What are social workers' lived experiences of child protection pre-birth assessment practice in one Scottish social services locality?

Child protection pre-birth assessments carried out on pregnant women when there is a perceived risk of harm to the unborn once born, impact both on families and the professionals involved in the practice. Of concern is the increasing number of infants separated by the state from their mothers, sometimes within hours of birth. Research in England and Wales highlights the variation in practise, the unreliability of decision-making, and its risk-averse decision nature. Whilst Scotland appears to be less pre-emptive with its own child protection national legislation and family-focused policies, social workers here have made clear their need for more guidance that is also sensitive to the context of risk, and the significant anxiety that prevails. This research explores the lived experiences of social workers who have carried out pre-birth assessment within South Glasgow City Social Care and Health Partnership with the aim of deepening our understanding of the decision-making process, and contributing to best practice guidance in Scotland and further afield. The objectives were: to explore how social workers have worked with birth parents in the context of risk; to explore the emotional and relational aspects of social workers' practice; to support social workers in their practice by identifying the range of factors impacting on decision-making within pre-birth assessment; to develop a conceptual understanding and model that can aid in decision-making. A psychoanalytically informed phenomenological qualitative study using in-person semi-structured interviews was conducted. Seven social workers were interviewed by the researcher with the data analysed using Braun and Clarke's Reflexive Thematic Analysis, (Braun and Clarke, 2022) and Naeem et al's (2023) development of a conceptual model in qualitative research. The findings highlight the significance of relationship building to the assessment, and the range and depth of internal and external work that was undertaken in what is a unique and emotionally heightened context. The conceptual model: Practice wisdom across multiple dimensions: Negotiation/Conflict digs deep into the decision-making process, capturing a practice dynamic that is impacted by relational, organisational and socioeconomical factors, and subject to distinct forms of anxiety. The findings underscore those factors that act to distort the relational work such as the state of pregnancy, trauma and stigma and the need to support social workers in making sense of the relational and emotional communications. Also highlighted is the positive contribution that can be made to decision-making by additional non-child protection services. As the rate of infant removal to the state continues to increase, Scotland appears to offer an alternative response. The research has explored this, identifying a dynamic of practice that privileges relationship and the family at the core of best practice. The development of the negotiation/conflict conceptual tool captures this activity, identifying areas that offer more relational and less risk averse practice. Recommendations are made for its development and implementation to support decision making further both in Scotland and further afield. Reference is made to the Scottish sociopolitical context that privileges the Rights of the Child, and its embedding into policy and practice which is considered to be playing a pivotal role.

Author dc:creator

• Fernando, Samantha

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• K. Cooper, A. Dawson and G. Spolander

• Social worker
• Pre-birth
• Unborn
• Infant
• Child-protection
• Assessment
• Care-experience
• Infant mental health
• Peri-natal health

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:3476110
https://doi.org/10.48526/rgu-wt-3476110

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:3476110