Parenting Assessment Manual Software within Forensic Parenting Assessments: A Descriptive Study of Application and Perceived Value

Decisions being made within care proceedings can result in potentially life altering outcomes for families whereby children can be separated from their carers and placed for adoption. Judges and magistrates utilising forensic parenting assessments (FPAs) to help make these decisions need to be able to rely on consistently good practices to inform them; however, there are indications that the quality of FPAs can vary with many not meeting forensic guidelines. This study is about Parenting Assessment Manual Software (PAMS) which is a standardised parenting assessment package that can be incorporated into FPAs. It has established a presence in FPAs despite very limited research on its use or value. This mixed methods project administered an online survey (n=54) and telephone interviews (n=11) to practitioners who have incorporated PAMS into their FPAs in order to explore the process and value in doing so. This study found variations in how PAMS was being incorporated into FPAs resulting in the identification of 3 different ways in which PAMS was used; PAMS Informed, Full PAMS and PAMS Plus FPAs. It has also found a full continuum of practitioner opinion on the use of PAMS within FPAs; although most participants preferred to use PAMS than not. Finally, results indicate that there are minimal differences in a PAMS versus a non-PAMS FPA; however, certain types of FPAs using PAMS require the application of better practice guidelines, may take longer than non-PAMS counterparts and possibly include more parent-child observations. This study provides recommendations regarding the implementation of PAMS when it is incorporated into an FPA and develops knowledge around the use of PAMS within FPAs for the consideration of social workers, legal professionals, health practitioners, family support workers and any other interested parties

Standardised Measures; Friend or Foe? Parenting Assessments in Court with a focus on Parenting Assessment Manual Software (PAMS). Critical Conversations in child Protection webinar series

Decisions being made within care proceedings can result in potentially life altering outcomes for families whereby children can be separated from their carers and placed for adoption. Judges and magistrates utilising parenting assessments to help make these decisions need to be able to rely on consistently good practices to inform them; however, there are indications that the quality of these assessments can vary. This webinar explores the value of standardised measures informing assessments with a particular focus on findings from a study looking at the perceived value of incorporating Parenting Assessment Manual Software (PAMS) within parenting assessments for court

A collaborative simulation design embedding trauma informed approaches in Police responses to child sexual exploitation: a data collection

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), a collaboration between the Centre for Child Protection and Kent Police was created with the aim to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls – or ‘VAWG’. This project specifically focused on sexual exploitation of girls through the creation, application, and evaluation of a trauma-informed pilot-training simulation tool for police

myCourtroom: Rosie’s family go to court; the use of simulations in preparing social workers for court

The role of social workers in court, how they prepare, train, write and present their reports, has been the focus of much debate. Key messages from research tell us that social workers often find court work stressful; they can lack confidence in writing reports giving evidence and being cross examined. Pre-qualification training in this area can be patchy, with many workers reporting they often learn ‘on the job.’ This article documents the journey from analysing primary and secondary research findings, via a partnership between the University of Kent Centre for Child Protection and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), to develop a training simulation for practitioners to increase their knowledge, preparation and practice for court. The partnership turned these research findings into an interactive, immersive simulation to give practitioners the space to reflect upon and critique their experiences of court. Findings from an initial evaluation of the simulation were positive with participants highly rating its usefulness in developing court room skills and knowledge

Seeing More, Better Sight: Using an Interprofessional Model of Supervision to Support Reflective Child Protection Practice Within the Health Setting

Despite an extensive history in developing, delivering and leading child protection (CP) services, social workers are not an explicit part of the health-based response to CP in the UK. In this setting, a biomedical discourse dominates, with doctors and nurses fulfilling the roles of named and designated safeguarding professionals. Supervision for these health professionals, while considered necessary, has a multi-layered system of governance with no clear policies to guide its content and purpose. This article will argue that the inclusion of social work expertise in health-based CP services, through an interprofessional approach to supervision, can offer clarity to the operationalisation of supervision and support integrated service development. A model for supervision, with experienced social workers engaged to supervise named safeguarding professionals, is outlined and informed by a psychodynamic perspective. With both CP and supervision an inherent part of the social work tradition, social workers are well placed to use specialist knowledge and insight within the health setting, through supervision, to strengthen reflective practice in this complex area of service delivery

Parenting Assessment Manual Software with forensic parenting assessments: from practice to research

The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Practice Research is the first international handbook to focus on practice research for social work. Bringing together leading scholars in the field from Europe, the USA and the Asia Pacific region, it provides an up-to-the minute overview of the latest thinking in practice research whilst also providing practical advice on how to undertake practice research in the field.　 It is divided into five sections: State of the art Methodologies Pedagogies Applications Expanding the frontiers The range of topics discussed will enhance student development as well as increase the capacity of practitioners to conduct research; develop coordinating and leadership roles; and liaise with multiple stakeholders who will strengthen the context base for practice research.　 As such, this handbook will be essential reading for all social work students, practitioners and academics as well as those working in other health and social care settings

Embedding Trauma Informed Approaches in Police Responses to Child Sexual Exploitation. Critical Conversations in Child Protection webinar series

PowerPoint slides for the Critical Conversations in Child Protection webinar series titled: Embedding Trauma Informed Approaches in Police Responses to Child Sexual Exploitation. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), a collaboration between the Centre for Child Protection and Kent Police was created with the aim to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls – or ‘VAWG’. This project specifically focused on sexual exploitation of girls through the creation, application, and evaluation of a trauma-informed pilot-training simulation tool for police. This session will provide an overview of the project’s history, the reasons for its focus on a trauma informed approach, and early evaluation results of its implementation

Robyn and Molly: Sexual Exploitation of Girls: A Collaborative Project between the Centre for Child Protection and Kent Police to develop a pilot simulation training tool promoting trauma informed approaches (Full Training Pack)

This training pack was developed as part of a collaborative project between the Centre for Child Protection (CCP) and Kent Police funded initially by the University of Kent’s Impact Fund and then by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). This project utilises a proven innovative technology and established pedagogy of “serious game” simulation training with a focus on the sexual exploitation of girls. It has included the creation, application, and evaluation of a pilot-simulation training tool to be used with police officers to promote a trauma-informed approach to working with victims and witnesses in cases involving crimes of child sexual exploitation (CSE)