C-Change: An approach to assessing parental capacity to change

Objectives This workshop will present findings from a project in England involving the design and piloting of the C-Change method of assessing parents' capacities to change where children are considered at risk of... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives
This workshop will present findings from a project in England involving the design and piloting of the C-Change method of assessing parents' capacities to change where children are considered at risk of maltreatment. This area of practice is underdeveloped currently, and our argument will be that a significant part of a social worker’s assessment is missing as a result.
Method
The C-Change approach uses a two-part process, comprising an examination of psychological and contextual factors affecting capacity to change, and the measurement of actual changes achieved in the short term. It has been developed from work in various countries and a variety of disciplines, and draws on research into behaviour change, studies of readiness for change, work with parents whose children have mental health difficulties, and offender management. The study, on which the workshop will be based, was a Knowledge Exchange Opportunities Scheme project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in England, completed in 2015.
Presentation of the C-Change approach will be balanced by discussion and interactive exercises through which participants will develop greater understanding of the importance of parental capacity to change within an assessment, and of the barriers and facilitators of such change.
Results
The C-Change approach was piloted successfully in three local authority children’s services departments in England. Training was provided for 129 social workers, social work managers and family support workers. The approach was very well-received; the evaluation demonstrated a high level of application in practice, and significant increases in confidence in assessing parental capacity to change
Conclusions
From the pilot evaluation, the benefits of the approach included:
• Significantly improved practitioner skills, knowledge and confidence in assessing parental capacity to change;
• Improvements in social workers’ analyses in assessments;
• Improved decision-making within the child’s timescales.