Rising demand and decreasing resources
Theorising the 'cost of austerity' as a barrier to social worker discretion
Dados Bibliográficos
| ID | 2116272 |
|---|---|
| Autores | Ciarán Murphy (0000-0002-7137-0389, Edge Hill University, autor correspondente) |
| Ano | 2023 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Fascículo | 1 |
| Páginas | 197-214 |
| Data de publicação | 2023-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Sim |
| Open Access | Sim |
| Tipo | ARTICLE |
| Periódico | Journal of Social Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Identificadores do periódico | ISSN: 0047-2794 • E-ISSN: 1469-7823 |
| Editora | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0047279421000507 |
| OpenAlex | W3176448224 |
| Idioma | EN |
| Citações recebidas | 36 |
| Referências citadas | 36 |
The Munro Review of Child Protection asserted that the English child protection system had become overly 'defensive', 'bureaucratised' and 'standardised', meaning that social workers were not employing their discretion in the interests of the individual child. This paper reports on the results of an ethnographic case study of one of England's statutory child protection teams. The research sought to explore the extent of social worker discretion relative to Munro's call for 'radical reform' and a move towards a more 'child-centred' system. Employing an iterative mixed methods design - encompassing documentary analysis, observation, focus group, questionnaire, interview and 'Critical Realist Grounded Theory' - the study positioned the UK Government's prolonged policy of 'austerity' as a barrier to social worker discretion. This was because the policy was seen to be contributing to an increased demand for child protection services; and a related sense amongst practitioners that they were afforded insufficient time with the child to garner the requisite knowledge, necessary for discretionary behaviour. Ultimately, despite evidence of progress relative to assertions that social worker discretion had been eroded, 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
Austerity · Child protection · Discretion · Economics · Government (linguistics) · Judicial discretion · Judicial review · Managerialism · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Statutory law · Child Abuse and Trauma · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Public Administration · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
When resistance becomes policy
Perplexing Presentations
Intrinsic Job Quality Attributes and Perceived Stress Amongst Social Workers
Parental Mental Ill‐Health
Advocacy in Practice
Beyond counselling
A more ‘child-centred’ system? The discretionary spaces of the child protection social worker
Poverty, social work, and social intervention
‘I’d love to come back, but it would have to be different’. Exploring former child protection social workers’ rationale for leaving the English child protection system, and the changes required to consider a return
Exploring the contrasting sources of stress and job satisfaction across three different areas of UK statutory social work
What do child protection social workers consider to be the systemic factors driving workforce instability within the English child protection system, and what are the implications for the UK Government’s reform strategy
The relational recession in social work
Motivations, career decisions, and decision-making processes of mid-aged master of social work students
From “intimate-insider” to “relative-outsider”
I don’t want my face on the front page of The Sun’
Ideas and Policy Response to the Covid-19 Crisis
What Factors are Contributing to Increasing Numbers of ‘Care Orders at Home’ in Northwest England
After 50 Years of ‘Protocolization’, What Is the Progress Towards Munro's Image of a More Flexible, Innovative and ‘Child‐Centred’ English Child Protection System
I Do Not Feel Great About It, but It Was the Logical Decision’—An Exploration of Why England's Agency Social Workers Have Left Permanent Child Protection Roles
I Wouldn't Be Here Without Them’
A Collaborative Emic Methodology for Developing Practice Guidelines for Leaving Alternative Care in Resource-Constrained Settings
My dad said, ‘come on, enough is enough’” – an exploration of why social workers have decided to leave England’s child protection workforce
Echoes and ripples
Social Workers' Perceptions of Stakeholder Contributions to Regional Variation in the Numbers of ‘Care Orders at Home’ Being Recorded
Does qualifying route inform preparedness for child protection practice? An appraisal of the testimonies of 201 ‘early career’ social workers
Managing moral distress
What is the nature and impact of workplace friendships within child protection social work? Implications for emotional support, professional learning, job satisfaction and worker wellbeing
Young adults’ service disengagement
If We Look at Child Protection Reform through the Lens of Systems Science, What do we See
Challenging times for early career social workers during the Covid-19 pandemic
Where are they now? An appraisal of former child protection social workers employment status and reasons for leaving child protection work
A Sociological Reading of Statutory Social Work and Irish Corporate Governmentality
What Challenges Emerge from Cases Where Children Are Made Subject to a ‘Care Order at Home’
Rethinking street-level bureaucracy
Which client is worthy of using discretion? Analysing storytelling practices of Dutch street-level bureaucrats in inter-departmental settings
Monitoring a Fragile Child Protection System
The Politics of Child Protection
Understanding street-level bureaucracy
Austerity, sanctions, and the rise of food banks in the UK
Austerity
Discretion in the Welfare State
Ethnography
Even Further beyond Street-Level Bureaucracy
Let’s stop feeding the risk monster
How social workers spend their time in frontline children's social care in England
Technology, evidence and professional practice
Children's services in the iron cage of performance management
Street-level bureaucracy, management and the corrupted world of service’
Social work, poverty, and child welfare interventions
The trouble with thresholds
Inequalities in English child protection practice under austerity
Care Management and Community Care
When policy o’erleaps itself
Improving practice
Endless Pressure
Street‐level Bureaucracy’ Revisited
Needs Assessment, Street‐level Bureaucracy and the New Community Care
Professional Discretion and Adult Social Work
Performing 'Initial Assessment
Exploring Demand and Provision in English Child Protection Services
A More ‘Child-Centred’ System? Child Protection Social Workers’ Willingness to Employ Discretion
Beyond Social Constructionism
The Impact of Audit on Social Work Practice
Understanding out of Home Care Rates in Northern Ireland
Critical Realist Explorations in Methodology
Austerity, rationing and inequity
| Obras citantes distintas | 36 |
|---|---|
| Citações por ano | 9 |
| Intervalo de citações | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Velocidade de citação | current |
| Altamente citado | Não |
| Tipos de citação | Neutras: 35 |