Collaborative Working Between Agencies And Professional Disciplines Social Work Essay

Introduction

The undermentioned essay proposes to see the inquiry of collaborative working in societal attention, looking in peculiar at the impact of collaborative working between bureaus and professional subjects within the context of kids and households. This represents an particularly complex job to try to undertake with the issues of both collaborative working and working with kids households subject to an about changeless procedure of reform and alteration in the modern-day epoch. When, for case, we pause to see the manner in which collaborative work has become such a cardinal characteristic of modern-day societal policy in western broad democracies with the announcement of the partnership attack to authorities ordering the form of a assortment of societal, cultural, economic and political enterprises, we can see that any treatment associating to multi-agency work must shack in some portion within the kingdom of a invariably altering political political orientation that seeks in the first case to instil new parametric quantities for societal work pattern ( Quinney, 2006:5-21 ) . Likewise, when we consider the altering nature of working with kids and households in the modern-day epoch, we can see that a unquestionably permeant legislative and policy model progressively that seeks to conflict upon the pattern of societal work on both an person and a collaborative degree can non assist but impact upon our apprehension of the nature and function of the societal worker within the context of kids and households ( O’Loughlin and Bywater, 2008:14-27 ) . Therefore, we need to detect from the beginning the manner in which the following essay constitutes an inherently subjective treatment where any decisions garnered should be understood as unfastened to farther alteration and reinterpretation.

For the intent of position, we intend to follow a Manichaean attack to the job at manus, looking foremost at the political, ideological and legal context in which societal work with kids and households presently takes topographic point. In this manner, we will be better able to show an effectual apprehension of the field of kid and household work, the societal work function and the multidiscipline system in relation to kids in demand and kids in demand of protection. Second, we will look at the deductions of our ain evidence-based research yielded from group kineticss affecting a specific instance survey of kids and households. In this manner, we will be better able to show an apprehension of the importance of evidence-based pattern. Furthermore, in this manner, we will be better able to see both the strengths and the failings of the collaborative attack to societal service proviso at the morning of the 20 first century. Before we can get down, though, we need to briefly see the historical context in order to set up a conceptual model in which the balance of the treatment can take topographic point.

The political, ideological and legal context of working with kids and households

To understand the significance of the multi-agency, collaborative attacks to child protection we need to first reference some of the most profound instances of kid inhuman treatment, which have acted as a launch tablet for reforms of societal services. When, for case, we pause to see the instance of Dennis O’Neil who was starved and later beaten to decease by his Foster male parent in 1945, we can see that cases of utmost maltreatment of looked after kids straight contributed to reform of the kid societal services system. Maria Colwell was likewise abused and killed at the custodies of her stepfather in malice of over 50 official visits to the household by societal services, wellness visitants, constabulary officers and lodging officers before her decease in 1973. As a consequence of the resulting question into Maria Colwell ‘s decease, looked after kids were assigned a ‘guardian ‘ by the province. ( Cocker and Allain, 2008:24 ) Likewise, public indignation, internal enquiries and institutional reform accompanied the slayings of Jasmine Beckford in 1984 and the denudation of widespread sexual maltreatment amongst looked after kids in Cleveland in 1987. In add-on, the unlawful fosterage of kids on the Orkney Islands in 1991 after societal workers erroneously assumed that parents were portion of a demonic cult triggered a reconfiguration of child protection policy, moving as a timely reminder as to the fallibility of determination devising at an person every bit good as an organizational degree.

Yet while it is true that kids ‘s services have been influenced by single historical instances of disregard, maltreatment and slaying, it is besides true that societal work and kids ‘s services are inherently tied to the dominant political political orientation of the twenty-four hours. As we have already asserted, societal work pattern in the modern-day epoch is an inherently political issue with a permeant neoliberal political political orientation ordering the form of societal policy and public assistance reform over the class of the past two decennaries. Nowhere is this modernizing neoliberal drift more outstanding than in the field of societal work with kids and households ( Johns, 2009:39-54 ) . Get downing with the Children ‘s Act of 1989 and go oning with the amended Children ‘s Act of 2004, the province has progressively sought to do commissariats for deprived kids and neglecting households in order to cut down the debilitating sick effects of marginalization and societal exclusion.

