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Parental Partnership, Advocacy and Engagement: The Way Forward

Author

Listed:
  • Simon Haworth

    (Department of Social Work & Social Care, School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK)

  • Andy Bilson

    (School of Social Work, Care and Community, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK)

  • Taliah Drayak

    (Independent Researcher)

  • Tammy Mayes

    (Independent Researcher)

  • Yuval Saar-Heiman

    (Department of Social Work, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK)

Abstract

This article, written with parents as co-authors, has two aims: (1) to provide a critical view of the English child protection system based on parents’ views and to locate these views within contemporary child protection studies and (2) to present the transformative value of co-production in the context of child protection studies both as a form of critical scholarship and as a means to influence policy and practice. The current children’s social work system in England does not achieve good outcomes for families, and many children and parents frequently experience it as stigmatizing, inhumane, and harmful. The article presents the experience and recommendations for change produced by parents with a broad range of experience with child protection services in England. The Parents, Families and Allies Network worked with five allied organizations in which parents identified the extensive range of problems that the current system presents and ways forward to achieve more supportive, humane, and inclusive practice with families. Seven main themes emerged: a better definition of need and response to need; partnership, participation, and humane practice; improving legal representation and support in legal proceedings; better support in care proceedings; permanence that maintains links; a better response to domestic violence; and the lack of support for disabled children. The article discusses five features of the project that supported meaningful co-production: taking a political stance, choosing clear and feasible aims, incorporating a range of knowledge, the participation of parents with lived experience throughout all phases of the project, and not settling with just knowledge production.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Haworth & Andy Bilson & Taliah Drayak & Tammy Mayes & Yuval Saar-Heiman, 2022. "Parental Partnership, Advocacy and Engagement: The Way Forward," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:11:y:2022:i:8:p:353-:d:882987
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bilson, Andy & Munro, Elizabeth Hunter, 2019. "Adoption and child protection trends for children aged under five in England: Increasing investigations and hidden separation of children from their parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 204-211.
    2. Ian Hyslop & Emily Keddell, 2018. "Outing the Elephants: Exploring a New Paradigm for Child Protection Social Work," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-13, June.
    3. Summers, Alicia & Wood, Steve M. & Russell, Jesse R. & Macgill, Stephanie O., 2012. "An evaluation of the effectiveness of a parent-to-parent program in changing attitudes and increasing parental engagement in the juvenile dependency system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 2036-2041.
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    Cited by:

    1. Saar-Heiman, Yuval & Gupta, Anna, 2024. "Beyond participation: Parent activism in child protection as a path to transformative change," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).

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