‘race betterment’ and nation building. Through this exploratory study, it is evident that the normative structures of child protection policy remain unchanged. Extricating children from troubled environments at the least possible cost continues to trump a more insightful look at how policy and resources should engage with structural concerns, such as poverty. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

The psychological concept of attachment began to take hold in the 1950s and 1960s. This time period also began a significant period of social and legislative change impacting on the field of child protection. These social science and legal developments have been mutually reinforcing and this thesis examines those developments over the course of the 60 years since Attachment Theory first emerged from the work of John Bowlby. This examination will include a review of the fundamentals of Attachment Theory with a particular focus on the implications of those developmental lessons on the circumstances of children removed from the care of their families due to risk or maltreatment. Following a review of the fundamentals of Attachment Theory, this examination will review the influence of those principles on the laws of child protection in Ontario – through changes in the legislation and through decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Courts of Ontario. Finally, this thesis will examine some of the ways in which the attachment needs of Ontario’s children are being served or failed with regard to both the need for early establishment of permanency for children as well as the continuity of the care arrangements for children up to and including the point at which permanent plans are established. This examination of the legislation and the case law will demonstrate that Ontario has seen a progressive shift away from family reunification as a fixed priority and toward the examination of each child’s individual developmental needs. This includes an acceptance of the application of Attachment Theory and its principles as one significant means of describing those needs and assessing the best interests of children. / Thesis (Master, Law) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-29 01:15:06.929

Millions of children participate in sport and through their participation come into contact with coaches who are there to guide and support them. However, it has been observed that not all children’s relationships with their coaches have been positive ones, and concerns have been raised about the nature of the child-athlete relationship within the sports context. This research sought to use theory from child maltreatment research and apply it within a sports context to investigate perceived child athlete experiences. The research used both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to investigate retrospectively athletes’ perceptions of, and emotional responses to their coach’s behaviour. The initial study used qualitative method to establish if key theoretical frameworks from outside sport had a resonance and relevance within a sports context. Twelve elite athletes, all of whom had been identified as ‘elite’ when children reported that they had experienced negative coaching behaviour on a frequent basis they also reported negative emotional responses to this behaviour, and emotional problems as a consequence of how they were coached when they were children. Study Two (n=229), focused on broadening the research to access a larger population of athletes in order to examine their perceptions and experiences of being coached. In order to achieve this aim a new questionnaire, the Sport Emotional Response Questionnaire (SER-Q), was developed. The SER-Q was grounded in the real-life experiences of those athletes in Study One, and as such represented their expert opinions of their coaches’ behaviour. Through factor analysis, a 22-item questionnaire was established which measured frequency of negative (i.e. emotionally abusive) coach behaviour, athletes’ emotional response and perceived effect on performance. Results from this study showed that frequency of negative coach behaviour and emotional response were significantly and negatively correlated such that, as the frequency increased so did the negative emotional response. Study Three (n=314), was a confirmatory study, and found similar results to Study Two. Study Four (n=543), sought to investigate, through the SER-Q, specific questions in relation to: competitive level, athlete gender, and type of sport (either team or individual) and gender of the coach. Results revealed that there were no significant differences between athlete gender, type of sport and coach gender. However, significant results were found in relation to competitive level. Elite athletes (international-level and national-level) reported experiencing significantly more frequent negative coach behaviour: they also reported a greater negative emotional response to it than any of the non-elite (recreational-level, club-level and regional-level) groups. Finally, Study Five examined the perceived performance effect, and found a significant negative relationship with frequency, such that has the frequency increased so did the perceived negative performance effect; and a significant positive relationship with emotional response. Further results from this Study Five also found that there were only significant differences in relation to competitive level. Again elite athletes reported significantly greater detriments to their perceived performance resulting from their coach’s behaviour than did non-elite athletes. A consistent finding across all the studies was that when athletes reported ‘never’ having experienced emotionally abusive behaviour from their coach, they always reported ‘no emotional response’, and no effect on their performance. Therefore, the SER-Q was able to discriminate between these two populations of athletes. Overall, the findings from these studies have contributed to the development of a theoretical model that describes the process of emotional abuse from a child athlete perspective. Secondly, the findings reveal that elite athletes report different experiences of being coached when children than non-elite athletes. Furthermore, these studies found that theories anchored in family settings can be used to explore issues within a sports setting, and thus the child maltreatment perspective has relevance in developing sports specific theory in relation to the coach-child athlete relationship. A consistent finding across all the studies was that when athletes reported ‘never’ having experienced emotionally abusive behaviour from their coach, they always reported ‘no emotional response’, and no effect on their performance. Therefore, the SER-Q was able to discriminate between these two populations of athletes. Overall, the findings from these studies have contributed to the development of a theoretical model that describes the process of emotional abuse from a child athlete perspective. Secondly, the findings reveal that elite athletes report different experiences of being coached when children than non-elite athletes. Furthermore, these studies found that theories anchored in family settings can be used to explore issues within a sports setting, and thus the child maltreatment perspective has relevance in developing sports specific theory in relation to the coach-child athlete relationship.