These two Acts, in concurrence with a assortment of other related societal policies and statutory model such as the Every Child Matters programme, constitute an ideological water parting with respects to the manner in which the province legislatively copes with the legion issues originating from kids and households. Most evidently, these pieces of statute law and the broader accent upon societal inclusion that they entail cable a new manner of reacting to issues originating from kids and households by looking to aim the causes ( instead than the effects ) of disregard, exclusion, maltreatment and the omnipresent job of neglecting households. As a consequence, it is of import to detect the manner in which the reforms initiated over the shutting decennaries of the 20th century and the gap decennary of the 20 first century represent a move off from the permissive societal policies of the post-war old ages so as to integrate a discernibly more preventive docket for working with kids and households ( Morris, Barnes and Mason, 2009:43-67 ) .

It is within this clime of preventive action that we must see the generation and subsequent development of collaborative societal work pattern with multi-agency work being per se tied to the broader jussive mood of safeguarding kids. The statutory model of the Every Child Matters enterprise, underpinned by the Children ‘s Act ( 2004 ) is, for case, inherently tied to the partnership, collaborative attack to societal service proviso affecting the active engagement of professionals across all spectrums who work with kids and immature grownups ( Brammer, 2009:166 ) . Understood in this manner, the function of the societal worker represents one portion of a broader web of rights and duties integrating General Practitioners, psychologists, educational practicians, lodging association officers, National Health Service professionals, jurisprudence enforcement bureaus, authorities functionaries, local council members, parents, household members and any figure of related workers and associates who are able to assist explicate an effectual societal docket which places the kid at the epicenter of all cardinal decision-making. In this manner, the societal worker is better able to pass on with kids who have suffered or are enduring from instances of disregard and maltreatment ( Davies and Duckett, 2008:164-166 ) .

As a effect, it is clear that partnership and coaction should be understood as the ideological bedrock of the modern-day legal and political model for covering with kids, households and immature grownups, representing the individual most of import guiding rule for societal workers runing in the extremely complex, risk-orientated modern-day societal domain. Fuelled in some portion by the high profile instances of internal weaknesss lending to kids ‘s ‘ disregard where, most notably, the ill-timed decease of Victoria Climbie in 2000 highlighted “ gross failures of the system ” ( Laming, 2003:11-13 ) , collaborative working between bureaus and professional subjects is today understood as the most feasible agencies of positively impacting upon the well being of both kids and households ( Brammer, 2009:182. )

In response to the slaying of Victoria Climbie and, more pertinently, as a consequence of the economic jussive mood to cut back on populace sector disbursement, the New Labour authorities, followed by the present alliance authorities, has progressively sought to foster the multi-agency attack to societal services. The Children ‘s Plan ( 2007 ) , for illustration, constitutes an ideological extension of the collaborative methodological analysis championed in the Every Child Matters run with the authorities, bureaus and professionals all charged with “ bettering kids ‘s lives. ” ( The Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010:29 ) Safeguarding the well being of kids is hence no longer considered to be the exclusive duty of the province ; instead, it is clear that advancing the public assistance of kids and households is progressively dependent upon following an integrated attack with a assortment of bureaus, administrations and persons sharing the duty for public assistance while at the same clip guaranting that the kid remains the focal point of proactive, preventive action ( The Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010:31-34 ) . It is accordingly of import to underscore the strengths of the multi-agency attack to societal attention proviso, underlining in peculiar the manner in which concentrating upon collaborative working with kids and households offers a holistic attack to what is an basically multi-faceted job.

However, while we are right to admit the modernising political orientation that underpins modern societal work pattern, we besides need to detect the manner in which the twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours pattern of societal work with kids and households has revealed a important implicit in chasm between, on the one manus, the preventive legal model and, on the other manus, the deep-rooted defects in the multi-agency, inter-disciplinary attack to welfare proviso in the modern twenty-four hours ( Oko, 2008:16-39 ) . In malice of the best attempts of policy shapers and in malice of the preventive statutory model enshrined in the Every Child Matters enterprise, there remain deep-seated structural and logistical jobs refering to the multi-agency attack. For illustration, the hideous decease of Baby P in 2007 which occurred after societal services, National Health Service advisers, and constabularies officers demonstrates that there remains a clear and identifiable job with respects to communicating between bureaus, administrations and professions.

