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What do child protection social workers consider to be the systemic factors driving workforce instability within the English child protection system, and what are the implications for the UK Government's reform strategy?

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Title: What do child protection social workers consider to be the systemic factors driving workforce instability within the English child protection system, and what are the implications for the UK Government's reform strategy?
Authors: Murphy, Ciarán, Turay, Jennifer, Parry, Nicole, Birch, Nicola
Source: Journal of Social Work Practice. Jun2024, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p205-220. 16p.
Subjects: Occupational disease risk factors, Child welfare, Risk assessment, Criticism, Social workers, Research funding, Professional practice, Focus groups, Labor turnover, Social services, Interviewing, Questionnaires, Social worker attitudes, Strategic planning, Wages, Internet, Descriptive statistics, Experience, Labor market, Health care reform, Longitudinal method, Pediatrics, Thematic analysis, Research methodology, Medical coding, Public administration, Grounded theory, Labor supply, Employees' workload
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom, England
Abstract: In 2023, the UK Government published its long-awaited reform strategy for England's children's social care system. Whilst the strategy set out planned reforms for several aspects of the wider system, an area requiring particular 'priority' was the purported workforce instability seen within child protection social work. However, the strategy has subsequently faced criticism on the basis that the suggested reforms were not satisfactorily informed by the testimonies of practicing social workers. This paper draws from a mixed-method study to report on the lived experiences of a sample of 201 child protection social workers practicing across England, in the context of better understanding the factors which they believed were impacting on workforce stability within England's child protection system. Implications that emerge are the need for an increase in the monetary commitment offered by the UK Government (especially in the context of tackling high caseloads, and improving local authority pay scales to reduce the allure of agency work); a targeted emphasis on challenging local cultures preoccupied with evidencing compliance over time spent with children; and the Government taking a more assertive role in tackling the often-counterproductive commentary perpetuated by politicians and media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Social Work Practice is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: What do child protection social workers consider to be the systemic factors driving workforce instability within the English child protection system, and what are the implications for the UK Government's reform strategy?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Murphy%2C+Ciarán%22">Murphy, Ciarán</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Turay%2C+Jennifer%22">Turay, Jennifer</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Parry%2C+Nicole%22">Parry, Nicole</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Birch%2C+Nicola%22">Birch, Nicola</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Social+Work+Practice%22">Journal of Social Work Practice</searchLink>. Jun2024, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p205-220. 16p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Occupational+disease+risk+factors%22">Occupational disease risk factors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+welfare%22">Child welfare</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Risk+assessment%22">Risk assessment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criticism%22">Criticism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+workers%22">Social workers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+practice%22">Professional practice</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Focus+groups%22">Focus groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+turnover%22">Labor turnover</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+services%22">Social services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interviewing%22">Interviewing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Questionnaires%22">Questionnaires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+worker+attitudes%22">Social worker attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Strategic+planning%22">Strategic planning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wages%22">Wages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Internet%22">Internet</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Experience%22">Experience</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+market%22">Labor market</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+care+reform%22">Health care reform</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Longitudinal+method%22">Longitudinal method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pediatrics%22">Pediatrics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thematic+analysis%22">Thematic analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+methodology%22">Research methodology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+coding%22">Medical coding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+administration%22">Public administration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grounded+theory%22">Grounded theory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Labor+supply%22">Labor supply</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employees'+workload%22">Employees' workload</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom%22">United Kingdom</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22England%22">England</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: In 2023, the UK Government published its long-awaited reform strategy for England's children's social care system. Whilst the strategy set out planned reforms for several aspects of the wider system, an area requiring particular 'priority' was the purported workforce instability seen within child protection social work. However, the strategy has subsequently faced criticism on the basis that the suggested reforms were not satisfactorily informed by the testimonies of practicing social workers. This paper draws from a mixed-method study to report on the lived experiences of a sample of 201 child protection social workers practicing across England, in the context of better understanding the factors which they believed were impacting on workforce stability within England's child protection system. Implications that emerge are the need for an increase in the monetary commitment offered by the UK Government (especially in the context of tackling high caseloads, and improving local authority pay scales to reduce the allure of agency work); a targeted emphasis on challenging local cultures preoccupied with evidencing compliance over time spent with children; and the Government taking a more assertive role in tackling the often-counterproductive commentary perpetuated by politicians and media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Social Work Practice is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=177395939
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/02650533.2024.2334450
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 16
        StartPage: 205
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Occupational disease risk factors
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child welfare
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Risk assessment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Criticism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social workers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Professional practice
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Focus groups
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Labor turnover
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interviewing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Questionnaires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social worker attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Strategic planning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Wages
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Internet
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Experience
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Labor market
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Health care reform
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Longitudinal method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pediatrics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Thematic analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research methodology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Medical coding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public administration
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grounded theory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Labor supply
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Employees' workload
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: England
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: What do child protection social workers consider to be the systemic factors driving workforce instability within the English child protection system, and what are the implications for the UK Government's reform strategy?
        Type: main
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      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Murphy, Ciarán
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          Name:
            NameFull: Turay, Jennifer
      – PersonEntity:
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            NameFull: Parry, Nicole
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            NameFull: Birch, Nicola
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2024
              Type: published
              Y: 2024
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              Value: 38
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Social Work Practice
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