Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Social work, poverty, and child welfare interventions
AU - Morris, Kate
AU - Mason, Will
AU - Bywaters, Paul
AU - Featherstone, Brid
AU - Daniel, Brigid
AU - Brady, Geraldine
AU - Bunting, Lisa
AU - Hooper, Jade Elizabeth
AU - Mirza, Nughmana
AU - Scourfield, Jonathan
AU - Webb, Calum
PY - 2018/8/31
Y1 - 2018/8/31
N2 - The relationship between children's material circumstances and child abuse and neglect raises a series of questions for policy, practice, and practitioners. Children and families in poverty are significantly more likely to be the subject of state intervention. This article, based on a unique mixed-methods study of social work interventions and the influence of poverty, highlights a narrative from practitioners that argues that, as many poor families do not harm their children, it is stigmatizing to discuss a link between poverty and child abuse and neglect. The data reveal that poverty has become invisible in practice, in part justified by avoiding stigma but also because of a lack of up-to-date research knowledge and investment by some social workers in an “underclass” discourse. We argue, in light of the evidence that poverty is a contributory factor in the risk of harm, that it is vital that social work engages with the evidence and in critical reflection about intervening in the context of poverty. We identify the need for fresh approaches to the harms children and families face in order to support practices that engage confidently with the consequences of poverty and deprivation.
AB - The relationship between children's material circumstances and child abuse and neglect raises a series of questions for policy, practice, and practitioners. Children and families in poverty are significantly more likely to be the subject of state intervention. This article, based on a unique mixed-methods study of social work interventions and the influence of poverty, highlights a narrative from practitioners that argues that, as many poor families do not harm their children, it is stigmatizing to discuss a link between poverty and child abuse and neglect. The data reveal that poverty has become invisible in practice, in part justified by avoiding stigma but also because of a lack of up-to-date research knowledge and investment by some social workers in an “underclass” discourse. We argue, in light of the evidence that poverty is a contributory factor in the risk of harm, that it is vital that social work engages with the evidence and in critical reflection about intervening in the context of poverty. We identify the need for fresh approaches to the harms children and families face in order to support practices that engage confidently with the consequences of poverty and deprivation.
KW - care
KW - child protection
KW - child welfare inequalities
KW - poverty
KW - social work
U2 - 10.1111/cfs.12423
DO - 10.1111/cfs.12423
M3 - Journal article
VL - 23
SP - 364
EP - 372
JO - Child & Family Social Work
JF - Child & Family Social Work
IS - 3
ER -