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The Keep Children and Families Safe Act amendment to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 2003 mandated children under age three who are involved with Child Welfare (CW) to receive a referral to the system for early intervention (EI). While there is strong rationale for providing developmental services to young children and families impacted by maltreatment, the early implementation of this policy brought about many challenges related to interagency coordination and readiness of providers to provide cross-systems care. Currently, as the system and providers within the system recover from the effects of Covid-19, a predicted increase in need of services may exacerbate historical gaps in the provision of services to families involved with CW. This policy-focused paper explores issues impacting CW and EI providers who coordinate care between CW and EI services. This paper provides a historical examination of these challenges and proposes an approach for improving developmental services for families referred from CW, specifically through the lens of addressing resources and supports available to providers. The proposed approach includes an increase and reprioritization of resources to support provider readiness and well-being. By focusing on support for providers, the authors propose a reduction of stress and improvement of services at each level of the "well-being" system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Therapeutic programmes that offer early intervention may decrease the risk of developing emotional and behavioural difficulties in childhood and adulthood. This paper describes the Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Child Psychotherapy Service (CPS) that was established at Randolph Beresford Early Year Centre (RBEYC) in 2008. It presents the results of an audit and evaluation of the CPS. We used a Goal Based Outcome (GBO) measure to evaluate service-users' (parents' and caregivers') perceptions of progress toward treatment goals, and structured interviews with eight caregivers and ten staff members to explore their views of the CPS. Thematic analysis was used to summarise these views. GBO ratings indicated that all caregivers felt they had made progress towards reaching treatment goals by the end of the intervention. Interview responses suggest that all caregivers and staff perceived the CPS positively and thought that the RBEYC was successful in nurturing the child's overall development. The quality of relationships between staff, service-users and the CPS was perceived as central to the facilitative environment of the RBEYC. In particular, the psychotherapist was viewed as playing a critical role in facilitating this triangle of relationships supporting the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of safeguarding children from violence is internationally recognised. However, detecting, intervening and protecting children from abuse both within the family and in institutions is complex. This paper specifically focuses on safeguarding in England and how workforce reform in the early years offers the opportunity to forge new partnerships with families and professionals. These relationships have the potential to support more positive outcomes for babies, young children and families who are ‘in need’ or where the children are at risk of significant harm or abuse has occurred. The paper draws on the findings from research exploring the impact of workforce reform in the early years and how the changes impact upon the wider safeguarding agenda. It will argue that the introduction of an inter-disciplinary graduate professional in the early years has afforded an opportunity to forge new partnerships that have the potential to significantly impact on child maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]