Collaborative Practice with Vulnerable Children and Their Families

The focus of the book is effective collaborative practice at the ‘tertiary’ level. The evidence is clear that the wellbeing of parents and children across the age range who are experiencing complex difficulties will continue to deteriorate unless they receive high quality single-disciplinary but well-coordinated services from a range of professionals. A ‘team around the family’ approach is now recognized as essential for the effective provision of support, educative, therapy and placement services.

Collaborative Practice with Vulnerable Children and Their Families focuses on the knowledge and skills needed by professionals who work across disciplines to meet the needs of parents and children experiencing complex difficulties. It establishes the importance of both interprofessional and interagency collaboration.

After detailing the characteristics of parents and children who may be in need of specialized services, the authors describe different approaches to service delivery in theory and practice, provide case examples and exercises, and address the developments in interprofessional education for those currently working in the field. They present evidence supporting collaborative practice as a means of achieving better outcomes for vulnerable children and their families, and explore the difficulties in working successfully across agencies and disciplines.

A provocative examination focused on the wellbeing of families in crisis and the care they receive, this book:

• Introduces terms that are used in collaborative practice
• Details the legal mandate for working with families experiencing complex problems
• Provides legal definitions of ‘children in need’ and with a right to receive "targeted" services
• Outlines the circumstances that require court action (family law and criminal law) to protect children from "significant harm"

examines the values and ethical standards shared by all professionals who work together to help at-risk children and their families, and serves as a definitive guide to professionals in social work, nursing, general practice, pediatrics and related professions.

A volume in the series CAIPE Collaborative Practice Series
Series edited by Hugh Barr and Marion Helme