Social Work for Sociologists: Theory and Practice

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Moving from risk to Safety ● 81

some managers and policy advocates and even some workers will favor simple
answers to the wicked problem of child abuse and neglect (Rittel and
Webber 1973). We have shown in this chapter, however, how the inclusion
of strengths and safety as conceptual drivers helps support a value base that
means families and children are respected and fully involved, working along-
side human service practitioners to achieve well-being.


Reflective Questions


  1. How has this chapter extended your understanding of the concepts of
    risk and safety in work with children and families?

  2. What range of strategies or practices might you employ to help you
    work in a strengths-oriented manner with children and families?

  3. Apply the signs of safety approach, as outlined in this chapter, to the
    case of Aleena and her family from chapter 2. Can you identify any
    new insights that emerge from taking this approach?


References

Alaszewski, Andy, and Adam Burgess. 2007. “Risk, Time and Reason.” Health, Risk
and Society 9 (4): 349–358. doi:10.1080/13698570701612295.
Beck, Ulrich. 1992. World Risk Society. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Berg, Insoo Kim, and Sarah Kelly. 2000. Building Solutions in Child Protective Services.
London: W. W. Norton.
Buckley, Helen. 2003. Child Protection Practice: Beyond the Rhetoric. London: Jessica
Kingsley Publishers.
Connolly, Marie. 2004. Child and Family Welfare: Statutory Responses to Children at
Risk. Christchurch: Te Awatea Press.
De Shazer, Steve. 1991. Putting Difference to Work. New York: W. W. Norton.
Dean, Mitchell. 1999. “Risk, Calculable and Incalculable.” In Risk and Sociocultural
Theory: New Directions and Perspectives, edited by Deborah Lupton, 131–159.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Department for Child Protection. 2011. The Signs of Safety Child Protection Framework.
2nd ed. Perth: Department for Child Protection, Government of Western Australia.
https://www.dcp.wa.gov.au/Resources/Documents/Policies% 20and% 20Frame-
works/SignsOfSafetyFramework2011.pdf.
Fargion, Silvia. 2014. “Synergies and Tensions in Child Protection and Parent
Support: Policy Lines and Practitioners’ Cultures.” Child and Family Social Work
19 (1): 24–33. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2012.00877.x.
Featherstone, Brid, Karen Broadhurst, and Kim Holt. 2012. “Thinking Systemically—
Thinking Politically: Building Strong Partnerships with Children and Families in
the Context of Rising Inequality.” British Journal of Social Work 42 (4): 618–633.
doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcr080.

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