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Child protection, family support and social work: a critical appraisal of the Department of Health research studies in child protection
Author(s) -
Parton Nigel
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2206.1996.tb00002.x
Subject(s) - child protection , allegation , social work , critical appraisal , referral , work (physics) , government (linguistics) , child health , public relations , political science , medicine , sociology , nursing , family medicine , engineering , law , alternative medicine , mechanical engineering , linguistics , philosophy , pathology
This paper provides a critical appraisal of the Department of Health Research Studies in Child Protection and their recommendations for policy and practice. It argues that there are a number of conceptual and methodological problems and a failure to thoroughly articulate and represent the tensions and complexities of child protection work, particularly at the point of allegation and initial referral. In the process it fails to fully appreciate the significance of risk in the current social and political climate, the way front‐line professionals, particularly social workers, are held to account and the nature of the responsibilities they carry. As a consequence, the paper suggests that attempts to shift the balance of policy and practice from narrowly defined child protection to family support for children in need may be far more difficult than the research suggests.