Child protection errors: How do we learn from the mistakes?

When children die or are seriously injured while under the scrutiny or care of child protection services, media, the public and politicians become outraged. Workers fear such adverse practice events which can lead to over... [ view full abstract ]

When children die or are seriously injured while under the scrutiny or care of child protection services, media, the public and politicians become outraged. Workers fear such adverse practice events which can lead to over cautious practice or choosing to leave child protection work. The workshop looks at the themes that arise when various forms of public inquiries are examined at an aggregate level. Regardless of jurisdiction, there are many themes that are repeatedly seen. Yet, inquiries are typically focused on what went wrong as opposed to why it went wrong. Little consideration is given to examining what caused the worker to believe that the actions they were taking were at least acceptable. In this interactive workshop, the main themes arising from an aggregate study of public inquiries will be presented. This will be followed by engaging the audience in exploration of the systemic situations which lead to the errors. The goal is exploration of the "why" of practice errors. Participants will be asked to generate possible explanations and then engage in a broader discussion about how the child protection systems can address these concerns. Consideration will focus on a prevention agenda.