Managing Child Welfare and Protection Services

Managers must be held to account for the failings in childcare services. They must take responsibility for the provision of strong leadership and the effective and appropriate operation of their departments. High profile tragedies and scandals remind us of the crucial importance of striving for good management. But they also show that it can easily be forgotten amidst the higher profile debates - in academia, politics, and media - over the broad sweep of government policy and the arresting detail of neglect, abuse, and death. Using practical examples from both Britain and Ireland, this book challenges managers, potential managers, supervisors, policy makers, academics, and students to view the issues from perspectives that are outside mainstream thinking, yet are essential to the effective protection, safeguarding, support, care, and welfare of children. Placing the management of child welfare and protection work in the context of the political climate, societal norms, and professional values within which it is performed, this challenging book: addresses the management aspects of determining need amidst conflicting demands . distinguishes between welfare and protection issues, the former too often being misinterpreted as the latter . encourages managers to look for creative and innovative solutions . promotes the concept of managing for results by using management information to design programs that work best . explores the theme of partnership in its broadest sense, from working with individuals to engaging communities . makes a case for children to be protected from State care, and protected while in substitute care . depicts staff welfare as a management issue and presents ways to protect staff from the ill effects of working in such a stressful environment.