1. Understanding and assessing neglect
Patrick Ayre
Department of Applied Social Studies
University of Bedfordshire
Park Square, Luton
web:

2. NEGLECT
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
provide adequate food, clothing and shelter
protect from physical and emotional harm or danger
ensure adequate supervision
ensure access to medical care or treatment.
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

3. NEGLECT
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
provide adequate food, clothing and shelter
protect from physical and emotional harm or danger
ensure adequate supervision
ensure access to medical care or treatment.
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

4. NEGLECT
Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child’s health or development. Neglect may occur during pregnancy as a result of maternal substance abuse. Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to:
provide adequate food, clothing and shelter
protect from physical and emotional harm or danger
ensure adequate supervision
ensure access to medical care or treatment.
It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a child’s basic emotional needs.

5. NEGLECT Behavioural Constant hunger Constant tiredness
Frequent lateness or non-attendance at school
Destructive tendencies

6. NEGLECT Low self-esteem Neurotic behaviour No social relationships
Running away
Compulsive stealing or scavenging

7. NEGLECT Physical Poor personal hygiene Poor state of clothing
Emaciation, pot belly, short stature
Poor skin and hair tone
Untreated medical problems

8. SIGNIFICANT HARM Harm is defined by Children Act 1989:
ill-treatment (including sexual abuse and, by implication, physical abuse)
impairment of health (physical or mental) or development (physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioural)

9. THE CHILD'S BASIC NEEDS basic physical care affection security
stimulation of innate potential
guidance and control
responsibility
independence

10. Why do parents neglect? We need to understand the interaction between:
3 Ns: Nurture, Nature, Now
Circumstantial factors and fundamental factors

11. Why do parents neglect? Circumstantial Poverty
Particular relationships
Lack of skill/knowledge
Temporary illness
Lack of support
Environmental factors
Fundamental
Lack of parenting capacity
Deep seated attitudinal/behavioural/ psychological problems
Long term health issues
Entrenched problematical drug /alcohol use

12. A scale for assessing motivation
Shows concern and has realistic confidence.
Shows concern, but lacks confidence.
Seems concerned, but impulsive or careless
Indifferent or apathetic about problems
Rejection of parental role.

13. Shows concern and has realistic confidence.
Parent is concerned about children’s welfare; wants to meet their physical, social, and emotional needs to the extent he/she understands them.
Parent is determined to act in best interests of children
Has realistic confidence that he/she can overcome problems and is willing to ask for help when needed
Is prepared to make sacrifices for children.

14. Shows concern, but lacks confidence
Parent is concerned about children’s welfare and wants to meet their needs, but lacks confidence that problems can be overcome
May be unwilling for some reason to ask for help when needed. Feels unsure of own abilities or is embarrassed
But uses good judgement whenever he/she takes some action to solve problems.

15. Seems concerned, but impulsive or careless
Parent seems concerned about children’s welfare and claims he/she wants to meet their needs, but has problems with carelessness, mistakes and accidents. Professed concern is often not translated into effective action.
May be disorganised, not take enough time, or pays insufficient attention; may misread ‘signals’ from children; may exercise poor judgement.
Does not seem to intentionally violate proper parental role; shows remorse.

16. Indifferent or apathetic about problems
Parent is not concerned enough about children’s needs to resist ‘temptations’, eg competing demands on time and money. This leads to one or more of the children’s needs not being met.
Parent does not have the right ‘priorities’ when it comes to child care; may take a ‘cavalier’ or indifferent attitude. There may be a lack of interest in the children and in their welfare and development.
Parent does not actively reject the parental role.

17. Rejection of parental role
Parent actively rejects parental role, taking a hostile attitude toward child care responsibilities.
Believes that child care is an ‘imposition’, and may ask to be relieved of that responsibility. May take the attitude that it isn’t his or her ‘job’.
May seek to give up the responsibility for children
(Magura et al,1987)

18. The effects of neglect Howe identifies 4 types of neglect
Emotional neglect
Disorganised neglect
Depressed or passive neglect
Severe deprivation
Each is associated with different effects and implications for intervention

19. Emotional neglect Sins of commission and omission
‘Closure’ and ‘flight’: avoid contact, ignore advice, miss appointments, deride professionals, children unavailable
However, may seek help with a child who needs to be ‘cured’
Intervention often delayed

