Day Two

Welcome back!!

Working with Families

• Motivation to change

• Highly resistant families

• Rule of optimism

• Cultural diversity

Framework for Assessment 2000

• What are the strengths of the parents in this family

• What are the difficulties/risk factors of the parents in this family.

• What are the strengths of the children

• What are the difficulties/risk factors of the children in this family

Influencing Change

• Think about when you have been in a situation where change is taking place I.e. re-structuring; moving house; buying a new car

• What makes you resistant to change

• What makes you open to change

Motivation to change contd..

MAINTENANCE

Sustaining/internalising

New behaviour

or

LAPSE or RELAPSE

Return to some/all old behaviours

Give up or

start again

RECONTEMPLATION

Defensive/denial/projecting blame

Depressed/unaware of problem

DETERMINATION

Informed decision to change

CONTEMPLATION

Decide not: ExitWeighing up

pros/cons Start of change process

Give UpACTION

Rehearsing new thinking, behaviours, relationships

Responses to Change

EFFORT

CO

MM

ITM

EN

T T

O C

HA

NG

E

HIGH LOW

HIG

HL

OW

Genuine

commitmentTokenism

Compliance

Imitation

Approval

Seeking

Dissent

Advoidance

The rule of optimism

For a variety of reasons professionals

want to think the best of the families

with whom they work. This can lead to

the minimising of concerns, failing to

see emerging patterns and so on

8

Working with families who present as difficult

• Keep yourself safe

• Think about how best to calm situations without losing focus on what you need to do

• If it’s frightening to you – how must it feel to the children living with it?

• Think about how parents may be ‘managing’ you

1.EXPERIENCE ‘The Story’ Engage with/observe worker’s experience

2.REFLECTIONFeelings about

the story Previous stories

3.ANALYSIS: What does the ‘story’ mean?

Enable worker to explore context of experience

4. PLANS AND ACTION Identify goals plans and services What is the next chapter in the ‘story’?

Good supervision helps workers to be clear about their purpose and tasks, and helps workers reflect on the emotions generated and meaning of their work

Keep the child in focus

Graded Care Profile (GCP)

CP Plan 31/03/2010

Children Subject to Child Protection Plans at 31/03/10

33%

42%

10%

15%

Emotional Abuse

Neglect

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Neglect and the use of the Graded Care Profile

Neglect exercise

• 3 statements

Introduction to the Graded Care Profile

• Developed as a practical tool to give an objective measure of the care of children across all areas of need by Drs Polnoy and Srivastiva.

• Developed to provide an indication care on a graded scale.

• Blackpool are using the Salford version of the tool with minor adjustments.

• It should be used in all cases where neglect is identified as an issue

GradesGrade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

1 Level of Care

All child’s needs met

Essential needs fully met

Some essential needs unmet

Most essential needs unmet

Essential needs entirely unmet/Hostile.

2. Commitment to care.

Child First Child First most of the Time

Child/ carer at par

Child second

Child not considered

3Quality of Care

Best Adequate Borderline Poor Worst

Grades

• These grades are then applied to each of the four areas of need based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

SELFACTUALIZATION

ESTEEM

LOVE

SAFETY

PHYSIOLOGICAL

Maslow’s hierarchy of need

Areas of CareSensitivity

Responsivity

Reciprocity

Overtures

Self Actualisation

Care of Esteem

Care of Love and Belongingness

Care of Safety

Care of Physical needs

Stimulation

Approval

Disapproval

Acceptance

In Presence

& Absence

Nutrition. Housing, Clothing, Hygiene & HealthMaslow, A. 1954

How it is Organised

• The GCP Gives an objective measure of the care of a child by the carer

• It gives qualitative grading for actual care delivered to a child taking into account the commitment and effort shown by the carer

• Grades are on a 1-5 scale. 1 being the best and five the worst

• Each area of care is made up of different sub areas and some sub areas are further broken down into different areas of care

Area of Physical Care

Sub Area 1 Child Priority

2Child First

3.Child and Carer Equal

4.Child Second

5.Child not Considered

Nutrition

Quality Aware and thinks ahead: provides excellent quality food and drink.

