Munro review of child protection proposes sweeping reforms

[Ali Admin]

Professor Eileen Munro's final report to the government on child protection proposes an overhaul of the system to free social workers from targets, scrap nationally prescribed ways of working and introduce sweeping reforms to inspections.

Munro review of child protection proposes sweeping reforms

Early intervention has been a crucial part of the Munro review. The final report makes the bold call for a duty on local authorities and their statutory partners to secure sufficient provision of "early help" services to vulnerable families.

This would help ensure that family problems that don't quite meet the criteria for social services' involvement are addressed before they escalate to become child protection issues.

As well as protecting children from harm, the report states that addressing problems early would be more cost-effective than dealing with serious problems as they develop later.

Let's wait for the spin to fit the pre-planned policy.

Vulnerable families = all families who don't aspire to state dictated outcomes?

Munro Review pdf

[Elaine Kirk]

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It is economic policy being formed by the new(ish) London administration. They realised that the Brown/Balls policy of training/manipulating Future Human Capital was not cost effective - they committed the state (taxpayer) to enormous per unit investment over 20yrs through education- state oversight - state parenting in the belief that they would recoup the investment and turn a profit over the following 45 yrs. As realisation dawned on them that their buy/sell margins were too narrow they tried to extend the recoupment period but by then too many charities, quango's, businesses and L.A.'s were being funded to implement the policies that merely breaking even was but a distant dream.
So the new administration have decided that rather than expensive long term monitoring it will be more cost effective to use the 'fear factor' and now if you don't parent to the rule book the state will intervene and train the parent can you see how immediiately they have halved the cost if you work on an average of each family producing two point four future human capital units (aka children) and train the parent(s) as a single unit you don't have the expense of training a yr x unit , a yr d unit etc
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Here is an example from Scotland's Girfec Brigade in Lanarkshire of how it will work
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[Diane]

"Early intervention has been a crucial part of the Munro review."

Yucky, yuck, yuck, yuck.

Statey knows best, Midwifey knows best (even though some of the advice they gave me was definitely not best practice), experty knows best. Infantilise the parent until the parent conforms and goes along with anything and everything the statey says is OK. Destroy the average person's thinking processes...

Diane

[Sheila Struthers]

I don't buy it. However it's dressed up, early intervention means obscene amounts of personal information being gathered bythe state about everyone. How else are they going to identify those at risk of "bad outcomes"?

[pendlewitch]

Originally Posted by Elaine Kirk

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So the new administration have decided that rather than expensive long term monitoring it will be more cost effective to use the 'fear factor' and now if you don't parent to the rule book the state will intervene and train the parent can you see how immediiately they have halved the cost if you work on an average of each family producing two point four future human capital units (aka children) and train the parent(s) as a single unit you don't have the expense of training a yr x unit , a yr d unit etc

Good old panoptican theory at work again. When are we going to say NO to this crap?

[JaneP]

Check out http://www.aims.org.uk/ in their press releases section

Press Release - 21st May 2008
Child Protection Damages Public Health

There's also no requirement in law for a woman to book in for health care. How are they getting around that?

BW's Jane

[LovingHomeEd]

I always find myself in two minds over these sorts of things. We desperately needed help when my son was younger, but were refused it time and time again, by every agency. I suppose the difference is that help should be available if wanted but not insisted upon or forced down people's throats? One thing I did find is that sometimes help was offered, but it wasn't the right kind and there was no alternative. It is hard coping with serious health problems or disability on your own (although many parents find they have to).

[Elaine Kirk]

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from the DfE

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The Government has published its response to the Munro Review of Child Protection. The response was informed by an Implementation Working Group (IWG) drawing on expertise from local authority children’s services, the social work profession, education, police and health services.
This response is the first step on the journey to create the conditions for sustained long term reform of the child protection system to deliver improved outcomes for our most vulnerable children and young people. The reponse is in two parts: an overarching narrative and a grid with specific responses to each of Professor Munro’s recommendation.
Headline messages:
The Government agrees that Professor Munro’s 15 recommendations need to be considered in the round and acknowledges that together they represent the opportunity to delivery holistic reform of the child protection system.
Government will oversee a radical reduction in the amount of regulation through the revision of statutory framework to place greater emphasis on direct work with children, young people and families.
An amendment to statutory guidance by December 2011 to remove the prescription of timescales and the distinction between core and initial assessments.
Government supports Professor Munro’s view that the quality of relationships between social workers and children and young people sits at the heart of an effective child protection system and will support and work with the SWRB, the College of Social Work and ADCS to develop the knowledge and skills of the profession.
Inspection will continue to be important with a new inspection framework that will have at its heart the experiences of children and young people
There will be greater transparency and coordination of local arrangements to deliver an early help offer to children, young people and families
Creation of a chief social worker to advise Government on social work practice and the effectiveness of the help being given to children and young people.
A co-produced work programme between the Department for Education, the Department of Health, NHS bodies, local authorities, professional bodies and practitioners to ensure continued improvement of safeguarding arrangements in health reform.
Government agrees that in future systems review methodology should be used by LSCBs when serious case reviews are undertaken but believes it is important to plan the transition to new arrangements carefully.

[Elaine Kirk]

The BBC have this in their news headlines section of the website
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-19019559
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Some of England's most vulnerable children may lose out under planned changes to the child protection system, a new campaign group has argued.
The government wants to cut bureaucracy and replace more than 700 pages of guidance with three short documents.
But the group Every Child In Need say the new rules are too vague and risk letting local authorities "do what they want when they want".

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It is quite astounding that they argue that cutting expensive , time consuming beurocracy will leave children vulnerable! Social workers have said they now get more time to spend with families.
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[Sheila Struthers]

http://www.everychildinneed.org.uk/

What a tangled web...