Children's Social Services Research Articles

Current Status of Health and Social Services for Children with Autism in Iran: Parents’ Perspectives

Objective: The present study is a part of a larger study that aimed at developing a comprehensive model of service delivery for individuals with autism in Iran based on the local needs and characteristics. In this study, the status of the services provided to those with autism in Iran was investigated based on the perspectives of parents of children with autism. Method : A semi-structured interview was used to qualitatively investigate the status of the services with regards to autism in Iran based on the perspectives of parents of children with autism. Results: This study revealed several barriers, including shortness of eligible professionals, difficulty in access to care for families, high costs, and lack of formal and informal supports, in providing services to those with autism in Iran. Early detection and diagnosis are of prime importance. We also need to train our specialists to diagnose autism based on the standard protocols and tests. Conclusion: In sum, we need a comprehensive program that involves different sectors in charge of health and education in Iran.

Paediatric dento-facial infections - a potential tool for identifying children at risk of neglect?

Child neglect has a significant impact on children's physical and emotional health and development with lifelong consequences. Dental decay can lead to maxillofacial space infections which can have life-threatening complications and may indicate that a child has suffered dental neglect. In this retrospective audit, we reviewed children below sixteen years who were admitted under oral and maxillofacial surgery for incision and drainage of a dental/facial abscess, under general anaesthesia, between January 2015 and January 2017, to understand if they had experienced dental neglect. We also assessed if they were or had been known to Children's Social Services (SS) before hospital admission. Twenty-seven children were included in the study, eleven children (40%), were known to social services (SS). On average 3.2 teeth were extracted with an average hospital stay of 2.5 days. Our data indicate that a significant number of children admitted for maxillofacial space infection are already known to social services. Our recommendation is that all children admitted with dental/maxillofacial space infections, where dental neglect may be present, should be discussed with the local safeguarding team.

An analysis of Ofsted inspection reports for children's social care services in England

AbstractThe Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is responsible for inspecting services that care for children and young people in England and Wales. This paper presents findings from an independent study of Ofsted inspections into children's social care in England, covering reports under three inspection frameworks during the period 2009 to 2016. The research aimed to identify the main themes of recommendations made in Ofsted reports and to explore similarities and differences between frameworks and between local authorities. The methodological approach was document analysis. A stratified sample of 60 reports was prepared on the basis of inspection framework and local authority characteristics such as local deprivation, Ofsted rating, and urban/rural category. A thematic analysis was conducted of the recommendations in each report, with emerging themes subjected to an iterative process of coding and categorization. The findings identified nine categories of themes, the most common of which were performance management, casework, oversight of practice, and multiagency working. Overall, the recommendations were strongly oriented towards process issues and compliance with standards. Recommendations were found to differ somewhat between inspection frameworks but remained largely consistent between local authorities with different characteristics. The paper concludes by examining the implications of findings for the current regulatory framework in children's social care.

Sector-led improvement

Ofsted's new inspection framework for children's social care services places greater emphasis on councils' own approaches to self-evaluation and sector-led improvement, reports Jo Stephenson

Participation and needs of children with developmental coordination disorder at home and in the community: Perceptions of children and parents

BackgroundThe existing literature provides only a partial understanding of the viewpoints of elementary school-aged children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) regarding their participation and needs. In order to plan and develop health and social services driven by a personalized approach, it is essential to further document their perceptions with those of their parents. AimsThe aim of the study was to explore the participation and needs of school-aged children with DCD at home and in the community, as perceived by children and parents. MethodsParticipants were ten school-aged children with DCD, from 6 to 13 years old, and their parents, including one couple (n=11). Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, except the couple who were interviewed together. ResultsMost children and all parents perceived some difficulties at home but few in the community. However, participation and needs varied for each child. Children rarely expressed the same expectations as their parents. While most children did not want more support, parents requested training on DCD. ConclusionsWhen planning health and social services for children with DCD, it is recommended to consult all stakeholders, including children, as well as offer indirect interventions, such as training and coaching for parents.

