The Munro review of child protection: final report, a child-centred system
01 May 2011-
TL;DR: Recommendations to reform the child protection system, specifically from being over-bureaucratised and concerned with compliance to one that keeps a focus on children are set out.
Abstract: In Part One of the Munro Review (published 3rd February 2011, ISBN 9780108510137), Professor Munro set out the approach and features of the child protection system that needed exploring in detail. This second part and final report sets out recommendations to reform the child protection system, specifically from being over-bureaucratised and concerned with compliance to one that keeps a focus on children. Some of the recommendations include: that the Government should remove the specific statutory requirement on local authorities for completing assessments within often artificial set timescales; that local services which work with children and families should be freed from unhelpful government targets; that there should be an introduction of a duty on all local services to coordinate an early offer of help to families who do not meet the criteria for social care services, to address problems before they escalate to child protection issues; that Ofsted inspections of children's services should add more weight to feedback from children and families; that experienced social workers should be kept on the frontline even when they become managers so that their experience and skills are not lost and that each local authority should designate a Principal Child and Family Social Worker to report the views and experiences of the front line to all levels of management. Professor Munro also states that individual recommendations should not be taken forward in isolation but that change needs to happen across the system
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01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: For example, the authors found that the rates of child maltreatment reported by young adults aged 18-24 were lower in 2009 than in 1998, suggesting maltreatment may be less prevalent today, however, significant minorities of children and young people in the UK today are experiencing severe maltreatment and this is associated with poorer emotional wellbeing, self-harm, suicidal ideation and delinquent behaviour.
Abstract: This report presents new research findings from the NSPCC on child maltreatment in the United Kingdom, looking specifically at the prevalence and impact of severe maltreatment. We found that the rates of child maltreatment reported by young adults aged 18–24 were lower in 2009 than in 1998, suggesting maltreatment may be less prevalent today. However, significant minorities of children and young people in the UK today are experiencing severe maltreatment and this is associated with poorer emotional wellbeing, self-harm, suicidal ideation and delinquent behaviour.
425 citations
Cites background from "The Munro review of child protectio..."
...The findings from this research on a decline in prevalence of child maltreatment rates (as reported by young adults) are highly relevant to the message from Eileen Munro to promote the positive achievements in protecting children (Munro, 2011)....
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09 Jun 2011
TL;DR: Gilbert, Parton, and Skivenes as mentioned in this paper discussed the role of the Universal Welfare State in child protection and highlighted the need for a child-centered perspective in the U.S. Child Welfare System.
Abstract: 1. Introduction Neil Gilbert, Nigel Parton, and Marit Skivenes I. ANGLO-AMERICAN SYSTEMS 2. Trends and Issues in the U.S. Child Welfare System Jill Duerr Berrick 3. Canadian Child Welfare: Child Protection and the Status Quo Karen Swift 4. Child Protection in England Nigel Parton and David Berridge II. NORDIC SYSTEMS 5. The Dark Side of the Universal Welfare State? Child Abuse and Protection in Sweden Madeleine Cocozza and Sven E. O. Hort 6. Combatting Child Abuse in Finland: From Family to Child-Centered Orientation Tarja Poso 7. Denmark: A Child Welfare System Under Reframing Anne-Dorthe Hestbaek 8. Norway: Towards a Child-Centric Perspective Marit Skivenes III. CONTINENTAL SYSTEMS 9. Child Protection in an Age of Uncertainty: Germany's Response Reinhart Wolff, Kay Biesel, and Stefan Heinitz 10. Policy Towards Child Abuse and Neglect in Belgium: In Search of a Democratic Approach Kristof Desair and Peter Adriaenssens 11. Child Welfare in the Netherlands: Between Privacy and Protection Trudie Knijn and Carolus van Nijnatten IV. CONCLUSION 12. Changing Patterns of Response and Emerging Orientations Neil Gilbert, Nigel Parton, and Marit Skivenes
425 citations
TL;DR: Children who experienced maltreatment from a parent or caregiver were more likely than those not maltreated to be exposed to other forms of victimization, to experience non-Victimization adversity, a high level of polyvictimization, and to have higher levels of trauma symptoms.