20. Emotional neglect: parents
Can’t cope with children’s demands: avoid/disengage from child in need; dismissive or punitive response
Six types of response:
Spurning, rejecting, belittling
Terrorising
Isolating from positive experiences
Exploiting/corrupting
Denying emotional responsiveness
Failing medical needs

21. Emotional neglect: children
Frightened, unhappy, anxious, low self-esteem
Precocious, ‘streetwise’
Withdrawn, isolated, aggressive: fear intimacy and dependence
Behaviour increasingly anti-social and oppositional
Brain development affected: difficulties in processing and regulating emotional arousal

22. Disorganised neglect Classic ‘problem families’ Thick case files
Can annoy and frustrate but endear and amuse
Chaos and disruption
Reasoning minimised, affect is dominant
Feelings drive behaviour and social interaction

23. Disorganised neglect: carers
Feelings of being undervalued or emotionally deprived in childhood so need to be centre of attention/affection
Demanding and dependant with respect to professionals
Crisis is a necessary not a contingent state

24. Disorganised neglect: carers
Cope with babies (babies need them) but then…
Parental responses to children unpredictable; driven by how the parent is feeling, not the needs of the child
Lack of ‘attunement’ and ‘synchronicity’

25. Disorganised neglect: children
Anxious and demanding
Infants: fractious, fretful, clinging, hard to soothe
Young children: attention seeking; exaggerated affect; poor confidence and concentration; jealous; show off; go to far
Teens: immature, impulsive; need to be noticed leads to trouble at school and in community
Neglectful parents feel angry and helpless: reject the child; to grandparents, care or gangs

26. Depressed neglect Classic neglect Material and emotional poverty
Homes and children dirty and smelly
Urine soaked matresses, dog faeces, filthy plates, rags at the windows
A sense of hopelessness and despair (can be reflected in workers)

27. Depressed neglect: carers
Often severely abused/neglected: own parents depressed or sexually or physically abusive
May have learning difficulties
Passive helplessness response to demands of family life
Have given up both thinking and feeling

28. Depressed neglect: carers
Listless and unresponsive to children’s needs and demands, limited interaction
Lack of pleasure or anger in dealings with children and professionals
No smacks, no shouting, no deliberate harm but no hugs, no warmth, no emotional involvement
No structure; poor supervision, care and food

29. Depressed neglect: children
Lack interaction with parents required for mental and emotional development
Infant: Incurious and unresponsive; moan and whimper but don’t cry or laugh
At school: isolated, aimless, lacking in concentration, drive, confidence and self-esteem but do not show anti-social behaviour

30. Severe deprivation
Eastern European orphanages, parents with serious issues of depression, learning disabilities, drug addiction, care system at its worst
Children left in cot or ‘serial caregiving’
Combination of severe neglect and absence of selective attachment: child is essentially alone

31. Severe deprivation: children
Infants: lack pre-attachment behaviours of smiling, crying, eye contact
Children: impulsivity, hyperactivity, attention deficits, cognitive impairment and developmental delay, aggressive and coercive behaviour, eating problems, poor relationships
Inhibited: withdrawn passive, rarely smile, autistic-type behaviour and self-soothing
Disinhibited: attention-seeking, clingy, over-friendly; relationships shallow, lack reciprocity

32. Capturing chronic abuse
Judging the quality of care is an essential component of any assessment but how well do we do it?
Judgements subjective and prone to bias
Intangible: Difficult to capture and compare
High threshold for recognition
Neglect is a pattern not an event

33. Capturing chronic abuse
Judging the quality of care is an essential component of any assessment but how well do we do it?
Judgements subjective and prone to bias
Intangible: Difficult to capture and compare
High threshold for recognition
Neglect is a pattern not an event

34. Our image of assessment

35. The reality of assessment?

36. Capturing chronic abuse
Judging the quality of care is an essential component of any assessment but how well do we do it?
Judgements subjective and prone to bias
Intangible: Difficult to capture and compare
High threshold for recognition
Neglect is a pattern not an event

37. The pattern of neglect

38. The pattern of neglect

39. The pattern of neglect

40. The pattern of neglect

41. The pattern of neglect

42. Cumulativeness
Child protection system is triggered when threshold of likely significant harm has been crossed.
Physical and sexual abuse, where a serious precipitating incident comes to light which clearly crosses the threshold at once.
Many chronic cases may be characterised by a lengthy pattern of actions or incidents, none of which is in itself sufficient to trigger intervention. They have to get added together like this