Aware and manages to provide reasonable quality food and drink.

Provision of reasonable quality food, inconsistent through lack of awareness or effort.

Provision of poor quality food through lack of effort: only occasionally of reasonable quality if pressurised.

Quality not a consideration at all or ignores advice about quality.

The scoring sheet

• Areas Physical

• Sub Areas 1 Nutrition

1 Child Priority

2 Child First

3. Child and Carer Equal

4 Child Second

5. Child not Considered

ScoringQuality Quantity Preparation Organisation Nutrition

2 2 3 2

Average Score

2

Scoring

Nutrition Quality Quantity Preparation Organisation

The average score is 4. If there is a single score of 4-5 for one of the sub areas this becomes the average score, regardless of the other figures.

2 4 3 3

Obtaining a Score for an Area

• Follow the same principle for getting an overall score for an area by taking an average of the sib area scores.

• Again, if there is a single score of 4-5, score that point regardless of the other scores.

• See Page 30 in the tool.

Uses of Graded Care Profile

• Pre Referral Assessments

• Initial Assessments

• Snapshot Assessments

• Monitoring Assessments

• Contribution to Core Assessments

Seeing the Child

Working with the child

• The genogram and chronology• The visit or meeting with the child• Reflecting on the meeting• Analysing what you have seen• Planning

NSPCC publications 2006

Coffee break

Case Conference

When will a conference be held?

• Safeguarding enquiry shows that there is a risk of significant harm

• There are concerns regarding an unborn child

• Child subject to child protection plan in another authority moves to Blackpool

It should take place within 15 working days of last strategy discussion

What is the purpose of an initial child protection conference?

• Provides inter-agency setting where information from safeguarding enquiries can be analysed

• Assesses parental capacity to safeguard child• Assesses future risk to child• Makes decision concerning whether a child

protection plan is needed• Decides current and future action necessary to

safeguard child

The decision making process

• Is the child at risk of significant harm?

• Does the child need a child protection plan to safeguard them?

• Majority decision or Chair’s discretion if agreement not possible

Attendance• Chair

• All relevant professionals

• Anyone with parental responsibility

• Child

• Quorum is a social worker and at least 2 other professional disciplines who have had contact with the child and family (but conference can go ahead in exceptional circumstances if not quorate)

ExclusionsParents can be excluded by the Chair if:

• Their presence may seriously prejudice the welfare of the child, e.g. where information shared could further victimise the child or increase the child’s vulnerability to further abuse

• There is evidence they may behave in such a way as to disrupt the conference e.g. by being violent, threatening or being in an unfit state due to substance misuse or acute mental illness

• Exclusion at one conference is not reason enough for exclusion at further conferences

Roles of professionals involved in the process

• All professionals invited to child protection conference have a role in sharing, and assessing information; and making decisions about the child's future

• Often it is only when information from a number of sources is shared that a full picture becomes clear

Roles of professionals involved in the process

• All professionals should submit written reports to child protection conference, particularly if they cannot attend. Must distinguish between fact, observation, allegations and opinion

• There is now a multiagency CP report form for completion by professionals

• Must be available to Chair at least one working day before conference

• Unless containing confidential information (and non-disclosure agreed with Chair), report must also be discussed with parents/child 2 days before conference

•Get into single agency groups

•Read the background history and role cards

•As a group, write a brief written report to share with the case conference for each of the roles you have been given

•Within the group decide who will play which role and attend the conference

The initial Case Conference

It is a good opportunity for anyone who has not attended a conference to do so!!There will be tasks for everyone!!

CORE GROUPS

Quiz

What happens now?

• Establish core group - initial meeting within 10 working days of conference

• Set meeting date for core group (must be within 10 working days of conference)

• Appointment of Lead social worker

• Set date for review conference

• Outline Child protection plan agreed

The core group meeting translates the broad recommendations into an operational written

agreement:

a child protection plan.

It is expected that agencies will agree to undertake various components of the child

protection plan that relate to them and communicate with the key worker as

necessary.

Following the Initial Child Protection Conference:

Core group members must meet within 10 working days of the case conference and at least every 4 weeks thereafter.

Any core group member can request a meeting and that should include the

parents.

