Managing Child Welfare and Protection Services Book

Managers must be held to account for failings in childcare services, and must take responsibility for the provision of strong leadership and the effective and appropriate operation of their departments. High profile tragedies and scandals (Victoria Climbie and Baby P, for example in England, and mirrored elsewhere) remind us of the crucial importance of striving for good management. But they also show that it can easily be forgotten amidst the higher profile debates in academia, politics and media over the broad sweep of government policy and the arresting detail of neglect, abuse and death. Undoubtedly practice and management are inextricably linked; yet, like both ends of a telescope, they have an entirely different view of the world. This book views pertinent and emerging issues in child welfare and protection from a management perspective, with the aspiration of helping management do better. Using practical examples from both Britain and Ireland, it challenges managers, potential managers, supervisors, policy makers, academics and students to view issues from perspectives that are outside mainstream thinking, but which are essential to effective protection, safeguarding, support, care and welfare...in families, in care and in communities. For managers who wish to reflect upon strategic issues, supervisors who must implement strategic and policy directives, policy makers who need to understand the impact of their decisions on the service provider as well as the service user it also provides a useful reference for those undertaking and delivering post-graduate education and training. It places child welfare and protection work in the context of the political climate, societal norms and professional values within which it is performed. It focuses on the evolving issues of globalisation, family structure, the re-balancing of the relationship with families, and the rights of children. It: addresses the management aspects of determining need in an environment that has conflicting demands; distinguishes between welfare and protection issues, the former often being misinterpreted as the latter by referees and service providers alike; encourages managers to think outside the box to look for creative and innovative solutions; and, promotes the concept of managing for results by using management information to design programmes that work best. It: explores the theme of partnership in its broadest sense, from working with individuals to engaging communities in an effort to maximise effective outcomes; makes a case for children to be protected from State care, and protected while in substitute care; and, depicts staff welfare as a management issue and presents ways to protect staff from the ill effects of working in such a pressurised and stressful environment. Delivering services in the context of reforms and expectations requires structural changes as well as changes in the roles and responsibilities of individuals, this book explores the managers' role in leading staff to rise to these challenges.Read More