43. Failure of cumulativeness

44. Information handling Picking out the important from a mass of data
Interpretation
Distinguishing fact/opinion; too trusting/insufficiently critical
Mistrusted source
Decoyed by another problem
False certainty; undue faith in a ‘known fact’
Discarding information which does not fit
First impressions/assumptions
Department of Health (1991) Child abuse: A study of inquiry reports, , HMSO, London

45. What’s the problem? Chronic abuse and the principle of cumulativeness
Files very long and badly structured
Patterns missed and ‘chronic abuse’ overlooked
The problem of proportionality
Acclimatisation
Three principle reasons for this failure of cumulativeness.
The first is that the incidents giving rise to concern may lie scattered through the relevant files, recorded and responded to separately with no one making cumulative connections between them. They may lie unshared on the files of a variety of different interested agencies or unremarked within the files of a single agency. Picked up and put down Many 'duty worker' and 'team responsibility' systems may be prone to this failing.
The notion of proportionality: uncomfortable about invoking the full might of the system over a 'minor' incident, even where this incident is just one of a very worrying series.
Acclimatised to unacceptably low standards, typified by remarks such as 'What can you expect from this family?' or 'That's the way they are; they've always been the same'. Conditions likely to cause significant harm come to be regarded as the norm and all future incidents come to be judged against this depressed standard with the result that incidents have to be increasingly bad to be identified as causing concern at all and the cumulative effect on the child is overlooked.

46. Assessment Pitfalls
Parents’ behaviour, whether co-operative or uncooperative, is often misinterpreted
Not enough weight to information from family friends and neighbours
Not enough attention is paid to what children say, how they look and how they behave
Attention is focused on the most visible or pressing problems and other warning signs are not appreciated
When faced with an aggressive or frightening family, professionals are reluctant to discuss fears for their own safety and ask for help
In Cleaver, H, Wattam, C and Cawson, P Assessing Risk in Child Protection, NSPCC, 1998

47. Serious Case Reviews Great disquiet over assessment practice
Failure to give sufficient weight to relevant case history
Facts recorded faithfully but not always critically appraised
Guidance and thresholds
Protection plans omit objectives and outcomes

48. Assessment Practice Use of trained staff Assessment of male carers
Maintenance of a wholly child-centred approach
Too much mouth and ears, not enough eyes
Formal assessment of risk

49. Risk assessment The dangers involved (that is the feared outcomes);
The hazards and strengths of the situation (that is the factors making it more or less likely that the dangers will realised);
The probability of a dangerous outcome in this case (bearing in mind the strengths and hazards);
The further information required to enable this to be judged accurately; and
The methods by which the likelihood of the feared outcomes could be diminished or removed.

50. Bias and Balance Include strengths and weaknesses
It is your job to make judgements but:
avoid empty evaluative words like inappropriate, worrying, inadequate
Give evidence for descriptive words like cold, dirty and untidy
Beware the danger of facts
‘The local authority’s evidence must demonstrate that the course of action it proposes is in the child’s best interests. This must not be achieved by including in its statements only those facts and opinions which support the local authority’s position. The courts have clearly established that where the welfare of children is the paramount consideration, there is a duty on all parties to make full and frank disclosure of all matters relevant to welfare whether these are favourable or adverse to their particular case. This includes the disclosure of information by local authorities to parents which may assist in rebutting allegations against them’.
Reporting to the Court under the Children Act
We all know about separating fact as opinion, but don’t think facts are necessarily safer.
Were there a couple of unwashed cups in the hearth and a few toys on the floor, or did your feet stick to the carpet, dog faeces in the corner and swarms of bluebottles to meet you when you entered the kitchen.

51. Bias and Balance
Born in 1942, he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment at the age of 25. After 5 unsuccessful fights, he gave up his attempt to make a career in boxing in 1981 and has since had no other regular employment

52. Seeing the whole picture
“Kouao always dressed immaculately. Her clothing and jewellery seemed expensive and her hair was very well done. She did not in any way look destitute, contrary to what she always claimed. In contrast, Victoria was poorly dressed. I cannot recall exactly what she wore but there were times when she did not seem to be dressed appropriately. She always appeared to look as if she was in hand-me-down clothes. I thought she looked shabbily dressed”

53. Seeing the whole picture

55. The danger of snapshots

56. Drawing conclusions and making recommendations
Summarise the main issues and the conclusions to be drawn from them. (The facts do not necessarily speak for themselves; it is your job to speak for them.)
Draw conclusions from the facts and recommendations from the conclusions
Explain how you arrived at your conclusions (Have you demonstrated the factual/theoretical basis for each?)