340 citations
Cites background from "The Munro review of child protectio..."
...This gives further support for the early identification of children in need and providing early help, no matter what the age of the child (Munro, 2011)....
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...Many cases are not identified, reported nor given a service response (Munro, 2011)....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: The report offers policy-makers a preventive approach based on strong evidence and shared experience to support them in responding to increased demands from the public to tackle child maltreatment and makes compelling arguments for increased investment in prevention and for mainstreaming prevention objectives into other areas of health and social policy.
203 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue for the moral legitimacy of support and its difference from intervention and the need to engage with and develop a family support project for the twenty-first century.
Abstract: In this article, we will argue for the moral legitimacy of support and its difference from intervention and the need to engage with and develop a family support project for the twenty-first century. We call for a debate on the current settlement between the state and family life and for a recognition that a perfect storm has ensued from the unholy alliance of early intervention and child protection. We will argue for a project that celebrates families’ strengths as well as their vulnerabilities in the context of considerable adversities and (re) locates workers as agents of hope and support. We draw from a diverse set of literatures and disciplines to locate our arguments within a broader project occasioned by the economic crisis and questioning of the verities of neoliberalism.
202 citations
Cites background from "The Munro review of child protectio..."
...A number of ‘now or never’ (Munro, 2011: 69) arguments about the need to intervene with urgency and with a clear focus on the child within a specified age limit, underpinned by the use and abuse of neuroscience, has become influential if not hegemonic....
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...Moreover, the second and third reports include in their titles respectively, the phrases: ‘The Child’s Journey’ and ‘A Child-Centred System’ (Munro, 2011 and 2011a)....
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...Yet the rhetorical potency of the ‘now or never’ (Munro, 2011: 69) argument is so great it is supporting a drive towards early removal and has become a powerful and unquestioned professional mantra....
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References
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TL;DR: The importance of early intervention and attention to the chronicity of environmental adversity may indicate the need for permanent alternative caregivers, in order to preserve the development of the most vulnerable children.
Abstract: Developmental psychology and the study of behaviour and emotion have tended to be considered in parallel to the study of neurobiological processes. This review explores the effects of child abuse and neglect on the brain, excluding nonaccidental injury that causes gross physical trauma to the brain. It commences with a background summary of the nature, context, and some deleterious effects of omission and commission within child maltreatment. There is no post-maltreatment syndrome, outcomes varying with many factors including nature, duration, and interpersonal context of the maltreatment as well as the nature of later intervention. There then follows a section on environmental influences on brain development, demonstrating the dependence of the orderly process of neurodevelopment on the child's environment. Ontogenesis, or the development of the self through self-determination, proceeds in the context of the nature-nurture interaction. As a prelude to reviewing the neurobiology of child abuse and neglect, the next section is concerned with bridging the mind and the brain. Here, neurobiological processes, including cellular, biochemical, and neurophysiological processes, are examined alongside their behavioural, cognitive, and emotional equivalents and vice versa. Child maltreatment is a potent source of stress and the stress response is therefore discussed in some detail. Evidence is outlined for the buffering effects of a secure attachment on the stress response. The section dealing with actual effects on the brain of child abuse and neglect discusses manifestations of the stress response including dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and parasympathetic and catecholamine responses. Recent evidence about reduction in brain volume following child abuse and neglect is also outlined. Some biochemical, functional, and structural changes in the brain that are not reflections of the stress response are observed following child maltreatment. The mechanisms bringing about these changes are less clearly understood and may well be related to early and more chronic abuse and neglect affecting the process of brain development. The behavioural and emotional concomitants of their neurobiological manifestations are discussed. The importance of early intervention and attention to the chronicity of environmental adversity may indicate the need for permanent alternative caregivers, in order to preserve the development of the most vulnerable children.
773 citations