The Common-Sense Guide to Improving the Safeguarding of Children

Book excerpt: Aiming to provide purpose and direction in a complex field of work, this book offers direct and straightforward guidance on how to improve child protection on the frontline. Terry McCarthy draws directly from his own extensive practice experience to outline three steps to achieve improved outcomes. First, he explains how to establish an effective culture which develops learning on relationships and styles of authority. Second, he identifies how to support social workers to create a stable, skilled and confident workforce, equipped to deal with emotional challenges. Third, he outlines strategies to enable families to change, with useful techniques for working alongside families to make sure the needs of the child are being met. This approach aims to help children to live safely and well within their own families. This practical guide serves as a guiding compass through the dilemmas and conflicts of child protection practice, and will be valued by frontline social work managers and practitioners alike.