Assessing Capacity to Change in High‐Risk Pregnant Women: A Pilot Study

Pre‐birth risk assessment is a process by which circumstances affecting an unborn child can be identified and support for mother and infant embedded. This mixed methods study describes a community‐based pre‐birth assessment and care pathway that utilised the Parents Under Pressure (PuP) programme to assess parenting capacity and provide support pre‐ and post‐birth for ‘at risk’ women. Sixty‐eight pregnant women referred to children's social care services were allocated to the pre‐birth assessment and care pathway (n = 35) or to routine care (n = 33). Standardised measures of psychological distress, social support and alcohol measured change for the women in the assessment and care pathway. Twenty women who provided pre‐ and post‐data reported significant improvements on all measures except alcohol use. Safeguarding outcomes at 12 months were obtained for both groups using administrative data. Forty‐two per cent of the infants whose mothers received the pre‐birth assessment and care pathway showed an improvement in child protection status compared to 14 per cent of the routine care infants. Safeguarding status deteriorated or stayed the same in 52 per cent of the routine cases compared to 26 per cent of those receiving the pathway. Qualitative data revealed that the pathway was acceptable and helpful to service users and service providers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.‘Describes a community‐based pre‐birth assessment and care pathway that utilised the Parents Under Pressure (PuP) programme’Key Practitioner Messages The current project found that a community‐based pre‐birth assessment and care pathway with high‐risk pregnant women was feasible and acceptable for practitioners and service users. The pathway began mid‐pregnancy and support was provided following the birth of the infant for up to 12 months. Over 40 per cent of infants whose mothers were allocated to the pre‐birth risk assessment pathway showed improvements in child safeguarding status at 12 months.

Social workers as researchers: seven key principles to success

Kantar Public, a research and evaluation agency, explores the benefits, challenges and opportunities of using social workers as embedded research practitioners to help monitor and evaluate children's social care services

Reorganisation of healthcare services for children and families: Improving collaboration, service quality, and worker well-being

ABSTRACTThis study is an evaluation of a reorganisation of different services for children and their families in a Norwegian municipality. The main aim of the reorganisation was to improve interprofessional collaboration through integrating different social services for children and their parents. The evaluation was guided by the Job Demands-Resources Model with a focus on social and healthcare workers’ experiences of their work, including job demands and resources, service quality, and well-being at work. The survey of the employees was conducted at three measurement points: before (T1) and after (T2, T3) the reorganisation took place, and included between 87 and 122 employees. A secondary aim was to examine the impact of different job resources and job demands on well-being (burnout, engagement, job satisfaction), and service quality. A one-way ANOVA indicated a positive development on many scales, such as collaboration, work conflict, leadership, and perceived service quality, especially from T1 to T2. No changes were detected in burnout, engagement, or job satisfaction over time. Moderated regression analyses (at T3) indicated that job demands were particularly associated with burnout, and job resources with engagement and job satisfaction. Perceived service quality was predicted by both job demands and resources, in addition to the interaction between workload and collaboration. The reorganisation seems to have contributed to a positive development in how collaboration, work conflict, leadership, and service quality were evaluated, but that other changes are needed to increase worker well-being. The value of the study rests on the findings that support co-locating and merging services for children and their families, and that collaboration is an important resource for healthcare professionals.

Risks and challenges in perinatal mental health

Mental illness affects 1 in 5 women during pregnancy and the first year postnatal and in about 1 in 20 women the condition is serious. When a woman with major mental illness becomes pregnant she and her child face a number of risks. These include poor pregnancy and neonatal outcomes and a sharp rise of psychiatric admissions after childbirth. Mental illness is also one of the leading causes of maternal death. Risks to children are impaired parenting and developmental disadvantage in emotional, behavioral and cognitive domains. Parental mental illness also has a significant role in infanticide and abuse-related serious harm to children, with infants <1 year old being most at risk.A recent analysis has shown that the resulting economic costs to public services and the wider society are extremely high. In view of the wide-ranging consequences, a number of European countries have set up specialized perinatal mental health services. These consist of specialized inpatient units and community teams. The essential components of their service are preconception counselling, expert advice on the use of medication during pregnancy and breastfeeding, joint inpatient admissions of mothers and babies, interventions to improve parenting, and advice to children's social services. None of these countries, however, are yet offering universal access.In order to improve service provision and outcomes it is important that perinatal mental health is acknowledged more widely as a public health priority. The workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss approaches to raise awareness and promote perinatal service developments.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

Birmingham's social care transfer

England's largest authority outlines plans to transfer children's social care services to an independent trust

Package of services for children with special needs

Workers medico-social work or those that respond to the needs of the child in difficulty should use packages of care as opposed to a ‘accommodation fix everything. ` Complex needs of children and families are best satisfied by a combination of services - a mix of replacement or day care, counseling, material support and assistance to access local resources. The issue of nursing service for children with special needs provoked strong interest of the respondents. Two-thirds of them believe that such a service would satisfy the needs of their children (65%) units are those who would not trust the services offered by nursing service (3%). In terms of diagnosis of child most - great expectations on improving health are parents of children with musculoskeletal problems - apparatus and premature babies (100%) (p <0.05). When examining the results that professionals have achieved in their work with children with special needs most - a high percentage of parents indicated that their child has learned to communicate with children with the same problems (44.00%) and second place acquisition of social skills (30.00%), which is also associated with communication. Almost all parents of children with special needs have indicated that after the visit to DC have noticed improvement in their child (92.00%). Nursing service and day care center are the best combination for offering a package of medical and social services for children with special needs.

