Abstract
I found this a very interesting book to read, mainly because of the authors’ determination to link and overlap (in many cases) Child and Adult Protection. Each chapter helpfully references the appropriate Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) domains, provides activities which encourage the reader to consider case studies or specific statements and contains research summary boxes. I also found the extensive bibliography useful for my own further reading.
A sentence in Chapter 8 (p. 172) could be used to encapsulate one of the main themes running through the book – ‘….any question around safeguarding and risk needs to be located within the social, economic and political context of the society in which they take place’. Assuming that safeguarding is a central theme within social work practice, this book recognises that Adult Protection has not received as much public or media attention as Child Protection. Chapter 1 provides an historical overview of the development of safeguarding across the ‘lifespan’ and Chapter 2 considers different types of abuse, some of which again ‘overlap’ between children and adults and provides detailed explanation and indicators of abuse. I found this chapter to be particularly useful for reminding me about legislation for children and suggest that it would be helpful for workers working with children to increase their awareness of Adult Protection legislation. In Chapter 3, Chisnell and Kelly consider the policy and legal context for children and adults and consider issues such as the lack of legislation for adults until the Mental Capacity Act and Care Act. Throughout this chapter, the authors reference common themes such as exploitation and power.
In Chapter 4, the authors consider a wide variety of issues and their impact on safeguarding, such as domestic abuse and abuse by paid carers before discussing the various approaches to safeguarding adults including ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ and the development of ‘Signs of Safety’ approaches, initially only used with children. Chapter 5 examines safeguarding and communities – again looking at issues relating to children such as child sexual exploitation (CSE). Interestingly, although Chisnell and Kelly discuss ‘grooming’ in relation to CSE, they do not consider it in relation to adults when discussing deceit and ‘scamming’. In my experience, a number of financial abuse investigations have found elements of ‘grooming’ to the point of alleged perpetrators marrying new partners and setting up, for example, joint bank accounts which are then gradually emptied. The chapter also references hate and mate crime and modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour, concepts which sadly now appear more prevalent with older people. I also found Chapter 6 particularly interesting as it considers how the care system can protect or abuse children and adults, referencing a number of public inquiries including Waterhouse, Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust and Winterbourne View. The chapter highlights the role of CQC and lists early indicators of concern in care settings mainly for adults with learning disabilities and older adults, although again a number of the points overlap with children’s residential care. Chisnell and Kelly go on to consider legislation to protect adults (including the Mental Health Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) and strategies to improve care.
In Chapter 7, the authors attempt to ensure that social workers working with both children and adults have ‘interrelated knowledge of systems and resources across the lifespan’ by considering issues such as critical thinking, analysis and reflection, knowledge, risk management and decision making. In the final chapter, the authors consider how effective social workers can be in both disciplines when faced with increasing challenges on their time, swingeing austerity measures and poverty.
As a former Safeguarding Adult Coordinator, I was interested in the Adult Protection chapters but learnt more from revisiting Child Protection themes and policies. I found the writing style easy to read and the ‘political’ discussions, particularly relating to current themes such as austerity, pertinent for my learning. Having regularly run sessions for assessed and supported year in employment candidates on the linkage between Child and Adult Protection, I will have no hesitation in recommending this text to both social work students and newly qualified social workers.