Post on 26-Dec-2015
Respecting Family Strengths
Damian Griffiths
Driving from A to B…• This is one of the lowest ebbs of your life• You are terrified of losing your children…• You get a report which is 20 pages long which you can’t make head nor
tail of and seems to be mostly empty boxes• Attached to the report is a chronology, which is a list of all the worst stuff
that has ever happened to you or you have done• You go to a formal meeting in a room full of people, half of whom you do
not know• They talk in a language you can’t really understand• If you disagree they say you are ‘in denial’• They make a decision which tells you ‘you’re a bad parent – it’s official’
and then, whist you are still crying, they expect you to agree to a load of stuff to do, half of which you don’t know what it is
Partnership With Parents
• An idea in search of practice…
• Someone worth doing business with
• ‘I’m OK, you’re OK”
• A common language
Family Dominated Professionally Dominated
Supporting Family Participation
Stages of Change
Biestek's Principles of Social Casework
• Recognition that every client is unique• Client’s need to freely express feeling• Controlled emotional involvement• Acceptance• Non-judgemental attitude• Client self-determination• Confidentiality
Good Performance - Human Needs
Choice
Respect & Appreciation
Communication &Clear objectives
EmpowermentInitiative
FrustrationResentment
ConfidenceEnthusiasm
AnxietyConfusion
High morale
Low moraleAbsenteism
Motivators
Adapted from Human Needs at Work, University of Nottingham
Comprehensive Risk Assessment
Family KnowledgeNetwork and
Culture
Professional KnowledgeNetwork and Authority
Danger SafetyBalanced
Assessmentof Risk
©2000Andrew Turnell PO Box 56 Burswood WA 6100 Australia, aturnell@iinet.com.au
Partnership in practice – the social discipline window(Wachtel & McCold)
TO WITH
NOT FOR
Punitive Restorative
Neglectful Permissive
Support (encouragement, nurture)Low High
Con
trol
(lim
it-se
tting
, dis
cipl
ine)
High
WHY?
Research on Child Protection Conferences
Key Messages:Professionally dominatedParents passive and ‘tested’ for co-operationInsufficient time spent on planningPlans of poor quality and no feasibility
discussionReviews – little reappraisal of earlier decisions
WHY?
Review of what works in family support interventions: Identifies 4 common factors that influence the effectiveness of all therapeutic interventions
15%
15%
40%
30% TherapeuticTechnique
Client Hopefulness
Client Characteristics& Social Support
Relationship betweenclient and therapist
Kieran McKeowan (Dublin, 2000)
% of Variance in Outcome Explained
Factors Future Significant Harm More Likely Future Significant Harm less likely
Abuse Severe inc burns / scaldsNeglectSevere growth failureMixed abusePrevious maltreatmentLong duration penetrative csaFabricated / induced illnessSadistic abuse
Less severe forms of abuse
If severe, yet compliance and lack of denial, success still possible
Child Dev. delay with special needsMental health problemsVery young requiring rapid parental change
Healthy childAttributions in csaLater age of onsetOne good corrective relationship
Parent Personality – antisocial / sadistic / aggressiveLack of complianceDenial of problemsLD plus mental illnessSubstance abuseParanoid psychosisAbuse in childhood, not recognised
Non – abusive partnerWillingness to engage with servicesRecognition of problemResponsibility takenMental disorder – responsive to treatmentAdaptation to childhood abuse
Parent & Child interaction
Disordered attachmentLack of empathy for the child & own needs firstPoor parenting competency
Normal attachmentEmpathy for the childCompetence in some areas
Family Interparental conflict and violenceFamily stressPower problems: poor negotiation, autonomy and affect expression
Absence of domestic abuseNon abusive partnerCapacity for changeSupportive extended family
Professional Lack of resourcesIneptitude
Therapeutic relationship with the childOutreach to familyPartnership with parents
Social setting Social isolation and lack of social supportViolent, unsupportive neighbourhood
Social supportMore local child care facilitiesVolunteer networks
Motivating for Partnership• Start where the person is• Collaboration (vs. confrontation)• Evocation – drawing out rather than imposing
ideas• Autonomy and skilful use of authority• Express empathy• Support self-efficacy• “Roll” with resistance – dancing not wrestling
WHY?
Research & best practice suggests conferences should …
• Have a greater focus on planning & outcomes• Better enable families to present their views• Ensure professional views, risk assessment and
decisions are grounded in evidence• Place a strong emphasis on relationships• Reduce power inequalities• Identify and build on strengths and family resources• Keep a better focus on reviewing danger• Try to motivate and create some hope
Child Protection Conferences- Towards Partnership & Collaboration
• Incident Based
• Retrospective
• Problem focused
• Paternalistic
• Adversarial
• Ecological
• Prospective
• Needs based, building on strengths
• Partnership
• Collaborative
Building Effective Group Dynamics
safety
openness
trust
challenge
Change
HOW?
Family Tree
Lily Jack Beattie Alf
MargeAlfie Den Muriel
Caz Mark
? Maggie
Danger/Harm
Complicating Factors
Safety
Strengths/Protective Factors
Strengthening Families Framework
ℴ Detail re: incident(s)Bringing the family to the attention of the agency.
ℴ Pattern/history
ℴ Strengths demonstrated as protection over time
ℴ Pattern/history of exceptions
ℴ Condition/behaviors that contribute to greater difficulty for the family
ℴ Presence of research based risk factors
ℴ Assets, resources, capacities within family, individual/community
ℴ Presence of research based protective factors
Child & Family Services/(Lohrbach)
(Grey Area)
22
Risk Statement Safety Goals Safety Measures
What are professionals worried will happen to Harry and Meera if things carry on as they are?
If things don’t change, then Harry and Meera are likely to see or hear their dad threaten, punch and kick their mum at least once a month
• Child specific• Get a picture• Judicious use of risk
loaded language
When all these problems are fixed enough for professionals to stop worrying, what will life be like for Meera and Harry?
Meera and Harry will live in a house where disagreements are resolved peacefully, there are no threats or violence and very little shouting
• Describes the child’s experience
• Get a picture
When the safety goals are being achieved – what will professionals see which shows that?How will we know when it is ‘fixed’?
No neighbour reports to police; parents and professionals’ reports; Harry less aggressive; Meera less withdrawn
• Focus mostly on adults’ behaviours, parenting, lifestyle
• Get a picture• Beware of process
measures
What would Munro say?
• It’s a good idea
• Socio-technical rather than technocratic
• Ripple effects – attention to how the process builds more safety or more danger
• Requisite variety in planning
• Single and double loop learning – did we do what we planned and did it make any difference?
A Questioning Approach…Key Skills
• OARS & EARS• Shit sandwich / herringboning• Digging for facts and detail – evidence• Cutting away extraneous detail – ‘distilling’• Focus on child impact• Respectful and appreciative rather than
interrogative – the questions must be as useful to the questioned as the questioner
What This is Not About…
• Pulling punches• Allowing Family to dominate• Move from rule of pessimism to rule of
optimism• Colluding with abuse • Quietening professional concerns
Questions…