Work with fathers in order to safeguard children

Mark OsbornResearch by the Fatherhood Institute has highlighted the importance of social work and other shild protection services involving fathers and other men around children, rather than just dealing with mothers.

That’s the key conclusion of an article by their safeguarding programme manager Mark Osborn, published in Child Abuse & Neglect in June 2014, which stresses that ‘serious case review after serious case review highlights…that children are dying in our country when we do not assess and work with fathers and father figures effectively’

Mark’s study reviewed the policies and procedures in six English local authorities alongside an audit of recorded practice to establish a structural view of how fathers are engaged and to make recommendations that would enable, and support, improved practices, and potentially address the culture within the organisation.  

Contrasting case studies mentioned in the paper show the need for change.  

In the first case there was an exemplary piece of social work practice to find a young mother who had not been in her child’s life for the previous two years.  The teenage mum had moved to another area of the country and the social worker followed up many leads and old addresses to try to find her.  Being unsuccessful in this, the detective work continued through contacts with a practitioner who worked with a sibling of the young mum.  Finally she was tracked down, contact was made, assessments were carried out, intervention took place, and eventually the young mum came back into the life of her child.  

The next file audited also involved a teenage pregnancy.  In this case the young father was living around the corner from his child and was not in contact with the child but he was expressing concerns for the child’s safety.  There was no record of any assessment, no intervention with him, he was not invited to meetings or conferences and was not included within the core group, but no reasons for these exclusions were recorded.

FNF Scotland hears similar stories from across Scotland from fathers who have been sidelined or ignored by child protection procedures.  We will highlight this study to the authorities responsible for Scotland’s “Getting It Right For Every Child” procedures. 

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