Survey of attitudes of nurse and midwife university students for provision of health and social services for children and families

The chances for human health are closely related to the conditions under which they are born and they live. The deinstitutionalization of children up to 18 years includes activities for providing community living for every child by establishing a system of services and measures ensuring the prevention of abandonment. Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the factors influencing career choices and the willingness of nurses and midwives to provide health and social services for prevention of abandonment of children, supporting families of children with medical risk in the family environment. Material and Methods: For the purpose of this study we examined the opinion of 40 nurse and midwife university students enrolled for the school year 2015/2016 in the branch campus - Veliko Tarnovo, with mean age of 28.7 years. Documentary method, a 9-item questionnaire and graphical analysis are used. Results and discussion : The data from this survey shows that 37.7% of respondents chose this profession because they would have a successful future realization. The choice of profession of all of the nurses is the first desire and less than half (40%) of midwives have made their first career choice. Sixty percent of all students say they would work with children with disabilities, 63% of them are partly familiar with the problems of families who raise children with disabilities. Conclusions: Based on the motivated professional choice and the positive attitude of students to the problems of children at risk and in implementation of the strategic documents, it is necessary to update the programme of studies in clinical practice and to introduce an optional subject `Early childhood intervention` in the programme of studies.

Freedom to innovate at heart of children's social work reforms

A government policy paper outlines ministers' plans for improving children's social care services, with reforms focusing on changes to professional leadership; social care practice and systems; and governance and accountability

Ofsted's Social Care Annual Report Highlights Areas for Improvement

Inspectorate's annual report on children's social care services flags up concerns over leadership, safeguarding, caseloads and support for care leavers, while a consultation outlines its plans for a new inspection system

Can Machine Learning Decode Depression?

Can Machine Learning Decode Depression?

Child protection threshold talk and ambivalent case formulations in ‘borderline’ care proceedings cases

This paper focuses on cases about children who were the subject of child protection plans and designated by children's social care services as ‘borderline’ for compulsory intervention by way of care proceedings. It moves beyond abstract language, into the everyday vocabularies of practice, with the aim of better understanding decision-making in such cases. The majority of these cases had been categorised as neglect (34/47 children). While social workers and managers clearly invoked a threshold or line for compulsory action, their discussions demonstrated a range of factors about why it was not always easy to identify when this line had been crossed.

Safeguarding Children: Ofsted and Regulatory Failure

AbstractThis article analyses two aspects of the regulatory conduct of Ofsted in protecting children from abuse by strangers. The first concerns the problems associated with child protection and safeguarding in the context of facilitating multicultural norms whereby certain social behaviours which would be unacceptable in one culture can be tolerated or condoned in another. The second aspect arises because, following Ofsted's failure to protect thousands of children from child abuse in many UK cities, children's social services' departments may have adopted strategic behaviour which may protect them rather than the children.

School-community partnership models: implications for leadership

School–community partnerships have shown promise as an educational reform effort. In these partnerships, schools expand their traditional educational mission to include health and social services for children and families and to involve the broader community. Such partnerships have been found to enhance student learning, strengthen schools and support struggling neighbourhoods. Little is known, however, about the implications for school and community leadership in different types of partnerships. A previous review of the literature indicated four basic types of partnership, each with a different scope and purpose and different implications for leadership. Informed by interagency, leadership and social capital theories, this article describes the leadership practices that support each model and the dilemmas these partnership leaders face. The overall goal of the article is to deepen understanding of leadership in these models in order to strengthen the conditions for school–community partnership success.

Good practices identified by Oftsed's tough single inspection framework

As Ofsted figures reveal that only 14 of 59 children's social care services assessed under the single inspection framework were rated as “good”, CYP Now looks at three local authorities that have impressed inspectors

Developmental Brain Research With Participants From Underprivileged Communities: Strategies for Recruitment, Participation, and Retention

ABSTRACTChallenges associated with recruitment and retention of participants from underprivileged social communities, in addition to neuroscience researchers' unfamiliarity with these communities, possibly explain the limited number of individuals from these communities who participate in neuroscience research studies. The consequence is a scarcity of data in this fast‐growing segment of the population. In particular, developmental research involving children from ethnic minorities has yet to catch up with the number of studies available for middle‐class White children (Flores et al., 2002). This underrepresentation can lead to disparities in health and social services for children from these communities, as well as to a nonrepresentative knowledge base of child neurodevelopment. Developing and utilizing innovative and culturally sensitive approaches to recruiting participants from underprivileged communities can maximize their participation in research, as behavioral researchers have known for some time. Here, based on our experience recruiting low‐socioeconomic status (SES) Latino children from Los Angeles, we offer strategies to improve recruitment, involvement, and retention. We have a special focus on techniques relevant to recruiting for neuroimaging, which is associated with new challenges not faced to the same degree in research historically. Better inclusion of underrepresented children in research can ultimately lead to the development and improvement of effective public polices to support their needs, ranging from education to health care.