Organisations, staff support and the dynamics and quality of social work practice: A qualitative longitudinal study of child protection work

被专业人士知道处于严重危险中的受虐待儿童已死亡，尽管有社会工作者和其他机构的参与，年轻人仍经历了长期的性剥削，这种情况经常被披露，这是我们这个时代最有争议和最紧迫的社会问题之一。最近，孩子们的名字，如小彼得·康诺利、丹尼尔·佩尔卡、哈姆扎·汗，以及罗奇代尔和罗瑟勒姆等地，已经成为儿童保护工作中糟糕做法和丑闻的代名词。到目前为止，对儿童保护失败的最流行的解释是，社会工作遵循一条“乐观规则”，即社会工作者对事件做出最好的解释，避免挑战父母，失去对儿童的关注(考文垂LCSB，2013)。这些挑战和悲剧总是发生在社会工作者多年来都知道的案例中，值得注意的是，很少有人研究为什么在日常实践中会出现这种未能保护儿童的情况，这是什么(乐观？)在长期的儿童保护工作中，从业者的观点和社会工作实践的性质和质量以及影响它的因素。这项研究的目的是研究较长期(为期15个月)社会工作者与儿童和家庭的面对面实践接触中发生的情况，并检查不同的组织结构和办公室设计以及工作人员监督对工作性质和质量的影响。它将产生原创数据和理论见解，涉及组织实践、工作人员监督和社会工作者如何与父母建立联系并帮助他们改变或不改变之间的关系；以及一些孩子在日常工作中如何在实时展开时变得“看不见”的动态，而另一些孩子则得到有效的合作和安全保障。将在整体定性纵向研究设计中使用一系列方法。参加者将观察社工的日常工作、家访计划、徒步或乘车探望家人、他们在家中和其他地方与父母和子女的互动，以及社工其后在经理的督导下的经历。社工与服务使用者的接触(在获得知情同意的情况下)的观察和录音，以及事后与社会工作者和家庭成员就他们的经历进行的访谈，将为调查从业者的思想和生活经验、对实践的批判性分析和组织支持提供基础。将使用办公室的照片和视频之旅(同时保持参与者和地点的匿名性)，以更深入地了解人们的生活体验以及影响工作的氛围和环境，这些维度通常是看不见的。将制定一个工作人员监督和有效开展父母和儿童工作的实践框架，其中包括：(1)如何随着时间的推移与父母接触和合作，包括那些有抵抗力的父母，并产生积极的变化；(2)如何以及在哪里最好地进行评估和与儿童开展长期工作；(3)如何支持工作人员保持以儿童为中心。“乐观法则”将通过理论进行批判性的探索，这些理论使人们对实践的理解超越了简单地关注态度和纯粹从认知角度进行的“思考”，而是关注生活经验、感官和情绪，以及实践者的思维是如何由他们的身体和大脑塑造的(InGold，2011)。研究小组成员以前开发的关于将儿童保护作为一种具体的流动实践(Ferguson 2011)和社会工作者的复原力、自我使用和监督(Davys和Beddoe，2010)的理论工作将得到检验和改进，以产生对实践的进一步原创性理论见解和理解。

The frequent disclosures that abused children who were known by professionals to be at serious risk have died and young people have experienced protracted sexual exploitation despite the involvement of social workers and other agencies is one of the most controversial and pressing social issues of our time. In recent times the names of children such as 'Baby Peter' Connolly, Daniel Pelka, Hamza Khan and places such as Rochdale and Rotherham, have become synonymous with poor practice and scandal in child protection. By far the most popular explanation for why child protection failures occur is that social work is governed by a 'rule of optimism', where it is argued social workers put the best interpretation on events, avoid challenging parents and lose focus on the children (Coventry LCSB, 2013). These challenges and tragedies have invariably occurred in cases that were known to social workers for long periods of years and it is remarkable that little research has been carried out into why such failures to protect children occur in everyday practice, what the (optimistic?) outlook of practitioners is and the nature and quality of social work practice in long-term child protection work and what influences it. The aim of this study is to research what occurs in face to face practice encounters between social workers and children and families over the longer term (a period of 15 months) and examine the influence of different organizational structures and office designs and staff supervision on the nature and quality of the work. It will produce original data and theoretical insights on the relationship between organisational practices, staff supervision and how social workers relate to parents and help them to change, or not; and the dynamics of how some children become 'invisible' in every day work as it unfolds in real time, while others are worked with effectively and kept safe. A range of methods will be used within an overall qualitative longitudinal research design. Participant observation will be undertaken of social workers' office routines, planning for home visits, journeys by foot and in the car to see families, their interactions with parents and children in their homes and elsewhere, and social workers' subsequent experiences of being supervised by managers. Observations and audio-recordings of the social worker-service user encounters (where informed consent has been given) and interviews with social workers and family members afterwards about their experiences will provide the basis for investigation of practitioners' thinking and lived experience, critical analysis of practice and organisational supports. Photographs and video tours of offices will be used (while maintaining the anonymity of participants and places) to achieve even greater depth in accessing the usually 'invisible' dimensions of people's lived experiences and the atmospheres and environments that influence the work. A practice framework for staff supervision and effective work with parents and children will be produced that incorporates: (1) how to engage and work with parents over time, including those who are resistant, and effect positive change; (2) how and where best to conduct assessments and long-term work with children; and (3) how to support staff to stay child-centred. The 'rule of optimism' will be critically explored through theories that take understandings of practice beyond a simplistic focus on attitudes and 'thinking' purely in terms of the cognitive, to focus on lived experiences, the senses and emotions and how practitioners' thinking is shaped by their bodies as well as minds (Ingold, 2011). Theoretical work previously developed by research team members on child protection as an embodied mobile practice (Ferguson 2011) and social workers' resilience, use of self and supervision (Davys and Beddoe, 2010) will be tested out and refined to produce further original theoretical insights and understandings of practice.