Furthermore, the disking instance of Baby P serves to show that, even when utmost degrees of maltreatment are being reported, there remains a job sing intercession. The multi-agency attack to societal attention proviso in the modern-day should hence be understood as being inherently flawed with the collaborative system beset by a assortment of structural failings and new ideological complexnesss ( Milner and O’Byrne, 2009:19-23 ) . Although we should non seek to overlook the strengths of multi-agency, collaborative working we must, as Eileen Munro attests, see the manner in which an extremely risk-orientated socio-political civilization has created extra jobs for societal workers in the modern epoch with an progressively bureaucratic, administrative apprehension of societal services haltering the attainment of a critical apprehension of the implicit in economic, cultural and political factors that create jobs in the societal domain ( Munro, 2008:58-76 ) . An over-emphasis upon research and policy has non yet yielded a important decrease in the chasm between theory and pattern.

Working in a Group: The Lessons for Working with Children and Families

Hitherto, we have focused upon trying to understand how the dominant political, ideological and legal model looks to order the form of societal services at the morning of the 20 first century. We have besides seen that while policies and models seek to instil a fresh, collaborative attack to working with kids and immature households the practical world of working in a multi-agency context still leads to important jobs refering to communicating. This, in the concluding analysis, is an inevitable effect of working with the kineticss of groups where there is small by manner of way and where, more significantly, different group members harbour different positions and different aspirations with respects to the nature, function and intent of the undertaking at manus.

In the group that I worked in, there were six participants. Two were two white adult females – one a immature adult female in her early mid-twentiess ; the other a adult female in her mid-thirtiess who is the female parent of two immature kids. There were besides two black adult females in the group ; both of these adult females were in their mid-thirtiess and both had kids. In add-on, there were two black work forces present in the group. Equally shortly as the group began to convene, it was instantly evident that there was a important job with respects to when the group could run into. Family committednesss, coupled with work arrangements, conspired to do holding on a clip to run into highly hard. Furthermore, when work was assigned to peculiar persons it was non completed on clip. A deficiency of construction was hence prevailing from the start.

As clip went by and the jobs with communicating within the group continued to turn, it became evident that the two white adult females took it upon themselves to move as the leaders of the group, deputing work as if they had been assigned the function of the directors. The younger adult female in her early mid-twentiess was observed to be particularly aggressive and tyrannizing. When confronted she failed to move in a professional mode, which placed further strain upon the kineticss of the group. Furthermore, as the two white adult females exerted increasing degrees of managerial control, it became evident that they were keep backing of import information from the remainder of the group. This was either because they did non swear the other members of the group to work to their criterions or because they wished to take exclusive duty for the undertaking upon completion. Regardless of their true purposes, the deficiency of co-ordination and communicating resulted in a dissatisfactory concluding presentation that had been undermined on history of a sweeping deficiency of dry run.

The deficiency of cohesive, co-ordinated action within the group revealed a great trade about the built-in jobs of inter-agency work with kids and households. Most evidently, there was a clear and identifiable job associating to a deficiency of leading and way in the group. Although there were merely six members, every participant appeared to hold their ain specific ‘agenda ‘ , which meant that the overall end became lost in the resulting confusion of duties. This, harmonizing to Michael Gasper, is a cardinal job in multi-agency working with kids and immature people where a convergence of involvements creates fertile evidences for jobs associating to direction and leading ( Gasper, 2009:92-110 ) . In such fortunes, it is frequently the bureau or spouse that adopts the most strictly aggressive attitude which ends up presuming a leadership-type function – mostly against the best involvements of the undertaking in manus. This was surely the instance in the group we observed where the two white adult females assumed leading functions although no such premiss had been discussed and in malice of the fact that no such policy had been agreed.

