Improved response to the needs of children in situations of neglect?

The situations of child neglect present complex challenges in order to ensure an adequate response to the children’s needs. One challenge concerns the building of a shared understanding of the developmental needs of children... [ view full abstract ]

The situations of child neglect present complex challenges in order to ensure an adequate response to the children’s needs. One challenge concerns the building of a shared understanding of the developmental needs of children among various persons who act in their lives (in particular, parents and frontline workers). The use of an ecosystemic assessment framework and of clinical tools to support a form of analysis of the children's needs that facilitate this sharing of responsibilities represents a key strategy in situations of child neglect. An applied research has focused on the implementation of such a strategy with various local authorities involved with families where child neglect is corroborated or suspected. The purpose of this communication is to examine the attainment of intervention goals (measured with the Goal Attainment Scaling adapted to the context of this study) among a set of families cases with whom such an approach has been tested on a 12-18 month period. A cross-case study was conducted with 22 children, their parents and their lead social care workers. The cases are spread over six local areas of the province of Quebec (Canada). The social care workers participating in the study were trained to use the ecosystemic assessment framework and a tool (Core Assessment) intended to produce a shared understanding of children's needs among themselves, the parents and the other workers involved with the families. The results focus on the links between the attainment of intervention goals and various aspects of the assessment and intervention process. The discussion addresses the need to implement practices based on an ecosystemic approach that focuses on the developmental needs of children (rather than parents’ deficits) and practices that actively support the sharing of responsibilities in order to improve the response to the children in situations of neglect.