Using volunteers in child protection work: Emerging questions for social work

This paper examines findings arising from commissioned research into the use of volunteers in local authority child protection services. Concentrating primarily on findings obtained from interviews with local authority staff and stakeholders, the paper considers the merits and possible pitfalls of such schemes. Examined against the backdrop of the current economic climate and political agenda, it raises pertinent questions for social work research and practice, which include: • Is there a legitimate role for the use of volunteers in child protection work? • What are the ethical questions and practical risks regarding the use of unpaid labour in place of paid support staff? • Post Munro, do volunteers enhance or hinder progress in child protection work? • What are the lessons of conducting commissioned research and service evaluations? In addition, the paper forms a useful guide to individuals and organisations who may be considering the use of such provision as it contains detailed qualitative data documenting the views and experience of front line local authority stakeholders who have experience of one such scheme

Value for money in social welfare services?

There is an increasing focus on gaining ’value for money’ in all areas of public spending in the UK and worldwide . It is hard to conceptualise what this ’value for money’ means in relation to social welfare provision since the range of services provided through the public sector are so diverse. In relation to children’s welfare and protection, the services must cover: 1. protection from harm: physical and emotional; 2. protection from neglect; 3. prevention of harm and neglect. To evidence value for money these outcomes must be achieved

The experiences of a commissioning organisation in using volunteers to work alongside child protection social workers

This paper explores the experiences of a commissioning organisation in the use of volunteers to work with families in complex child protection cases, where there is an identified risk to children who are known to statutory children’s services. Can the volunteer working alongside professionals promote meaningful change and contribute to positive outcomes. At a time of austerity in public spending and political rhetoric of ‘Community Involvement’ this is a key and relevant discussion for social work practitioners, managers and policy makers since such schemes are becoming more widespread in the UK. The use of volunteers in the delivery of public services raises some important questions in relation to seeking to provide a cheap alternative to professional intervention, for potentially diluting the role of the social worker and for failing to take on board more farreaching criticisms of a fundamentally flawed welfare system. However, the findings from the commissioning organisation involved in this study indicate specific benefits in the use of volunteers in promoting positive outcomes for children and families. The recruitment, management and supervision of the volunteers are critical to the success of such schemes

The emotional wellbeing of children identified as in need of additional support in the transition from primary to secondary school

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The parenting task: parent's concerns and where they would seek help

Governments are concerned to promote positive parenting but it is difficult to know how and where to target the necessary support. How should we listen to the concerns expressed by parents themselves? Social work and health care professionals and those involved in developing parenting programmes tend to base their interventions on their experiences with families already in crisis. This paper reports on a survey of the views of two groups of parents: a community sample and a small group of parents involved in a young parent's project. Issues, which concern the parents, are identified as well as consideration of which agencies might be best placed to address these. Parents were most likely to approach their children's school or doctor for information, advice, or support. Parents were found to be reluctant to approach social work agencies

Social work practitioners’ perceptions of interprofessional collaboration influences in safeguarding children and young people

Research, child death enquiries and serious case reviews (SCR) routinely identify the recurring failures of interprofessional collaboration in the safeguarding of children and young people. The key consideration, notwithstanding the existing knowledge and understanding and the progress made in safeguarding children, is that it is not always clear what influences the success or failure of a collaborative approach. Whilst the need for systemic understanding of collaboration is acknowledged, there is still a lack of conceptual clarity about what constitutes successful collaboration and why it appears so difficult to achieve. Because of the diverse composition of those involved in the collaboration; ranging from children and young people, their parents or carers to different professionals, it is important to explore the diverse perspectives regarding what influences contribute to the success or failure of this approach. Given the social workers’ lead role, in particular, their perceptions and insights into this process are critical to contributing, not only to practitioner knowledge, but also to effective collaboration as whole

The Mental Wellbeing of Children and Parents When There are Child Protection Concerns – Can volunteers help?

In child protection work the main focus is on safeguarding the child and promoting better parenting. Focus on mental health is limited even though we know that problems with mental health (parental or child) impact on family functioning. An evaluation of an innovative scheme, ‘Volunteers in Child Protection’ that promotes volunteers to work alongside statutory child care workers in complex child protection cases measured the mental health outcomes for the family. At referral, two thirds of the families were dysfunctional, with children having emotional and behavioural disturbance and some mothers having clinical levels of depression. Repeat measures indicate improvements in children’s emotional wellbeing, family functioning and mother’s mental wellbeing during the volunteer intervention

Using group supervision for undergraduate dissertations: a preliminary enquiry into the student experience

This paper explores the student experience of the use of individual and group supervisory strategies with students undertaking their undergraduate dissertation on a social work programme. The findings indicate that small, supervisor led groups may be an effective mode for undergraduate dissertation supervision. This preliminary study suggests that there may be advantages of the peer group approach including: a higher rate for completion on time; greater student engagement maintained during the process and less ‘failure driven’ learning. The students’ results suggest that there is no detrimental effect on performance

CSV Volunteers in Child Protection (ViCP): An assessment of impact and effectiveness

This study measured parent and child mental well-being and family functioning during the ViCP intervention to explore whether the intervention leads to improvement in mental health indicators with consequent increased mental capital. Mental capital encompasses a person’s cognitive and emotional resources and influences both the contribution that they are able to make to society and their experience of wellbeing. The study also looks at whether the level of concern about the safety of the children has decreased through the involvement of ViCP. In some cases, we found that ViCP identified unmet need

Risk factors associated with becoming NEET’s: a review of the literature applied to the demographics of the Fenland area

NEET is a government acronym for people currently "not in education, employment, or training". People under the designation are called NEETs (or Neets). In the United Kingdom, the classification comprises people aged between 16 and 24 (some 16-year-olds are still of compulsory school age); the subgroup of NEETs aged 16–18 is frequently of particular focus. The "NEET group" is not a uniform set of individuals. This literature review explores some of the risk factors that are known to contribute towards NEET status in young people and looks at the interventions that have been implemented to address these risks. It also explores the specific demographics of Fenland in relation to NEET figures and offers an overview of the background and circumstances of young people and their families in that district which might be linked to the development of NEET status