Table Of ContentWorking Ethically
in Child Protection
In their day-to-day practice, social work and human services practitioners frequently
find themselves in confusing ethical quandaries, trying to balance the numerous
competing interests of protecting children from harm and promoting family and com-
munity capacity. This book explores the ethical issues surrounding child protection
interventions and offers a process-oriented approach to ethical practice and decision
making in child protection and family welfare practice. Its aim is to prepare students
and early career professionals for roles in the complex and challenging work of child
protection and family support.
Beginning with a critical analysis and appreciation of the diverse organisational
and cultural contexts of contemporary child protection and ethical decision-making
frameworks, the authors outline a practical ‘real-world’ model for reshaping frontline
ethical practice. Moving away from a focus on the child apart from the family, the
authors recognise that child safeguarding affects the lives, not just of children, but also
of parents, grandparents and communities. Working Ethically in Child Protection
eschews dominant rational-technical models for relational ones that are value-centred
and focus on family well-being as a whole.
Rather than a single focus on assessing risk and diagnosing deficit, this book rec-
ognises that our child protection systems bear down disproportionately on those from
disadvantaged and marginalised communities and argues that what is needed is real
support and practical assistance for poor and vulnerable parents and children. It uses
real-world case examples to illustrate the relevant ethical and practice principles, and
ways in which students and practitioners can practise ethically when dealing with
complex, multifaceted issues.
Bob Lonne has extensive experience as a social worker in various child protection roles
in Australia. With Nigel Parton, Jane Thomson and Maria Harries, he co-authored
Reforming Child Protection. In 2008, he was appointed as the foundation Chair at
the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. He was the National
President of the Australian Association of Social Workers from 2005 to 2011.
Maria Harries has had a 45-year career in practice, teaching and research where she
has held numerous senior positions. Her focus has been on mental health and the
well-being of children and families. She has taught and consulted extensively on ethics
in governance and clinical practice.
Brid Featherstone is Professor of Social Work at the Open University, UK. With Sue
White and Kate Morris, she has written Re-imagining Child Protection: Towards
humane social work with families. She has a particular interest in engaging fathers
and gender issues in child protection.
Mel Gray has extensive experience in the field of ethics having completed her PhD
in this area and authored several book chapters and journal articles on social work
ethics. She also edited, with Stephen Webb, the highly successful Ethics and Value
Perspectives in Social Work (2010).
Working Ethically
in Child Protection
Bob Lonne, Maria Harries,
Brid Featherstone and Mel Gray
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 B. Lonne, M. Harries, B. Featherstone and M. Gray
The right of Bob Lonne, Maria Harries, Brid Featherstone and Mel Gray to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lonne, Bob, author.
Working ethically in child protection / Bob Lonne, Maria Harries, Brid Featherstone, and Mel
Gray.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
I. Harries, Maria, author. II. Featherstone, Brid, author. III. Gray, Mel, 1951- , author. IV.
Title.
[DNLM: 1. Child Welfare--ethics. 2. Ethics, Professional. WA 310.1]
HV713
362.7--dc23
2015007303
ISBN: 978-0-415-72933-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-72934-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-85102-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by GreenGate Publishing Services, Tonbridge, Kent
Contents
List of illustrations x
Foreword xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgements xvi
List of abbreviations xvii
PART 1
Ethical theory and historical frameworks for practice 1
1 The ethical landscape in child protection 3
Challenges and rewards of child protection work 3
Ethical practice in child protection 4
Case example: distance and danger 5
Some challenges confronting ethical practice 8
Developing this book 10
The book’s structure 11
Reflective questions 13
2 Established ethical frameworks 14
Ethics 14
Ethical perspectives for child protection 16
Deontology 19
Teleology 20
Consequential ethics 21
Utilitarian ethics 21
Virtue ethics 22
Conclusion 25
Reflective questions 25
3 Emergent ethical theories 26
Ethics of care 27
Politics of care 28
Discourse ethics 30
CONTENTS
Postmodern ethics: an ethics of responsibility 32
Conclusion 34
Reflective questions 34
4 Ethical decision making 35
Ethical principles and pressures of practice 36
Ethical decision-making process 38
Ethical decision making in child protection 40
