‘Rising demand and decreasing resources’: Theorising the ‘cost of austerity’ as a barrier to social worker discretion

2022

JCS

Self Cite

Purpose The backdrop to the Munro Review of Child Protection was a narrative propagated in the British national press, and perpetuated particularly by the then opposition Conservative Party, that the case of “Baby P” evidenced the English child protection system was “failing” and in need of reform. Subsequently, the review asserted that the system had become “over-bureaucratised” and “defensive” at the expense of social worker discretion in the interests of the individual child, highlighting the need for “radical reform”. This paper aims to report on the extent of, and continued barriers to, social worker discretion within the contemporary English child protection. Design/methodology/approach As an ethnographic case study of a single English child protection team, the study used a sequential and iterative mixed method design, encompassing observation, document analysis, focus groups, questionnaire, interviews and “Critical Realist Grounded Theory”. Findings The study found that social worker discretion was continuing to be undermined by the “Baby P effect”; not only in the sense of increasing numbers of children within the system but also by the perpetual fear of being “named”, “blamed” and “shamed”, akin to Peter Connelly’s social workers. Originality/value The paper considers how discretion is manifested in contemporary child protection, especially in the context of the “child-centred” system envisaged by the Munro Review. It concludes that the British media and politicians have a continued role to play in reducing the risk associated with the social worker’s discretionary space.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I don’t want my face on the front page of The Sun’: the ‘Baby P effect’ as a barrier to social worker discretion

2022

JCS

Self Cite

“…It is also indicative of that which Parton (2008) describes as the 'shift' in focus from the 'relational' and 'social' and towards the 'informational': Indeed, some social workers within this study admitted that they were more focussed on how they evidenced their inspection-readiness than how to achieve the best interests of the individual child (with the implication being that the two were not necessarily complementary of each other). This was said to have a detrimental impact upon the use of discretion, not only because of the reduction in de jure discretionary space associated with the preparation culture, but because in their efforts to appear compliant, social workers felt that they did not spend adequate time with the child to garner the type of knowledge to facilitate a willingness to employ discretion within specific contexts (see Murphy, 2021aMurphy, , 2021b.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(the social workers estimated that at least 70% of their work week was dedicated to paperwork) as opposed to time spent with the childwhich they felt was impacting upon their readiness to employ discretion (see Murphy, 2021aMurphy, , 2021b:…”

Section: 'Any Social Worker Who Was Regularly Identified As Having An 'Incomplete [Ics] File' Risked Being Placed On a Remedial 'Action-pmentioning

confidence: 99%

If It's Not on the System, Then It Hasn't Been Done: ‘Ofsted Anxiety Disorder’ as a Barrier to Social Worker Discretion

2021

Child Abuse Review

Self Cite

A main theme within the Munro Review of Child Protection was that social workers should be better able to employ their discretion in the best interests of the individual child. This paper reports on the results of an ethnographic case study of one local authority child protection team. The research sought to explore, with 21 social workers and four team managers, the extent of social worker discretion within the child protection team. Employing a mixed-methods designencompassing documentary analysis, observation, focus group, questionnaire, interview and Critical Realist Grounded Theory the aim was to identify continued barriers to social worker discretion. Main findings highlight how a retained focus on preparation for inspection contributed towards the 'bureaucratic burden'epitomised by conceptions of Ofsted Anxiety Disorderand served as a barrier to achieving Munro's image for social worker discretion within the child protection team. Ultimately, despite previous efforts to reform external inspection in the wake of the Munro Review, the paper concludes that there may still be more to do if we are to achieve the 'child-centred' and 'effective' system that Munro advocated. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGES:• Child protection social workers continue to be afforded discretionary space.• The discretionary space can be differentiated by 'type.' • Social workers are more likely to employ discretion in managerially sanctioned discretionary space. • Local approaches to external inspection continue to hinder social worker discretion in the best interests of the child.

“…The ethnography took place over a three-year period and required that the author assume a new and unfamiliar role of researcher, whilst simultaneously working as a child protection social worker. The focus of the study was exploring social worker discretionary space and choice (see Murphy, 2021a; 2021b; 2022a, 2022b; 2022c). However, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential challenges of undertaking a social work research project within one’s employing organisation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From “intimate-insider” to “relative-outsider”: an autoethnographic account of undertaking social work research in one’s own “backyard”

2023

JCS

Self Cite

Purpose This study aims to explore the challenges of being simultaneously “intimate insider” and “relative outsider” whilst undertaking an ethnography into a statutory child protection team. As a novice researcher seeking to explore a world of which he was already part, ethnography was considered the most suitable means for exploring child protection social workers’ discretion. However, by subscribing to binary notions of “insider” and “outsider” at the commencement of the study, the author underplayed the dilemma of reconciling friendships with his researcher role, as well as the barriers that his more junior organisational status could create. Design/methodology/approach This study provides an autoethnographic account of these challenges, and the author’s evolving status and movement between “insider” and “outsider” relative to different groups within the children’s services department. Findings The implications include the potential for being simultaneously “insider” and “outsider” when undertaking research within one’s employing organisation; the need to reconcile challenging social work tasks with researcher responsibilities; and the difficulty of maintaining pre-existing relationships, whilst also cultivating an objective research profile. Originality/value This paper offers an important contribution to the limited accounts of conducting research from “inside” a statutory children’s services department and will be of benefit to early career researchers considering a research project within their own “backyard”.