The following questions have been developed by Jan Horwath and Wirral Safeguarding Children Board to assist members of the core group flesh out the outline plan and begin to think how they can work together to make a difference to the quality of the lived experience of the child/ren and their family.
It is important to provide both the family members and practitioners with an opportunity to explore in detail the priorities set out in the outline plan. Key to gaining this understanding is that everyone appreciates how the concerns identified at the initial child protection conference are impacting on the daily lived experience of the child/ren.
Understanding what life would look like for the child at the point of de-registration is a tangible way in which to capture the desired outcome for the child.
Having considered the concerns, practitioners should draw on this to begin to specify what the lived experience of the child/ren would look like at the point that they are taken of the plan. In other words, what life would be like for the children if the issues leading to concerns about significant harm are addressed.
When considering this the core group should bear in mind what the children have indicated they would like to see change.
The core group should draw on their understanding of the lived experience of the child to begin to identify incremental changes that they would expect to observe whilst practitioners work with the family on the implementation of the plan. A reasonable timescale should be negotiated to identify when each incremental change should be achieved.
Having identified the changes required to improve the daily lived experience of the children, the core group should turn to what this means for the parent/s. This should be done by drawing on what has been learnt about the daily lived experience of the parents/s. The core group can then begin to identify what the parent/s will need to do differently to meet the needs of their child/ren.
Families are more likely to engage in change if practitioners recognise but also try and build on family strengths Drawing on the lived experience practitioners can begin to identify what parents are doing well.
Crucial to bringing about change is understanding parental capacity to engage in the change process. That means gaining an understanding of the parent/s ability and motivation to make the necessary changes to their daily lives. It is important that the core group does not take superficial engagement with the plan as an indication that the parent/s are prepared to make the necessary changes. The only true measure is evidence of quality changes to the lived experience of their child/ren.
The parent/s need to understand the consequences of failing to make the changes required of them. It is important that empty threats are not made and contingency plans that will be implemented if the parent/s do not comply should be considered and outlined to the parent/s.
Change is not easily achieved, and it is important to recognise that some of the changes required of parent/s can be considerable in terms of their daily lived experience. To engage the family positively in the change process it is important to recognise how difficult it can be to make the changes to daily life. A discussion recognising change is not easy and recognising some of the barriers can be valuable demonstrates to the family that practitioners are aware of the challenges facing the parent/s.
Moreover, entrenched parenting behaviours will be harder to change than newer behaviours. Therefore, it is important to understand how long behaviours that are of current concern have existed for.
One of the most effective ways to identify the issues that parent/s may encounter in making changes necessary to meeting the needs of their child/ren, is to review their past engagement with services What worked? What was not successful? Why did some services work and others fail? Key to successful engagement is the relationship that the worker builds with the family. What experiences have the family had with workers in the past? How has this affected their attitude to different services?
Whilst it is essential to address practitioners’ concerns, the parent/s are more likely to engage in the change process if they feel that the core group have considered what they want to achieve and explored ways in which this can be achieved. Clearly, the parent/s wants must not be to the detriment of the child.
It is also important to consider what the child/ren have indicated they would like to be different about their lives, their wishes and feelings.
Families are more likely to engage in the plan if they believe they are being supported by practitioners who recognise the challenges of making the changes required of them and can offer services to assist them. The more detailed provided about the content of the services etc and rationale the better, as the family will know exactly what to expect.
By the end of the first core group meeting both the family and practitioners should have a clear understanding of: the rationale for the plan; the content of the child protection plan; what is expected of each family member and each practitioner.
Further information:
Platt D. (2012), Understanding Parental Engagement with Child Welfare Services: An Integrated Model. Child and Family Social Work, vol 17, pp. 138-148.
Platt D. & Riches K. (2016), Assessing Parental Capacity to Change: The missing jigsaw piece in the assessment of a child welfare? Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 61, February 2016, pp 141-148.