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ABSTRACT This paper presents findings from qualitative interviews with 24 young people (11-17 years) who have been referred to Children's Social Care Services in England. The paper explores young people's experiences of help seeking and their experiences of receiving help for maltreatment through statutory agencies. A central finding is the importance of relationships for young people when seeking and receiving help. It is through trusting relationships with professionals that young people are most likely to disclose maltreatment and/or engage with services. The paper concludes that young people's expectations and needs are not always met by the current safeguarding system and that the system needs to become more child-centred if it is to address the concerns maltreated young people have consistently voiced through research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the literature on work-family balance, role and boundary issues are commonly discussed in relation to parents who work outside of the home. Work and family are considered as two different spheres of activity, with different role identities and cultural meanings. For foster carers, however, in very significant ways, their family is their work and their work is their family - so roles are not so clearly separated and boundaries are not so clearly defined. This paper reviews theoretical approaches to the work-family interface and draws on qualitative data from 40 interviews with long-term foster carers. It provides an analysis of their accounts of their roles as professional carers and/or committed parents to explore how they manage different and potentially contradictory role identities. The study found that foster carers primarily identified as carers or as parents, but that some foster carers could move flexibly between these roles while others could not. For foster carers who could be flexible, the two roles enriched each other rather than causing stress and role conflict. Implications for supporting professional foster carers who can also meet the parenting needs of long-term foster children are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is widely acknowledged that inadequate handovers are associated with putting patients at risk in clinical settings; however, handover practices have received little attention in other 24‐hr settings such as long‐stay residential care facilities. Aim: This study aimed to explore the perceived purpose and organisational processes involved in the handover of information between shifts of staff caring for older residents in five care homes in England. Methods: The study took an ethnographic approach to fieldwork, undertaken between February and June 2016. It consisted of observations of handovers (n = 12) and interviews with managers, Registered Nurses (RNs) and care assistants (n = 27) working day and night shifts. Interview transcripts and observation notes were analysed within NVivo using a matrix approach. Results: Handovers were highly variable in all five care homes in relation to their timings, locations, content and participants. Managers and RNs highlighted handovers as an opportunity for risk assurance, supervision, team building, staff education and monitoring of residents' clinical status. In comparison, care assistants considered the purpose of handovers to be prepared for the responsibilities of working a shift. The discussion addresses implications of these findings, particularly consideration of how best use can be made of RN skills and knowledge in handovers. Conclusion: Research is needed to identify whether care home resident safety can be linked to handover practices and how the presence of RNs in handovers in care homes affects this. Implications for practice: Care home managers, RNs and care workers may find this research useful in practice when considering how best to organise handovers and deploy staff in care homes for older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]