Research over the past 30 years suggests that sport can provide a context in which children are subjected to several forms of maltreatment. Various countries, regions, sports and individual organisations have responded to this evidence, causing a proliferation of methods used to safeguard children from harm. However, one approach that is yet to be considered is the safety culture approach. This is despite its potential to address all of the potential risk factors of child maltreatment in sport, and its evidenced ability to tackle a wide range of safety concerns in fields as far-reaching as healthcare, aviation and energy production. Based on this, the aim of this thesis was to conceptualise safety culture in sport from a child safeguarding perspective. A total of 45 interviews and 7 focus groups were conducted with participants from five organisations which differed on the grounds of size, mission and geographical location. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings suggested that safety culture in sport is influenced by the presence and nature of; safety management systems, committed leadership and stakeholder engagement. Findings also suggested that these factors have an interconnected relationship, which influences the nature and strength of the safety culture. These factors and their subsequent safety culture were also found to be influenced by a multitude of internal and external contextual factors. Therefore, the findings of this thesis are used to present the Safety Culture Model for Safeguarding Children. This is the first of its kind as both a model of safety culture in sport, and a safety culture model that specifically relates to safeguarding children. Practical implications and avenues for future research are also presented.

Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime. It consists of a variety of pernicious practices which include, but are not limited to, online child pornography, rape and incest. Globally, an estimated 15 million female adolescents have been coerced into sex during their lifetime, whilst the figure for boys is unknown.1 In many instances, this crime is perpetrated by those who are closest to the victims. Child victims may be severely traumatised and as a result become dysfunctional members of society. Child sexual abuse harms the very fabric of society and society thus pays a heavy price for continuing to tolerate this crime. As such, as this crime predominantly takes place behind closed doors and victims only very rarely report cases,2 a comprehensive legislative and policy approach must be adopted in order to effectively combat child sexual abuse. Legislators around the world as well as the international community must therefore make combating child sexual abuse a priority. However, the question arises whether there exist difficulties and weaknesses within international law which contribute to the persistent problem of child sexual abuse. Accordingly, this research probes whether international law accords adequate protection to the rights of the children and, if not, whether it fails to adequately protect children from sexual abuse. For this purpose, a detailed examination of relevant UAE laws is undertaken in the form of a case study. It is argued that international law has failed to clearly establish norms and also lacks enforcement mechanisms. The main international instrument, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, fails to determine the age of the child. Instead, it empowers domestic law to do this. Other shortcomings also limit the effectiveness of international law, particularly implementation issues. In the context of the UAE, the fundamental problem is that cultural values entrenched in Islamic criminal and family law have not shown an understanding of the child sexual abuse paradigm. Instead, the honour ideology has been reinforced.

