How Can Munro Review Increase the Effectiveness of Social Work Practice with Children and Families - Essay Example

Munro review Report Critically analyse to what the extent the Munro Review has the capa to increase the effectiveness of social work practice with children and families The Munro review report has been regarded as a milestone in increasing the effectiveness of social work practice with children and families. There have been considerable numbers of debates and discussions on improving the child protection system in many nations. It can be observed that the problems faced by children become more complicated and delicate day by day. The statistics of children who are subjected to abuse and neglect is quite alarming. Consequently it is imperative that social work practitioners who work among children are better equipped to comprehend and deal with such issues. The Munro review report throws light on these complexities involved in developing a competent child protection system. This paper critically analyses to what the extent the Munro Review has the capacity to increase the effectiveness of social work practice with children and families. Analyzing the Munro report one can find that the report is carefully structured. While the first and second reports stress on the failures of previous reforms and emphasise the need for more effective child protection system the final report offers various recommendations to the issues drawing key points from the previous reports as well. It can be seen that the first report entitled “Part One: A Systems Analysis” reviews the previous reforms and identifies why they have failed to achieve their goals; the second report “The Child’s Journey” throws light on the various ‘characteristics of an effective child protection system’ while the third report brings to light the possible recommendations (Munro 2011, p. 14). The final report thus focuses on the current issues involved in social work practice with children and families, the principles that govern effective child protection systems, and emphasizes on statutory guidance that would facilitate professionals’ interventions. The review resorts to a systems analysis where child related issues and their underlying causes are elaborately reviewed. Studies have pointed out that support services play a pivotal role in the child protection system as these can prevent or reduce potential risks that are likely to arise among children and their families. The potential impact of support services in reducing or preventing both child abuse and neglect has been emphasized in the Munro report also. Chapter six of the Munro review report deals elaborately with social work practices among children and their families. It is imperative that the expertise of social workers are channelized and coordinated towards alleviating the physical and mental torments of neglected or abused children. The seventh chapter of the report is an elaboration or continuation of the sixth where the need to develop the social workers’ knowledge and skills through appropriate organizational and national support is outlined. Developing social work expertise is a significant prerequisite required of a social work practitioner. As the social workers are expected to guide children through very crucial decisions it is important that they are professionally skilled and expertise. The report rightly outlines the principles of an effective child protection system. As such an effective child protection system should be child-centred; it should be capable of protecting the children from abuse and neglect in their families, of improving the relationship between the child and family, of offering timely assistance to the children at the right time, of promoting professional practice that is rooted in latest theory and research, of managing uncertainty and risk, and of ensuring effective help to children as and when necessary (Munro 2011, p. 23). It is therefore imperative that any effective child protection system views children as individuals who own the right to be guarded against any sort of abuse, exploitation or neglect. The circumstances and ambiance that cater towards child neglect and abuse need to be identified and eliminated through radical measures. The report also stresses that effective social practice with children and families presupposes a child protection system that values professional expertise in this regard. Effective interventions among children and their families should focus more on professional expertise of professionals rather than statutory guidance or set procedures. Each child abuse or neglect case is unique and therefore the set procedures cannot universally be applied. However, professional expertise necessitates a thorough understanding of the underlying principles of social work practices among children. Thus, developing social work expertise among professionals and practitioners has been proved to be the most pronounced challenge before the Munro review report. It is imperative that the social workers who work among children continuously develop their knowledge and skills through appropriate professional developmental programmes. Bureaucracy in social work practice should give way for professional judgment. The professional expertise of a social work professional “include being skilled in relationships where care and control often need to be combined, able to make critical use of best evidence from research to inform the complex judgments and decisions needed and to help children and families to solve problems and to change” (Munro 2011, p. 84). The Social Work Reform Board (SWRB) has undertaken remarkable measures to enhance the professional expertise of social