Vortrag + Diskussion
Europe@DJHT
Deutsches Jugendinstitut e.V.
The event employs an international perspective to identify child protection practitioners‘ training needs with regard to engaging with parents and evidence-based approaches to meeting these needs. The participants will be encouraged to consider implications of the insights gained for their practice.
Working with parents in child protection is one of the most demanding tasks in social work. The relationship, often initiated by third parties, presents professionals with the challenge of engaging clients, who may be resistent to help. Professionals are particularly successful in working towards sustainable changes in family life when parents are supported to be able to develop an intrinsic motivation for change. However, analyses of problematic child protection cases in Germany have repeatedly indicated that the professionals‘ lack of methodological knowledge and skills required to work effectively with non-voluntary clients impact detrimentally on the quality and success of their work.
This international panel comprises two thematic parts: first, presentations and second, a discussion. The presentations will share empirical evidence from Germany and Finland regarding the need to strengthen practitioners‘ engagement skills as perceived by both, child protection clients and practitioners themselves.
An additional international contribution will focus on evidence from the UK of how to improve engagement through communication skills. In particular, the benefits of Motivational Interviewing (MI), a client-centred and directive counselling approach, will be considered in the child protection context. Interactive, skills-based elements will be combined with latest research findings and theories about effective communication with parents in the context of child protection. Finally, the results of a research project in Finland will be presented, in which a training programme for practitioners from child protection and family social work (preventative child protection) to strengthen interaction skills was developed, piloted and evaluated. The training was based on MI and other relevant interaction skills.
In the second part of the event, participants will be invited to discuss with the panel members the extent to which the „good practice“ approaches raised in the presentations can be used in their own work, and how potential challenges can be overcome.
Time schedule of the event
1. Welcome and Introduction by Moderator (n.n.) (5 minutes)
2. „To what extent do practitioners' succeed in engaging parents in child protection? Evidence from Germany“; Dr. Birgit Jentsch, NZFH/DJI, Schlossbach Teresa, NZFH/DJI, Christine Gerber, NZFH/DJI (20 minutes)
3. „How to improve communication skills and have difficult conversations: latest evidence from the UK“; Prof. Dr. Donald Forrester, University of Cardiff, Wales (30 minutes, including some inter-active elements)
4. „Enhancing effectiveness in child protection by strengthening social workers' interaction skills: insights from Finland“; Dr. Elina Aaltio and Dr. Nanne Isokuortti, University of Helsinki, Finland (20 Minutes)
5. Panel discussion with the presenters (45 minutes)
Further information
https://uk.jkp.com/products/motivational-interviewing-for-working-with-children-and-families
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/networks/helsinki-practice-research-centre/projects
Host
Forschung zu Kindern, Jugendlichen und Familien an der Schnittstelle von Wissenschaft, Politik und Fachpraxis
Project / department
Die Veranstaltung ist dem Projekt Qualitätsentwicklung im Kinderschutz zugeordnet, das beim NZFH (Träger: BZgA; Kooperationspartner: DJI) angesiedelt ist.