This thesis examines the legal and governance issues presented by internet blocking (“filtering”) systems through the use of the United Kingdom’s Cleanfeed system as a national case study. The Cleanfeed system – which aims to block access to child abuse images – has been influential both domestically and internationally but has been the subject of relatively little sustained scrutiny in the literature. Using a mixed doctrinal and empirical methodology this work discusses the evolution of Cleanfeed and considers the way in which government pressure has led to a private body without any express legislative basis (the Internet Watch Foundation) being given the power to control what UK internet users can view. The thesis argues that the Cleanfeed system sits at the intersection of three distinct trends – the use of architectural regulation, regulation through intermediaries and self-regulation – which individually and collectively present significant risks for freedom of expression and good governance online. It goes on to identify and examine the fundamental rights norms and governance standards which should apply to internet blocking and tests the system against them, arguing in particular that Cleanfeed fails to meet the requirements developed by the European Court of Human Rights under Articles 6 and 10 ECHR. It considers the extent to which Cleanfeed might be made amenable to these principles through the use of judicial review or actions under the Human Rights Act 1998 and concludes that the diffuse structure of the system and the limited availability of horizontal effect against private bodies will leave significant aspects beyond the effective reach of the courts. This work also assesses claims that the Cleanfeed system is a proof of concept which should be extended so as to block other material considered objectionable (such as websites which “glorify terrorism”). It argues that the peculiar features of the system mean that it represents a best case scenario and does not support blocking of other types of content which are significantly more problematic. The thesis concludes by considering proposals for reform of the Cleanfeed system and the extent to which greater public law oversight might undermine the desirable features associated with self-regulation.

The central themes of this thesis are professional learning and knowledge transfer. These themes have been critically examined in the context of how social work child protection professionals learn. Traditional ways of knowing and learning are no longer adequate. Professionals are facing increasingly complex practice issues that take place within an ever-changing social and political landscape. The role of the professional social worker is under constant scrutiny, nowhere more so than in the field of child protection, where the media plays a pivotal role in setting the political agenda (McCulloch and Kelly, 2007). The nature of professional learning and in particular, child protection social work learning, has been captured at various junctures in this thesis as it grapples with the key tensions, debates and conflicts. The thesis has positioned these challenges within the context of the literature and provides an alternative theoretical lens from which to consider alternative approaches. The future of child protection social work and the protection of vulnerable children and families rely on the skills, experience and knowledge of those charged with working with them. In this thesis I posit that current methods of education and continuing professional development are failing. New methods and models of sharing knowledge between all who have a stake in child protection, need to be reconsidered. For this to occur, we need to reconceptualise the theory that underpins our current approach and recognise the barriers that prevent the effective transfer of knowledge across the domains of research, practice and service user knowledge and experience. This thesis concludes that this can only be achieved through the active and informed participation of all stakeholders.

During the past two decades, court and child welfare agency officials have begun to view the use of mediation in child protection cases as a logical and cost-effective approach to finding safe and mutually agreeable solutions to cases in a timely manner so that permanency can be established more quickly for children. While those who support the use of child protection mediation generally believe that the mediation process has a positive influence on permanency outcomes; few studies have attempted to examine the accuracy of these claims. Utilizing participant survey data from an evaluation of a pilot child protection mediation program implemented in 43 Texas counties, as well as case-level administrative data from Child Protective Services (CPS), the present study sought to address gaps in the existing literature by more closely examining the association between child protection mediation and permanency outcomes for children in foster care. In addition, this study examined the impact of parental engagement with the mediation process on permanency outcomes. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to match 315 mediated cases with 315 non-mediated cases that were resolved through the traditional adversarial process (N=630). Descriptive bivariate analysis indicated that mediated cases varied significantly from non-mediated cases on several of the observed characteristics. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicate that neither participation in mediation nor parental engagement in the mediation process had a discernable effect on whether permanency was achieved or on children’s final placement outcomes. Interestingly, the use of mediation, as well as higher levels of parental engagement were both found to be associated with increased time to permanency. While the findings were somewhat counterintuitive, the results of this study suggest that the phenomena of permanency may be better explained not by one or two specific factors, but rather a combination of child, family, agency, court, and community factors that work together, and in some instances against each other, to influence the final permanency outcome. The findings of this study underscore the difficulty in measuring the impact of a single intervention on outcomes likely affected by a multitude of competing factors. / text