Perspectives in Child ProtectionSt. John’s, NF - May 12, 2000

Learning from the voice and wisdom of families: New partnerships in

Child Protection Services

Impetus for the study

• To pilot learning from clients to improve service effectiveness and efficiency

• To obtain meaningful input from clients

Elements of the study process

• Underlying principle: We need to understand how people experience their own lives

• Oriented to articulating family-defined outcomes

• Collection, analysis and interpretation of stories of lived experience

Elements of the study process

• Inclusive and participatory

• Opportunities for reflection

– Closing the loop through staff-client dialogue

Benefits of the study process

• Makes visible the strengths of families

• Makes visible family-defined outcomes

• Makes visible features of practice that help to achieve family-defined outcomes

• Makes possible the co-creation of more effective interventions

Learning: Strengths of families

• Wanting what is best for their children

• Knowing what is best for their children

• Knowing what is normal

• Understanding the impact of negative experiences

• Worrying about their children

Learning: Strengths of families

• Seeking ways to overcome the problems

• Struggling with the right way to relate to their children– Seeing today in the context of a life– Creating a different “family” for themselves

• Demonstrating commitment to their families

Learning: Family defined outcomes

• Safety, security, stability and consistency

• A sense of control

• A sense of optimism about the future

• Social support and a sense of belonging

• Shared responsibility with the community

Learning: Relevant Practice

Principles Characteristicsof Practice

Qualities ofStaff

Skills

Familyfocused andchildcentered

Immediacy Holistic Integrated Seamless A good fit Consistency

of worker Early

intervention Community

based Community

focused

Creation of ahelpingclimate

Responsiveand flexible

Relevantsupport to allfamilymembers

Relationship-based

Strength-focused

Familyconnectionssustained forthe long-term

Sharedresponsibility

Honest Compassio

nate Self-aware Non-

judgmental Knowledge

-able Resourceful Willing to

take risks

Listeningand hearing

Seeing andobserving

Carefuldiscernment

Excellentjudgement

Ability tosupport

Reframing policy and practice

• Family preservation does not necessarily mean under one roof

• Family-defined outcomes as an anchor for child welfare work

• Pro-active, early & long term vs crisis-driven

• After-hour crisis can be an opportunity for timely intervention

Study follow-up with staff

Impact of learning on practice, administration and policy

Study Process

• Respectful of clients and staff

• Safe atmosphere for dialogue that served to inform and change practice

• Changed staff perspectives on clients

• Engaged staff in reflective process

• Engaged supervisors and administrators and created change at that level

Major Learnings

• Clients long to have their entire story heard

• Fundamental significance of client dignity

• Revised perspective of client– Clients’ perceived in more humane fashion– Clients seen as more articulate in the dialogue

• Greater understanding of how clients experience a very powerful CPS system

Learnings that lasted

• Importance of relationship

• Importance of being there for clients

• Importance of creative solutions rather than predetermined service offerings

• Importance of being available for long term support

• Importance of client definition of problem and perspective on solution

Learnings that were forgotten

• Importance of community for clients, especially those going through major life transitions

• Importance of informal support networks

• Request for advocacy resources

• Public education regarding problems of CW

• Client participation in these activities

Learnings for BSW graduates

• Confirmed what had learned in Social Work

• Clients described what they wanted superiors to know

• Process helped to inform managerial domain

• Increased confidence in creative responses

• Recognized limitations of current services

Learnings for BSW Graduates (2)

• See brokerage model as limiting

• Question current array of services

• Increased respect for clients

• Opportunity to reflect upon practice led to greater integration of theory and practice

• Increased sensitivity to client self-determination to extent possible

Learnings of non-BSW graduates

• Emphasis on protection of child limited responsiveness to parent needs

• Heavy caseloads and paperwork make client requests unrealistic

• Feel doing as much as “humanly possible”

• Sense of futility in changing system constraints

• Two-way dialogue needed so worker limitations can be expressed as well

Learnings of non-BSW’s (2)

• Understand clients need for empathy and understanding

• Impressed with importance of developing a “softer’ approach

• Concern about being overly “enabling”

• Lack of confidence in community to deliver

• Doing our best but efforts not appreciated

Practice Tensions

• Task versus process orientation

• Structured versus flexible service responses

• Organisational constraints versus family expectations

• Social control versus family support

• Brokerage function versus “therapeutic” intervention

Practice Tensions (2)

• Organisational reporting expectations versus client requests for availability

• Policies that focus on efficiency may hamper effectiveness of interventions– eg Broker model that keeps worker at a

distance from clients who depend on helping relationship to deal with their problems

Educational and training implications

• Social work principles and values reinforced by clients

• Provision of opportunity to reflect upon practice in a safe environment leads to improved practice

• Experience led social workers to seek a greater integration of theory and practice

Administrative and policy implications

• Front line staff limited use of findings to practice improvement at the local level

• Staff and clients pleased with administrative response to client perspectives

• No efforts made to inform the policy domain with this information in spite of potential for significant influence