Blame, Culture and Child Protection PDF
Preview Blame, Culture and Child Protection
Jadwiga Leigh Blame, Culture and Child Protection Jadwiga Leigh Blame, Culture and Child Protection Jadwiga Leigh Department of Sociological Studies University of Sheffield Sheffield, United Kingdom ISBN 978-1-137-47008-9 ISBN 978-1-137-47009-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-47009-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016951096 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans- mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom Acknowledgements Social workers across England are increasingly being placed in situations that are untenable to work in. They enter the profession full of good intentions, ready to change the world and do their best for those they work with. Yet their values and beliefs are constantly tested as they some- times find themselves in organisations which have different intentions to the ones they have and which do not promote the same ideals. This has a significant impact on their identity and their practice. I would therefore like to begin by acknowledging all the social workers that I have ever had the pleasure to work with and all those I have still yet to meet. I admire the strength and tenacity of those who have tried to achieve the best for the families they have worked with. This book has been written with you in mind and I hope that it will be able to provide some insight into what I perceive to be some of the issues facing the pro- fession today. This leads me on to thanking everyone who is in this book or who has played a part in shaping it. Your individual and collective contribu- tions have been invaluable. Spending time with you and learning how you do what you do has been inspiring. I hope you are not too disap- pointed with the final product. It is important to note at this point that all interviewees have been anonymised and organisation names have been replaced with pseudonyms to protect privacy and confidential- ity. Also identifying characteristics such as circumstances surrounding v vi Acknowledgements particular incidents, locations, places and personal characteristics such as gender, age and name have also been changed. First I wish to thank Stephen Hicks and Julie Wray. I also wish to thank two fair but critical examiners, Sue White and Andrew Clark, who both ensured that the end of my PhD journey was an enjoyable one. However, this book writing journey has not always been a smooth pro- cess and there have been a few wobbles along the way all of which have been overcome with the never ending support offered by Lisa Morriss and the calm, collected advice provided by Kate Morris. Thank you both. I would also like to thank everyone I work with at Sheffield, you are an amazing team which I am extremely proud to be part of. In the spirit of thinking of great people, I must now mention my very good friends Andrea, Belen, Emma, Helen and Sarah, otherwise they may never for- give me! I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers who have offered sage advice and have helped shape the book. But this book would not even be in existence without the support of Harriet, Andrew, Tom, Jonathan and Amelia from Palgrave Macmillan who have guided me through the submission and production process sensitively and appropriately. But my final thanks is reserved for my family: Mike, Henry, Hugh, Dor, John, Pebble and Fudge. Where would I be without you? Contents 1 I ntroduction 1 2 The Process of Professionalisation 13 Part I England 33 3 Life in the Dimes Ashe Department 35 4 How Others Affect Child Protection Social Work 51 5 Interactions and Affected Atmospheres 75 Part II Flanders 123 6 Life in the VK Agencies 125 7 The Effect Others Have on Flemish Practice 143 vii viii Contents 8 Building Relationships: A Different Perspective 167 9 Blame, Culture and Child Protection 203 Appendix A: Reflexivity 219 Appendix B: Methodology 227 Index 241 List of Figures Fig. 3.1 A corridor inside the Dimes Ashe department 44 Fig. 3.2 An office inside the Dimes Ashe department 45 Fig. 6.1 Corridor in the Flemish agency 135 Fig. 6.2 Box of bits and pieces 137 ix List of Tables Table A.1 Professional experience in the Dimes Ashe department 232 Table A.2 Documents analysed in England 232 Table A.3 Professional experience in Flanders (including students) 233 Table A.4 D ocuments from Flanders 234 Table A.5 Number of days observations were carried out in each country 235 Table A.6 I nterviews carried out in England and in Flanders 236 Table A.7 How the data were coded and themed 237 xi
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