Specialist assessment in child protection proceedings: problems and possible solutions
✍ Scribed by Rachel Holt; Jenny Grundon; Roger Paxton
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 210 KB
- Volume
- 7
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0952-9136
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Problems and Possible Solutions
Specialist assessment is a crucial part of child protection intervention. This review considers problems surrounding the process of obtaining a specialist assessment in the child protection process, focusing especially on mental health assessment. Diculties identi®ed concern dierent professional frames of reference and agency functions, individual in¯uences and power dierentials, communication and decision-making at child protection conferences, court proceedings, `sensitive costs' and resources. Particular attention is paid to diculties associated with the multi-agency nature of the child protection process. Possible solutions are discussed under the following headings: structures and procedures, communication and role clarity, interpersonal relationships, the role of the keyworker, consultation and the responsiveness of specialists to referrer needs. A comprehensive strategy is advocated in improving the input of specialist services to child protection proceedings. This strategy should employ a combination of structural, procedural and interpersonal approaches and its eects should be thoroughly evaluated.