57. Conclusions and recommendations
In drawing conclusions be aware of the extent and limitations of your own expertise.
Conclusions may be supported by research (Don’t go outside expertise; be careful with new or controversial theories; be aware of counter arguments)
Be aware of the extent and limitations of your own expertise. Acknowledge both expertise and experience and be prepared to draw on them appropriately to generate a professional opinion. May be supported by reference to research, dealt with later. (Don’t go outside expertise; be Careful with new or controversial theories; be aware of counter arguments)

58. Wirral assessment tool for neglect
Based on the Graded Care Profile by Dr OP Shrivastava
GCP provides:
Framework for making assessment
Baseline measurement
An element of objectivity
Judgement about care
Reliable standardised evidence

59. When do you make a GCP assessment?
Concerns about parenting
Child exhibiting problems
Children in need of protection
Children in need
Devising a programme of intervention
Any other parenting concerns
A tool to be used in many situations. Can be used as a “snapshot”, as a basis for an assessment. At any time there are concerns, but especially for Neglect.

60. GCP users Health visitors School nurses Social workers
Family centre workers

61. GCP uses Pre-referral assessments Snapshot assessments
Contribution to CAF assessments
Contribution to Core Assessment (parenting capacity)
Self-assessment (parents and carers)
Young person’s assessment of parenting
Tool for setting goals and assessing progress
Tool to facilitate discussion

62. Why choose GCP? Child focused User friendly Common language
Promotes partnership

63. Why choose GCP? Evaluates strengths as well as weaknesses
Allows progress to be assessed
A relatively objective measure
Allows help to be targeted where needed

64. Love and belongingness
Domains of Care
Stimulation
Approval
Disapproval
Acceptance
Sensitivity
Responsivity
Reciprocity
Overtures
Self actualisation
Esteem
Love and belongingness
Present & absent
Safety
As Prakash said he used Maslow’s work to build on using the four domains and further sub-dividing them.
Physical needs
Nutrition. Housing, Clothing, Hygiene & Health
Maslow, A. 1954

65. What to observe Nutrition Housing Clothing Hygiene Health Quality,
Quantity,
Preparation,
Organisation,
A. PHYSICAL
B. SAFETY
C. LOVE
D. ESTEEM

66. Grades of Care Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Level of care
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Level of care
All child’s needs met
Essential needs fully met
Some essential needs met
Most essential needs unmet
Essential needs entirely unmet/hostile
Commitment to care
Child first
Child priority
Child/carer at par
Child second
Child not considered
Quality of care
Best
Adequate
Equivocal
Poor
Worst
Wirral rating
No concern
Recommend prevention support
Child protection
Child protection and legal strategy meeting

67. Scoring Rating 5 25 Use on every child in the family
Use with different carers
Complete with the parent/carer
Use information, observation, records

68. DO NOT JUSTIFY BY REASONS
Scoring
Score as actually fits the manual –
DO NOT JUSTIFY BY REASONS
If there is a score of 20 or 25, this overrides any other scores
Scores between 5 and 15, record the one which crops up most
If there is an even split, the highest score is entered

69. Scoring Complete individual scores in the manual
Transpose to the record sheet
Agree action, targets and timescales

70. AREAS A PHYSICAL CARE 1 ? Items a b c d 15 10 15 5 2 ? a b c 20 10 10
Sub-areas 1 ?
Items a b c d 15 10 15 5 2 ? a b c 20 10 10 3 ? a b c 5 10 15 4 15 5 ? a b c d 15 15 10 10

71. DO NOT JUSTIFY BY REASONS
Scoring
Score as actually fits the manual –
DO NOT JUSTIFY BY REASONS
If there is a score of 20 or 25, this overrides any other scores
Scores between 5 and 15, record the one which crops up most
If there is an even split, the highest score is entered

