Social Work on Community Practice and Child Protection

Dear Colleagues,

The social work approach to child protection in many jurisdictions is to manage the risk of harm to children. It is well known that poverty, substance abuse and violence in the home, for example, contribute to risks to the safety of children and for Indigenous communities these social issues are closely linked to the history of colonisation.  The risk management approach often takes the form of removing the child from risk that is perceived or has occurred and again for Indigenous communities these responses are both a failure to address colonialism’s effects as well as a continuation of colonial practice, which has resulted in an over representation of Indigenous children in care. Less frequently used are measures designed to prevent harm through anticipating the many risks children and their families face. What is often missed in this seemingly simple equation is what can contribute to the ‘best interests of the child’ in terms of ensuring no further harm—that is, the actions, resources and supports that can be mobilised from others in the children’s environment and what supports their families and others need in order to do so. For Indigenous communities, for example, in Aotearoa New Zealand, child protection may have different starting points that link matauranga (knowledges) and practices (tikanga and kawa) that are specifically drawn from their communities. Social work as a practice has a wide and deep brief with a broad skill set informed by multidisciplinary knowledge. The social work profession requires its members to apply these skills and knowledges across the spectrum of need and in culturally responsive ways to deliver the best possible outcomes for the people with whom they work. This includes attending to the multiplicity of circumstances and designing their strategies accordingly. The harm or risk management approach as a strategy of tertiary prevention is one essential measure, but there are many others which sit within the primary and secondary prevention approaches. We invite contributions which provide examples of how social work contributes to protecting children in culturally responsive and appropriate ways through these additional strategies.

Dr. Susan Young
Shayne Walker
Dr. Celine Harrison
Guest Editors

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• developmental community work
• best interests of the child
• policy practice
• risk prevention
• risk management
• primary, secondary and tertiary prevention
• cultural responsiveness