The courts and child protection social work in England: tail wags dog?

Dickens, Jonathan and Masson, Judith (2016) The courts and child protection social work in England: tail wags dog? British Journal of Social Work, 46 (2). pp. 355-371. ISSN 0045-3102

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Abstract

In England, the problem of excessive delay in court proceedings about children is long-standing, and there have been numerous initiatives over the years to tackle it. Under the Children and Families Act 2014 there is now a statutory limit of 26 weeks for care proceedings (with provision for longer where justified). If this is to be achieved, the quality of the work that local authorities undertake with children and families before proceedings are started will be more important than ever, and the courts will have to take due account of it. This paper draws on research into the formal ‘pre-proceedings process’ in England and Wales, to assess the prospects for the new approach. The research was undertaken in 2010-12, and involved a file survey, observation of pre-proceedings meetings, interviews with key participants (including social workers, lawyers and parents) and a group discussion with judges. The paper considers the implications of the new approach for relationships between the courts and local authorities, in particular how pre-proceedings work should be conducted. The danger is that pre-court practice may become less about family support, more about evidence and timescales, less about prevention of proceedings and more about preparation for court.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	care proceedings,social work and law,children and families,child safeguarding,prevention
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Child Protection (former - to 2017) Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Child Placement (former - to 2017) Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Child Protection & Family Support Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Research on Children and Families
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	28 Jan 2016 12:00
Last Modified:	13 Jun 2023 08:28
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/56825
DOI:	10.1093/bjsw/bcu144

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