72. AREAS A PHYSICAL CARE 1 ? Items a b c d 15 10 15 5 2 ? a b c 20 10 10
Sub-areas 1 ?
Items a b c d 15 10 15 5 2 ? a b c 20 10 10 3 ? a b c 5 10 15 4 15 5 ? a b c d 15 15 10 10

73. AREAS A PHYSICAL CARE 1 15 Items a b c d 15 10 15 5 2 20 a b c 20 10
Reference Sheet
Sub-areas 1 15
Items a b c d 15 10 15 5 2 20 a b c 20 10 10 3 15 a b c 5 10 15 4 15 5 15 a b c d 15 15 10 10

74. Record sheet

76. Targeting Items of Care
Targeted Areas
Current Score
Target Score
Timescale
Reviewed Score 1 2 3 4 5

77. Unique Advantages Common language, common reference
Objective measure – child focussed
Effective tool to promote partnership assessments and planning with parents
User friendly
Comprehensively covers all areas of care
Child and carer specific

78. What helps in working with neglect
Proactive assessment
Addressing causes not symptoms
An ecological framework
Multidisciplinary assessment
Understanding histories and patterns

79. What helps in working with neglect
Matching interventions to identified needs
Clear objectives and timescales
Work with parents
Work with children in a resilience framework

80. Substance use and neglect
Experimental drug users
Recreational drug users
People who use legal substances
People who are dependent on illegal drugs or alcohol
But we focus on ‘the stage when the use of drugs or alcohol is having a harmful effect on a person’s life’

81. Some statistics
Between 50% and 90% of families on social workers’ child care caseloads have parent(s) with drug, alcohol or mental health problems
Glasgow 1998/9: 40% of Child Protection Orders cited drug abuse
Dundee: Child protection conferences involving parents with problems over drug or alcohol use rose from 37% in 1998/9 to 70% in 2000

82. Effects vary, but: Substance misuse may become central preoccupation
Reduce or alter appetite
Reactions to pain and discomfort dulled
Self-neglect
Social relationships narrow
Trouble with money, housing and the law
Poor physical and mental health
Interpersonal conflict and poor family relationships

83. Effects on children
‘Parental substance misuse alone is neither a necessary nor sufficient cause of problems in children’ (Mountenay, 1998)
“International literature on the children of drug users does not support an assumption that child abuse and neglect automatically follow when a parent uses drugs” (Hogan,1998)
But, families need comprehensive assessment and active support to promote resilience and repair damage

84. Effects on children
Alcohol and/or substance misuse greatly increase the likelihood of family problems (Sher 1991; Zeitlin, 1994)
Substance use can become the central focus of the adults’ lives, feelings and social behaviour.
CAMH services report substantial risk of poor childhood mental health (Mountenay, 1999)
Poor long-term outcomes for children (Rutter and Rutter, 1992)

85. Effects on children
“I hated weekends when mum had all her friends round drinking all night.”
Sarah – daughter of problem drinker
“She was just always dead moody, she was always in her bed all the time and she would never go out and buy food and she would never have money to go out and get it.”
(Barnard 2002)
the children of problem drinkers: ‘forgotten children’, a ‘hidden tragedy’, and or ‘unseen casualties’ (Wilson 1982)

86. Specific effects (mainly US Studies)
High risk of maltreatment, emotional or physical neglect or abuse, family conflict and inappropriate parental behaviour Famularo, Kindscherff and Fenton, 1992; Wasserman and Levanthal, 1993, Barlow, 1996).
Exposed to drug-related activity and associated crime (Hogan, 1998)
Inconsistent and lukewarm care, ineffective supervision and overly punitive discipline (Kandel, 1990; Boyd, 1993).

87. Specific effects (mainly US Studies)
More likely to:
display behavioural problems (Wilens et al, 1995),
experience social isolation and estrangement from family and peers, and stigma (Kumpfer and De Marsh, 1986),
misuse substances themselves when older (Hoffman and Su, 1998; McKeganey 1998)
In the longer term: isolation, difficulties with change and learning to have fun (Barlow, 1996)

88. Pre-birth, infancy and pre-school
Risk of physical harm pre-birth
Neglect and injury through drugged state of parent, access to drugs
Inappropriate emotional care through unhappiness, tension, irritability, preoccupation
Cognitive and emotional development affected by lack of stimulation and inconsistent/unpredictable behaviour, unstable environment

