The Transformation of Children's Services : Examining and debating the complexities of inter/professional working

Written by authors from across the wide range of professional, policy and disciplinary groups involved in this new cross-cutting area of policy and practice, this book provides a critical analysis of the complexities of children’s services transformations.

"Well-publicised failures of professionals from different agencies to collaborate effectively have been held responsible for a number of recent tragic deaths of children in the UK. As a result of this, children''s services are being transformed as part ofthe call for ''joined-up working for joined-up solutions'' in social work, education and health, with some social and educational policy discourses driven by the idea that ''effective'' inter-professional, inter-agency collaboration is crucial in determiningwhether service delivery to children and families will succeed or fail. This book provides an analysis of the complexities in transforming children''s services. It critically examines the assumptions that underlie current practice in an attempt to uncoverand question what needs to change to improve services for young children. The book examines: - Policy, theory and discourses surrounding inter-professional practice - The formation of professional identities and their impact on practice - The role of early professional training and socialization into professional norms, values and roles - The effects of the complex relationships between professional identities, knowledge and practice in the development of social and other capitals. Written by authors from across a wide range of professional, policy and disciplinary groups, the key issues are examined from a range of theoretical and disciplinary perspectives - essential if collaborative understanding is to be developed among policy-makers, practitioners and academics working across the range of children''s services"--