Abstract
The title of this book sets out very clearly what you can expect to read within its pages. The focus on partnership is the most significant issue considered here, although the book is much more wide ranging than merely focussing on the difficulties of working across professional boundaries. It sets out to discuss the complex needs of looked after children and offers honest and clear advice in working with this group of young people. It has been written collaboratively by six authors, most of whom are therapists of some sort and one (Jo Williams) social worker. This perhaps reflects the lack of time and resources afforded to local authorities to be involved in any real long-term work with looked after children. It is quite an interesting read, but rather depressing in many respects, showing the best way to work with those who need help to avoid ‘being permanently scarred’ (p. xiii) by the process of being ‘looked after’.
The book is divided into eight chapters (although there is an introduction before chapter one) – the first four chapters consider what the world looks like to those involved in the process: the children, the foster carers, birth families and professionals. The next four chapters take us through specific problems, such as working with schools, and use case studies to illustrate the issues under consideration.
From the point of view of a social worker or social work student, it is the first four chapters that would appear to be the most interesting and useful; this is because much of the second half of the book is written from a therapeutic view point and, though interesting, is perhaps less directly useful for those working in a local authority setting in particular. It may be that these later chapters set out an ideal way of working, but it is one that is becoming rarer to find.
Whilst setting out the context and the potential problems of working with this group of people (that is to say all of those associated with a looked after child), what is particularly refreshing is the honesty around organisational issues which are addressed head on within the pages of this book. For example, the authors acknowledge the constraints in working long term with people due to high staff turnover and that ‘experienced staff may decide to leave in order to work independently outside the organisation as a means of avoiding organisational demands’ (p. 15).This is perhaps a rather depressing thought for the local authority social worker but at least acknowledges the context within which many find themselves working. This point is also later taken up when considering the context within which the foster carers (who would prefer to be known as foster parents according to the authors) have to work with a changing array of professionals who have not always had time to glean more than a superficial overview of the history of the looked after child and thus, rather than offering a continuing support, are often working in an episodic way. According to the authors, families value ‘openness among professionals…and their ability to assimilate new knowledge’ (p. 23) – it almost too sad to have to read this as it reflects that this is often not the experience families have had of professionals in the past, and indeed reminds me of recent conversations with carers who have often had to repeat their story again and again.
I note that in the blurb on the back Michael Preston-Shoot calls this book ‘optimistic and sobering’, and indeed this is the case, but it is perhaps the ‘sobering’ aspects of ways of working that one would hope should be taken for granted that make the messages from the book both worthwhile and timely.
The post script reminds us that what is wanted of the professional is that they should be ‘first and foremost (…) human’ (p. 136). Surely, we could wish for no more from good relationships.