work practitioners by removing barriers to professional judgment. A competent inspection system that guarantees effective and timely interventions from “all local services, including health, education, police, probation and the justice system to the protection of children” needs to be implemented (Munro 2011, p. 46). Local authorities need to pay heed to the views and experiences of children as well as the social work practitioners who are involved in the child protection process. The concluding part of the Munro review makes it clear that effective child protection systems should ensure early intervention with children and families, guarantee both the transparency and accountability of the system, and should extensively make use of the expertise of the social work profession (Munro 2011, p. 128). Effective and goal-oriented social work practice with children and families necessitates radical changes in the individual policies, assessment tools and management practices as well. The findings of Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) over the past two decades has clearly demonstrated that the current system is deficient for a number of reasons-lack of adequate professional knowledge and skills, practice errors, and overemphasis on set procedures. It can also be seen that children very often do not benefit from the services rendered to them as they are more of process oriented rather than practice oriented. The Munro review report thus stresses on learning and adapting and it underlines the role of practitioners and leaders at the helm of affairs. The report also holds that there should be dedicated shared professional responsibility shown towards the needy children and their families. It is worthwhile to analyse the Munro report in the light of current literature in this regard. Just as the Munro report lays stress on the views and experiences of children, researchers such as Luborsky stress on the need to cherish empathetic feelings between the social work practitioner and the client. Researches conducted by Luborsky reveal that the subjective feelings of child is very much significant: “the service user needs to feel in order for the relationship to be most effective, including, feeling the social worker is warm and supportive, believing the intervention is helping, feeling that there is some change from the intervention, feeling some rapport with the social worker and that their values are respected” (Butler & Hickman 2011, p. 216). Professor Munro himself has observed that the report will mark a “journey from a complaint to a learning organization where the experiences and outcomes of children are the key feedback data that shape the work” (Munroe 2011, p. 10). The UK government is also serious about the success of the project. A report on the part played by the government was presented before the Parliament by the Undersecretary of State for Children and Families on 13th of December 2011 (Department for Education, n.d.). This section reviews the report with regard to the participation of the government in the project. It can be said that governmental support is an essential part in success of the project because it acts like the head of any social support project. If no support is made available, then the whole process could fail. It could be likened to a company with excellent employees and vision, but lacking in leadership. Several bodies have been formed in this regard. They include the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skill (OFSTED), Children’s Workforce Development Council, Principal Child and Family Social Worker, Social Work Reform Board and the College of Social Work Working Together to Safeguard Children, the ADCS or the Association of Directors of Children’s Service etc. (Department for Education, n.d.). These bodies have apparently worked in close cooperation for effective implementation of the project. Transparency and coordination is seen as important by the government. But it asserts that the legal system in the country has the ability to provide transparency. What remains to be seen is the aspect of coordination among the central government, local bodies, government organizations and other professional (individual or organizations) that are a part of the whole Munroe process. The article apparently gives the impression that the government is serious about implementing the recommendations of the Munroe report. The implementation of the Munroe report recommendations is not without faults. Since so many agencies are involved, the question of excessive bureaucracy is a hindering factor in effective implantation according to a news report (Butler 2011). The article goes on to state that there is not ‘fit all approach’ in case of psychological and social traumas. In other words, the system is compromised by bureaucracy. This is apparently the fault of the system rather than the quality and effectiveness of the recommendations in the Munroe report. Butler goes on to state that ground level experts and other workers need more freedom to make decisions. Currently, any new decision should need the bureaucratic authority which could undermine the needs of the hour in social and psychological counselling. The current system is based on compliance of regulations rather than on providing freedom of action on the part of the service providers (Children England 2011, p. 3). The article by this organization which is apparently a non-profit one provides the following recommendations that should overcome bureaucratic interventions. All help or interventions should be child centric. In other words, the service providers should have the right to balance treatment based on each case without the interference