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Author(s): Ana M. Sobocan [sup.1] , Vesna Leskosek [sup.1] , John Devaney [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.8954.0, 0000 0001 0721 6013, Faculty of social work, University of Ljubljana, , Ljubljana, [...]

Objective Methods Results Conclusion Young people in care (i.e., in the child welfare system) are a group who have often experienced very high rates of potentially traumatic events, including maltreatment. It is well‐documented that they have high rates of trauma‐related mental health difficulties, such as posttraumatic stress. To address the needs of the large number of young people who may benefit from support, scalable interventions are crucial. But also important is that they are effective and deliverable – particularly given the complexity of this group and services. We assessed a five‐session group CBT‐based intervention for PTSD. The primary goal was to understand core procedural and protocol uncertainties to address prior to a definitive trial.Participants were 34 10–17 year olds in care, with moderate to severe posttraumatic stress symptoms, and their caregiver. We ran seven groups (four online), delivered in social care and NHS‐based mental health teams. Data were collected via pre‐, post‐, 3‐month follow‐up questionnaires and qualitative interviews.Of the 34 participants allocated to the intervention, 27 (80%) attended at least three of the five sessions (most attended all). Caregiver attendance was lower (50%). There was generally good completion of assessment measures. Qualitatively, most participants were positive about the intervention, and many reported improvements in areas such as coping, sleep, and willingness to talk about experiences. However, there were important concerns about the lack of ongoing support, given this was a low‐intensity intervention for a group who often had complex needs.The intervention and research protocols were acceptable to most young people and carers. With modifications, a future definitive trial would likely be possible. However, key considerations include: how (and whether) to screen for PTSD; the trial design; and the option to embed high‐intensity support (e.g., via assessing a stepped‐care model). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the elevated risk of early maternal death among women whose children have been removed from their care, drawing on observational data from Pause, a UK-based charity. It highlights the critical health and social vulnerabilities faced by these mothers, including mental health issues, domestic abuse, and substance misuse, which are inadequately addressed by current child-focused services.

While the principle of contact between children in care and their families is enshrined in law, the precise form and frequency is at the discretion of social workers and the courts. Professionals must seek to balance the twin principles of children's need for protection from the psychological, emotional and physical harm that may arise from having contact with parents and other family members, with the need of family members and children to have their relationships and identity promoted. Courts require clear, structured and unambiguous information about the needs of children and their parents in order to make decisions which will have potentially life-changing implications for families. In this article we explore one approach to supporting the decision making of legal and social work professionals in relation to the frequency and form of contact by reflecting upon the development by the first author of an approach to assessing the quality and benefits of contact for children in State care in Northern Ireland. We discuss the key principles that should inform decisions and good practice through reflecting on the learning gained from developing and implementing such a structured approach. We conclude that practice has been informed by promoting legal rights without sufficient consideration of the relational aspects of making contact work for each of the involved parties.

During imprisonment, fathers are separated from their families and contact is limited. When delivering a prison based parenting programme, providing an opportunity to rehearse newly acquired parenting skills can be key for mastering the performance of these skills and using these skills to improve father-child relationships. This paper takes an in-depth look at how one parenting programme in Northern Ireland sought to overcome this challenge by providing additional opportunities to parent via increased telephone contact and special family friendly visits. Using a combination of in-depth interviews and observations, how fathers and their families responded to this increased contact is explored, as well as the extent to which this increased contact facilitated the acquisition of the parenting skills being taught on the programme. It is argued that while prison based parenting programmes can improve parenting skills and father-child relationships, their potential long-term effectiveness may be limited by wider prison policies, procedures and practices surrounding prison visitation, telephone access and the progression of fathers following the completion of such programmes. Recommendations and suggestions for future practice are offered.

Students in the United Kingdom (UK) are found to lack knowledge and skills in quantitative research methods. To address this gap, a quantitative research method and statistical analysis curriculum comprising 10 individual lessons was developed, piloted, and evaluated at two universities The evaluation found that BSW students' (N = 81) self-efficacy improved significantly from pre- to posttest, but statistical knowledge improved only slightly and the improvement was not statistically significant. The findings point to recommendations for social work educators in the UK and beyond to consider when integrating the 10-input quantitative method curriculum and when teaching research methods and statistics to undergraduate social work students.

It is now widely accepted that living with domestic abuse (DA) can significantly affect children, with the effects of DA continuing to be felt into adulthood. The common conceptualisation of children as passive 'witnesses' of DA and the failure to recognise them as direct 'victims' in their own right, separate from adult victims, can act as a major barrier for professionals responding to children within this context. The first professionals with whom many child victims of DA come into contact often are members of the police. Yet, little is still known about how children and police officers experience these encounters. The aim of this paper is to conduct a narrative review of the existing literature on the police response to children at DA call outs through the lens of Emotional Intelligence (Goleman 1996 (See CR14)). Reviewed studies state that a large number of police officers reported feelings of overwhelm and uncertainty at incidents of DA involving children. Children reported significant differences in empathy of officers, a key tenet of EI, which impacted their feelings of safety and visibility at incidents of DA. DA incidents are an emotionally challenging aspect of police work and most officers do not appear to have the skills to manage this effectively. The significance of speaking with children in these traumatic situations cannot be understated. EI appears to make an important contribution to the overall efficacy of officers at incidents of DA involving children., Author(s): Annemarie Millar [sup.1] , John Devaney [sup.2] , Michelle Butler [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0004 0374 7521, grid.4777.3, School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University [...]

This paper reports on a feasibility study for an evaluation of a UK primary school‐based prevention programme that addresses multiple forms of abuse and neglect, identifying research design and ethical issues and exploring research practice. For this feasibility study, 194 children aged 6–11 years completed a baseline survey and 113 did so following the intervention. Eight focus groups were undertaken with 52 children and nine interviews with school staff. We highlight key considerations for conducting large‐scale mixed‐method research on sensitive topics with younger children, a focus that is largely absent from the extant research methods literature. The feasibility study showed that younger children can contribute their views on sensitive topics in ways that are measurable, replicable and reliable, contesting ideas that certain topics are too sensitive to explore with younger children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]