Safeguarding Children Across Services: Messages
from Research on Identifying and Responding to
Child Maltreatment
Authors: Carolyn Davies and Harriet Ward
Presenter: Jenny Gray
6 February 2012
Scope
Response to Victoria Climbié and (later) Peter Connelly
Themes:
 Identification and initial response
 Effective interventions (systematic reviews and empirical
studies)
 Inter-agency and interdisciplinary working
 Highlight in particular neglect and emotional abuse
15 studies (Joint DH/ DfE initiative of 11 studies)
Report Structure
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
Identification and initial response
Chapter Three: Universal and targeted services to prevent occurrence of
maltreatment.
Chapter Four:
Social work interventions to keep children safe
Chapter Five:
Specific Interventions for children and families with
additional or complex needs
Chapter Six:
Providing a context for effective inter-agency practice
Chapter Seven: Overview: principal messages and their implications
Framework for Intervention and Prevention of
Child Maltreatment
(after Barlow and Schrader McMillan, 2010)
Rationale
• Key issues relevant to practice and service delivery
• Themes traced through stages of the system and topic
areas
• Structured to enable those with different interests to read
the text selectively
• Text signposts sections relevant to different disciplines
and materials/ texts for further reading
• Supported by briefings for selected disciplinary groups
Chapter One: Introduction
• The evolving policy context within which messages need
to be implemented
• The prevalence of abuse and its consequences
• Issues concerning how maltreatment should be defined
• The nature of the studies
• The strengths and weaknesses of the evidence base
they provide
Chapter Two: Identification and initial response
• Risk factors and indicators, recognition, assessment,
referrals
• Key points:
– Difficulties in identifying neglect and emotional abuse
– Differences in thresholds between general public and
professionals/ practitioners (and courts)
– Public and private neglect of adolescents
– Paucity of evidence concerning effective role for
schools
– Reluctance to refer (front line staff in health/ mental
health)
Chapter Three: Universal and targeted services
to prevent occurrence of maltreatment
• Framework for intervention; primary and secondary interventions,
evaluated universal/population and targeted approaches; tools to
assist targeting
• Key points
– Availability of well-designed interventions at both primary and
secondary level
– Public education programmes for parents of adolescents need
developing and evaluating
– Home visiting programmes and parenting programmes have
been imported from USA and are being tested in UK
– Issues concerning implementation at time of economic
stringency
Chapter Four: Social work interventions to
keep children safe
• Action following referral; who can be safeguarded at home; return
home and re-admission; outcomes of care
• Key points
–Maltreated children left too long in damaging situations
–Focus on safeguarding the family rather than the individual
children
–Importance of rigorous assessment and planning
–Social work interventions are often too short and end too abruptly
–Care works for abused and neglected children
Chapter Five: Specific Interventions for
children and families with additional or
complex needs
• Focussed programmes to prevent recurrence of abuse and
address/mitigate the consequences
• Key points:
– Issues for commissioners
– Many programmes developed outside UK: issues concerning
transferability
– Better evidenced programmes to address domestic violence
– Ten examples: specialist interventions (child/parent or family
focus) to prevent further abuse/ address its consequences
– Potential of a common elements approach
– The need for continued support from a range of professionals
after programme completion
Chapter Six: Providing a context for
effective inter-agency practice
• Emerging policy context; evidence from studies about how interagency practice is/is not working; how structures support this,
including training
• Key points:
– Tensions around referral: speed of response/high threshold/
shared responsibility after referral
– Evidence of risks to children of slow response and lack of follow
up after time limited interventions.
– Impact of training
– Impact of new structures
Chapter Seven: Overview: principal messages
and their implications
All practitioners should :
– Have a thorough understanding child development and the
impact of abuse and neglect on children’s life chances
– Be aware of the impact of delay and the need for early
intervention
– Be familiar with the evidence of what works in primary,
secondary and tertiary care
– Be aware that care works for maltreated children
In the context of Munro:
•Social workers and social care agencies should:
– ensure that feedback to referrals is given a higher priority
– be aware families and children will need ongoing multidisciplinary support following specific interventions which are
often short.
Chapter Seven: Overview: principal messages
and their implications
In the context of the Family Justice Review:
•The research lays out strong evidence to support principal
recommendations on:
–Delay:
–Accountability and Outcomes;
–Workforce Development;
–Expert Witnesses;
–Focus on the Child
Chapter Seven: Overview: principal messages
and their implications
In context of health and education reforms
•Early intervention is crucial. Health professionals need to refer quickly to
targeted services;
•Better links are required between adult services and children’s services
•More services needed for adult alcohol; substance abuse; intimate
partner violence: to improve aspects of parenting and address the needs
of children.
•Strong action is needed to prevent the loss of emerging improvements in:
shared responsibility; mutual understanding; and inter-disciplinary
working.
•Research is needed on the impact of new structures and policies
Dissemination
• DfE website (holding Executive Summary; details of all
projects; training materials and e-Overview)
www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/research/scri
• 2,000 copies of Research Overview distributed to key
local statutory, voluntary and independent agencies
• Briefing notes tailored to professionals in child health;
adult services; children’s social care; family justice
system; and education (forthcoming)
• Conferences and presentations