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Supporting families with a mentally ill parent: European perspectives on interagency cooperation
Author(s) -
Hetherington Rachael,
Baistow Karen
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
child abuse review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-0852
pISSN - 0952-9136
DOI - 10.1002/car.701
Subject(s) - welfare , mental health , affect (linguistics) , social welfare , psychology , relation (database) , service (business) , social work , child protection , public relations , social psychology , psychiatry , nursing , political science , medicine , business , law , communication , marketing , database , computer science
This paper reports on the findings of a cross‐country comparison of cooperation between services for community mental health and child protection in 11 states. The authors consider the implications of the findings for English practice. When children have a parent with mental health problems, they have needs over and above those of other children. Often these needs are met by the family, but this is not always possible. There are increasing numbers of these children, and they feature disproportionately in the case loads of child welfare professionals, health visitors and social workers. The cross‐country comparisons demonstrate the ways in which differences in structures, resources, expectations and attitudes affect professional responses and the experiences of families. The findings provide information on several levels. A comparison of commonalities and differences highlights the problems that are shared across countries, and alternative ways of responding to them at ground level are discussed. The factors that facilitate a good outcome are analysed in relation to English practice and service structures. The research findings are relevant for British social welfare strategies, and the paper highlights the implications of the findings for policy and practice. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.