What is the purpose of the core group?

The Core Group’s task is to reduce the risks,

or prevent the occurrence of further

significant harm to the child, and safeguard

the child’s well being to the point where the

child no longer requires a Child Protection

Plan.

The core group achieves this by…

• Developing the Child Protection Plan as a detailed working tool

• Carrying out the actions specified in the Plan

• Engaging effectively with the family to ensure their co-operation with the plan

• Meeting regularly (4 weekly) to monitor progress

• Providing reports for Review Conferences

• Requesting a earlier conference if the plan cannot be achieved or needs to be significantly altered

• Closer multi-agency working and early evaluation of problems

• Clarify roles and responsibilities.• Addressing professionally dangerous

practice.• Ensuring a multi-agency protection plan is

frequently evaluated and refined.• Gives the professionals an opportunity to

discuss what to do if the plan is not working

Advantages of core groups

Advantages of core groups cont.• Ensuring a co-ordinated and complementary

approach by all agencies.• Highlights unmet need• Offering a forum where parents and children

can contribute to child protection planning.• Effective use of time and resources.• Stream-lining the system by identifying

pertinent issues to be discussed in case conference forum.

Membership of core groups

• The Key worker

• The child if appropriate

• Parents and relevant family members

• Professionals who will have direct contact with the family

Things to consider prior to a core group meeting

Below are suggested some ideas of the matters which should be included in such an agreement:

• Frequency of meetings – we would suggest that meetings are booked ahead for three to four months at a time, rather than done at one meeting for the next.

• Who to contact if unable to make a meeting and commitment by all members to put information in writing in such circumstances, wherever possible.

• Appointment of a person who will take on the role of organising venues for meetings etc.

• Establishment of a system for taking minutes, perhaps on a basis of rotation

continued

• Procedure to be followed if one member wants to call an earlier core group meeting.

• Commitment to undertake the tasks given by the core group within the required timescale.

• Appointment of a chair person for each meeting to ensure the agenda’s adhered to etc.

• Strategies for resolving any difficulties which may occur – remember the core group generally gets stuck on process issues rather than the actual work.

The meeting should be chaired on a rotabasis. The person who chairs should not take

the minutes. Even though there is a keyworker, core groups are everyone’s

responsibility. It is not appropriate to cancelthem if the social worker is unavailable. The

core group should be rearranged within a fewdays or run without the social worker. Theother workers still have a responsibility tomeet and review the child protection plan.

Agreeing the plan with the child

The CP Plan should be explained and agreed with the child in a manner

appropriate to their age and understanding by using the

• Child’s Conference Pack

• Interpreter if necessary

Working Together 2010

Emphasises the importance of:• Being child-focussed:

• Understanding the child’s daily life experience

• Seeing the child alone where appropriate

• Decision-making being based on information about the family’s history and functioning

• The inter-relationships of strengths, protective factors, vulnerabilities and risk factors should all being analysed.

Contact with the childHow the child is seen MUST be part of the

child protection plan.

• Key worker to see child at home at least every 6 weeks (unless plan specifies otherwise)

• Child’s bedroom must be seen

• Child is seen alone (or babies awake) every 6 weeks. (unless plan specifies otherwise)

• A mobile child should be seen walking

“a seen child is not always a safe child”

Difficulty with access to the child should be reported to the SW Team Manager and CP

plan reviewed.

Consideration should be given to an early Review or legal action.

Social worker can request a Child Protection Case Conference is re-convened

early if a Child Protection plan is not working

Group work activity

In groups design and draw a simple leaflet explaining what a core group is.

We will need a leaflet for:

Children

Young People

Parents

Tea break

Back in 15 minutes

The Child Protection Plan

SMART outcomes

S Specific

M Measurable

A Achievable

R Relevant

T Time-bound

Outcomes regarding personal health and fitness.

Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound

I will exercise more this year

N N ? Yes Yes?

Group 1

I will exercise more this year

 

Group 2

I plan to stop smoking soon

 

Group 3

I will eat more fruit and vegetables every day

 

Group 4

I will cycle to work if it’s not raining

Perspectives of childrenResilience

The end