Conceptual framework 41
Competing ethical principles 42
Unequal power relationships 44
Complex stakeholder relationships 45
The DECIDE framework 46
Define the problem 46
Ethical review 47
Consider options 47
Investigate options 47
Decide on action 48
Evaluate outcomes 48
Conclusion 48
Reflective questions 49
PART 2
The context of child protection practice 51
5 Competing perspectives on child protection and
family welfare 53
Emergence of child protection perspectives 53
From the law of the father to children’s rights 53
Dominant perspectives 55
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 55
Social investment discourses 56
Neoliberal and public management discourses 58
Alternative perspectives 62
Human capabilities approach 62
Neighbourhood-based approaches 64
Conclusion 68
Reflective questions 68
6 System mandates, policy, theory and practice 69
Emergence of protective systems 69
Contemporary protective systems: key stakeholders and diverse models 71
Enduring issues surrounding child protection 72
Overrepresentation 72
vi
CONTENTS
Mandatory reporting 73
Differential response 74
Out-of-home care 75
Permanency planning 76
Forced adoption 76
Integrated multi-agency responses 77
Media impact 79
Influential theoretical frameworks 79
Systems theories 80
Attachment theory 81
Strengths-based approaches 81
Anti-oppressive approaches 82
Conclusion 83
Reflective questions 83
7 Service-user and other perspectives 84
Service-user perspectives and voices 84
Children and young people’s voices 85
Parents’ voices 86
Other stakeholder voices 87
Foster and kinship carers’ voices 88
Practitioners as stakeholders 90
Implications for practitioners and ethical practice 91
Conclusion 93
Reflective questions 93
8 Needs and circumstances of service users 94
High and complex needs 94
Alcohol and drug misuse 95
Domestic abuse 96
Poor parenting experiences and intergenerational trauma 96
Disability 97
Unemployment and poverty 97
Mental health 98
Ethnicity and race 98
Services and programmes to address high and complex needs 98
Children’s needs 99
Impact of child maltreatment 100
Implication for practice 102
Knowing what service users want 102
Difference and ‘othering’ 103
Reflexive and reflective practice 103
Conclusion 104
Reflective questions 104
vii
CONTENTS
PART 3
Professional ethics and ethical child protection
and family welfare practice 105
9 Ethics, organisations and the law 107
Legislative and legal context 108
Courts and review processes 110
Impacts of the organisational context 112
Case example: mandatory reporting 114
Conclusion 116
Reflective questions 117
10 Ethical principles in child protection 118
Key ethical issues in child protection 119
Establishing whether abuse or neglect is present 119
Deciding on placement options 120
Reporting protocols 120
Key ethical principles in child protection 122
Case example: deciding whether or not to remove a child at risk of harm 125
Conclusion 130
Reflective questions 130
PART 4
Practising ethically 131
11 A relational approach to child protection 133
Relational and relationship 133
A relational approach 133
Importance of a sound working relationship 134
Service-users’ perspective 135
How does what service users have to say inform a
relational approach? 138
Starting with the problem 139
Shifting the focus to the social 141
New directions 143
The relational is participatory 144
Case example: removal at birth – risk and relationship 145
Conclusion 148
Reflective questions 148
12 Applying an integrated framework: the DECIDE model 149
Core contextual issues 150
Awareness of the pervasive presence of power relations 150
viii
CONTENTS
Acknowledging legislative and public mandates 150
Mediating evidence and social context 151
Discerning organisational obligations and managing
professional relationships 152
Case example: permanency planning and cultural safety 154
DECIDE integrated decision-making model 156
DECIDE framework 157
Conclusion 162
Reflective questions 162
13 Working ethically across cultures: a focus on fathers 163
Fathers, men and child protection 163
Engaging fathers 164
Misunderstanding and misrecognition 166
Fathers, ethnicity and Indigenous communities 168
Case example: men’s participation 169
Domestic abuse and child protection 169
Case example: women’s participation 170
Developing respectful and relational practice 172
Case example: children’s understandings of their lives 174
Alternative approaches 175
Case example: maintaining connection 176
Conclusion 177
Reflective questions 177
14 Using information ethically 178
Sharing information: a risky business? 178
Truth telling or deception 179
Confidentiality, informed consent and relational practice 180
Rights-based information sharing 181
Sharing and recording information 182
Case example: releasing information (part 1) 183
Case example: releasing information (part 2) 186
Case example: recording and sharing information 189
Conclusion 190
Reflective questions 191
15 Travelling hopefully 192
Distance and danger 194
The alternative story: commonality and community 195
References 200
Index 223
ix