89. Pre-birth, infancy and pre-school
Poor contact with other children
Materially deprived environment
Self-esteem and positive sense of identity affected by physical and emotional neglect
Experience violence
Where parents’ behaviour is particularly unpredictable and frightening, symptoms of PTSD

90. Pre-birth, infancy and pre-school
“Baby Adele was carried along the harbour wall by her father who was under the influence of alcohol. Neighbours thought this carried the risk of dropping her in the water.”
(Scottish Executive 2002)
“My parents started giving me alcohol when I was 1 (year old) to put me to sleep. I got taken into hospital to have my stomach pumped.”
Helen, aged 12

91. Primary school Symptoms of extreme anxiety and fear of hostility
Boys more quickly exhibit behavioural problems (but girls equally affected)
Self-blame and poor self-esteem
Academic attainment and social development affected by neglect and poor attendance, poor concentration
Shame and embarrassment lead to isolation
Young carers

92. Primary school
“I used to feel angry when my Mum was on drugs ‘cause I used to think how could this have happened to me? I was just sad all the time and then I would get angry. And we would have arguments all the time.”
Anne, aged 11
“I used to get really embarrassed at school when mum turned up drunk to collect me. I knew that I would have to make the tea when I got in.”
Billy, aged 9

93. Secondary school Puberty without parental support
Increased risk of conduct disorders, bullying and sexual aggression
Beyond parental control and increased risk of injury by parents
Socialised into substance misuse

94. Secondary school
“I knew they loved me but they just didn’t care that I was there and I needed stuff as well”
Elaine, aged 14
“At school, if your pals know your ma’s on drugs you get called a junkie”
(Aberlour 2002)

95. Protective factors Sufficient income A consistent caring adult
Regular monitoring and respite
Refuge from violence
Regular school/nursery attendance
Sympathetic and vigilant teachers
Organised out of school activities

96. The significant harm threshold
The threshold is probably passed when:
Parental drug and alcohol use is adversely impacting on the child’s health and development
There is no one parental figure able to provide a stable secure environment for the child
There is no evidence that parental behaviour will change within a timeframe congruent with the needs of the child
(Luton LSCB Safeguarding Inter-Agency Procedures, 2006)

97. When enough is enough
When a parent consistently places procurement and use of alcohol or drugs over their child’s welfare and fails to meet a child’s physical or emotional needs, the outlook for the child’s health and development is poor. Problem alcohol or drug using parents themselves acknowledge this and it is the duty of professionals to act in the child’s best interests when parents cannot.
(Getting our priorities right, 2003)

98. Referral triggers
Use of the family resources to finance the parent’s dependency, characterised by inadequate food, heat and clothing for the children
Children exposed to unsuitable caregivers or visitors, e.g. customers or dealers
The effects of alcohol leading to an inappropriate display of sexual and/or aggressive behaviour
Chaotic drug and alcohol use leading to emotional unavailability, irrational behaviour and reduced parental vigilance

99. Referral triggers
Disturbed moods as a result of withdrawal symptoms or dependency
Unsafe storage of drugs and/or alcohol or injecting equipment
Drugs and/or alcohol having an adverse impact on the growth and development of the unborn child
(LSCB Safeguarding Inter-Agency Procedures, 2006

100. Assessment Generic CAF GCP (assessment of parenting)
Specialist substance misuse and/or child protection assessment

101. Assessment principles
Focus on the child
Consider outcomes for the child, not the intent of the parent
Focus more on the child’s lived experience than on specific incidents
Adults’ management of their own lives is a good indicator of their ability to look after a child
Take full account of historical information
Information from a variety of sources is better than information from one

102. Working together Complex network of intervention:
Support parents and parenting
Stabilise/reduce substance misuse
Reduce risk and harmful effects on children
These objectives may not always be compatible, especially with regard to timescales

103. Substance misuse workers vs child care workers
Mutual incomprehension and misunderstanding
Working on the same case but not working jointly
False expectations and assumptions
Abdicating responsibility (both ways)
Need for ‘interpreters’

104. Working with parents
It is good practice to work in partnership with parents
Professionals should be open and honest with parents about the problems and risks they perceive
Working with parents as partners does not mean their wishes determine decisions, but that their views are sought and taken into account.

105. Working with parents It is important to recognise that:
Parents will often hide the extent of their problem for fear of the consequences
They may find it very hard to change, despite the consequences
This means testing and checking their accounts