Working with resistant parents in child protection : Recognising and responding to the risks

The IASSW Definition of Social Work and Ethics documents acknowledge that in order to protect the vulnerable in society, we need to empower all people we work with whilst also ensuring that those who are most vulnerable- in this instance children who are being abused by their families- are protected from those who abuse their power over them. This unique care/control dilemma or ‘dual role’ in social work provides social workers with unique challenges. In its Definition of Social Work, the IASSW states that ‘social work.. strives to alleviate poverty and to liberate vulnerable and oppressed people in order to promote social inclusion.’ In its Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles document, jointly produced with the International Federation of Social Workers, the Association states that: ‘Some ethical challenges and problems facing social workers are specific to particular countries; others are common... Some of these problem areas include: ■ The fact that the loyalty of social workers is often in the middle of conflicting interests. ■ The fact that social workers function as both helpers and controllers. These then are key areas for social work and social work education to consider in preparation for engagement with involuntary and resistant parents in child protection work. This paper examines how social workers can best understand the nature and extent of the various types of such resistant behaviours, and consequently respond most effectively to such situations. This will include a review of both the research evidence concerning the negative effects on staff and child service users of such behaviours, and of the findings from child abuse death inquiry and Serious Case Reviews in England as examples of these processes that are applicable across different parts of the world. Key theoretical issues to be addressed in the article will relate to how current models and methods of social work may mean that the presence and effects of such resistance in parents is avoided and minimized. The paper goes on to examine what we need to consider in risk assessments, ongoing work, and responses at policy, personal, and agency levels