of bureaucracy. The family rather than government centres provide the best environment for correctional work. Service providers should have the ability to improve the quality of relationship between family members and the traumatized child. The speed of assistance is essential in this regard. Here again, service providers could be hindered by paper work and other bureaucratic obstacles. The quality of training is with regard to service providers is also an important factor in the success of the program. . There are elements of uncertainty and risk when dealing with individual cases. The government and other service providers should be proficient with modern theories of child assessment and correction. Finally the article dwells on the aspect of effective implementation. All the above factors with regard to the quality or depth of programmes like the Munroe recommendations should be taken into consideration. Theory and its implementation are apparently two different aspects with regard to governmental stand on human welfare. In this instance, the UK government is apparently trying to find a balance between freedom and bureaucracy as is apparent from the article published by the Department for Education. Other areas that need to be addressed are the lack of training and experience with regard to the service providers. Munroe, in her studies, expresses concern regarding the quality of training given to the service providers (Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board n.d.). This regional assessment of the effectiveness of the Munroe report provides another dimension, apparently based on the training of service providers. Despite the above criticism, a review of literature provides instances of provision of funds by local authorities to service providers with regard to the implementation of the Munroe recommendations. For example, the Children’s Workforce Development Council has pledged an amount of 8.5 million pounds in support of implementation of child welfare activities in tune with the Munroe recommendations (Child Welfare Development Council 2012). The apparent issue is to find a balance between British bureaucracy and non-profit service oriented service providing governmental and nongovernmental organizations. It is also worthwhile to acknowledge the opinion of a parent which is given at the beginning of the February 2011 which is the second edition of the report. It simply states that support agencies are in most instances working with children who had problematic and even traumatic experiences. They and other people interested in their welfare should be able to build trust first and then be willing to show care and patience in listening to the problems. Only then will the distressed child will open up and pour out his or her troubles, which in other situations would be withheld by that person (Munroe 2011, p. 3). This is an opinion of a parent who could be an innocent bystander needing expert help to care for their children who have serious problems due to abuse. It is a valuable piece of information for the workers involved in the project. No doubt, the recommendations provided by the Munroe report apparently go a long way in providing external assistance to traumatized children and parents/family members. This valuable piece of study goes a long way in helping the central government, local bodies and other non-governmental agencies to provide timely support to traumatized children. The following conclusions are provided from the review of literature. The Munroe report has provided revolutionary approaches with regard to treatment and support of abused children. The study among other literature has focuses on certain shortcomings in the judicial and social system in the United Kingdom. Trust and care are some of the qualities that are needed on the part of the service providers. This is apparently compromised by the legal aspects and bureaucracy in the UK legal system. It can thus be concluded that the Munroe report has a positive impact on the welfare of children traumatized by some incident. The government has taken a serious stand regarding this aspect. Various government agencies have coordinated among themselves and other service providers. This is apparently a positive step with regard to the problems faced by traumatized children in the UK. According to the review of literature the factors that need to be resolved are bureaucracy and effective training. Once these are addressed, the recommendations by the Munro recommendations can effectively be implemented. References Butler, Ian & Hickman, Caroline 2011, Social Work with Children and Families: Getting Into Practice, Illustrated 3rd ed, Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Butler, P 2011, Munro report: child protection workers need freedom to do jobs, The Guardian, viewed 02 February 2012 Child Welfare Development Council 2012, Munroe recommendations, viewed 02 February 2012 < http://www.cwdcouncil.org.uk/social-work/swif/munro-recommendations> Children England 2011, Professor Munroe review: briefing from Children England, viewed 02 February 2012 Department for Education n.d., Munroe review of child protection, UK Government, viewed 02 February 2012 Goodman, S & Trowler, I 2011, Social Work Reclaimed: Innovative Frameworks for Child and Family Social Work Practice, Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Munro, Eileen 2011, The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report: A child-centred system, viewed 1 January 2012, . Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board n.d., The Munro Review of Child Protection - The Final Report: A Child-centred System (May 2011), viewed 02 February 2012 Read More