In this case, of class, it is impossible to disregard the apparition of underlying race issues that may hold consciously or subconsciously influenced the behavior of the two white adult females within the group. Race issues are per se tied to power issues ; therefore, the white adult females might hold felt the demand to presume control of a group dominated by black people. Again, the issue of power and the impact that this has upon inter-personal relationships within a multi-agency scene is an of import factor for us to see. As Damien Fitzgerald and Janet Kay underscore, power is an inexorably of import factor that needs to be legislated for when squads come together in an interdisciplinary, multi-professional context. This is particularly true during the early advisory phases of group work – the ‘storming phase ‘ – where “ there may be contending, power battles, differences and destructive unfavorable judgment, which need to be managed efficaciously so as to understate the impact upon the scene or the service. ” ( Fitzgerald and Kay, 2007:92 )

The relationships that emerge from the storming phase are later normalised during the resulting ‘norming ‘ phase where the squad starts to follow its ain individuality. If, nevertheless, the relationships between the assorted bureaus have non settled down into an classless form by the norming phase of development, the power battles and internal differences will necessarily impact the ‘performing ‘ phase of undertaking direction. Most notably, the originative procedure will be stifled and the focal point that should be dedicated towards the completion of the undertaking will be diverted towards the power struggles within the group ( Cheminais, 2009:38-40 ) . This was surely the instance in the group I worked in where jobs in the storming phase were translated into more serious structural jobs in the norming phase, both of which finally affected the concluding acting phase of the undertaking. Thus, one time more, we need to admit the important divide between theory and pattern in collaborative working with kids and households where, as Jayat suggests, “ policies can be good intentioned, yet are frequently ailing coordinated and, in pattern, under-resourced. ” ( Jayat, 2009:92 )

Furthermore, while admiting the jobs that multi-agency, collaborative work entails, we besides need to see the manner in which the extract of kids into the scenario creates farther avenues for a deficiency of cohesive, coordinated action. If, as the grounds suggests, information sharing is negatively influenced by multi-agency, collaborative working with grownups, so it stands to ground that there is bound to be much greater range for keep backing information when kids and households are integrated into the process. If relationships at an bureau degree are strained so it stands to ground that, as Butler and Roberts attest, that societal workers will happen it even harder to keep unfastened and honest relationships with kids and their parents in a societal work context ( Butler and Roberts, 2004:129-130 ) . More significantly, it is clear that there is small clip for power battles and differences when a kid ‘s public assistance is at interest. In the concluding analysis, this sort of internal haggle tallies contrary to the cardinal dogma of the Every Child Matters and the Working to Safeguard Children runs, which look to do certain that the kid remains the Centre of task-centred, multi-agency focal point ( Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2010:32 ) .

We should, of class, be careful non to presume that all group kineticss follow the form of the group we observed. While grounds suggests that there remains a important range for jobs of power, communicating, authorization and way within multi-agency scenes it is besides true that, if handled in the appropriate mode, “ collaborative pattern allows differences in values to surface and, if efficaciously ‘minded ‘ , to be aired and resolved over clip ” ( Glenny and Roaf, 2008:111 ) In such fortunes, multi-agency work with kids and households can function to positively act upon the wellness and good being of service users. As a effect, it is of import non to presume that the structural failings of coaction mean that there are no strengths to the multi-agency procedure.

Decision

Understanding the strengths and the failings of collaborative working between bureaus and professional subjects is dependent upon first understanding the distance to be travelled between the theory of bar and the pattern of coaction at a grass roots degree. Looking to cut down the divide between theory and pattern, between the political and ideological model and the multi-agency, collaborative attack, accordingly represents the most critical challenge confronting societal workers and societal policy shapers likewise. This is particularly true every bit far as kids ‘s services are concerned.

Ultimately, though, when looking to go through a opinion on the comparative strengths and failing of multi-agency working with kids and households we need to remember that bureaus involve persons reacting to crises in the societal domain. As Beckett attests, “ every person participant in the kid protection procedure, and every profession or bureau, needfully sees things from his, her or its ain peculiar point of view and has his, her or its ain peculiar ‘axes to crunch. ‘ It is of import to bear in head that no 1 participant possesses the pure and unadulterated ‘truth. ‘ ” ( Beckett, 2009:29 ) Social work is an inherently complex and subjective subject where there is no right or incorrect reply to the battalion of inquiries originating from the dislocation of interpersonal relationships. Collaborative work should accordingly be understood as being inherently fallible. Merely by concentrating upon bettering the internal group kineticss of multi-agency operation can the chasm between theory and pattern Begin to be reduced.