EBP 2B
Back to the future: relational
social work in a multidisciplinary team
Dr. Andressa M. Gadda
Research Associate, CELCIS PaCT
[email protected]
www.celcis.org
www.celcis.org
Overview
• Background: the Early Years Assessment
Team (EYAT) – what it is and what it does.
• Evaluation: design and methodology.
• Emerging findings.
• Discussion.
• Q&A.
www.celcis.org
Centre for Excellence for
Looked After Children in
Scotland
• works with partners to improve the care experience
and outcomes for all looked after children
• places the interests of children at the heart of its
work
• provides a focal point for the sharing of knowledge
and the development of best practice
• provides a wide range of services to improve the
skills of those working with looked after children
www.celcis.org
Background:
the EYAT
• Early Years Assessment Team (EYAT) set
up in current format in 2010.
• Co-located team:
– One social work manager
– Two social workers
– Two midwives
– Four family support workers
– One infant mental health nurse
– One senior social worker (since Nov. 2013)
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Background:
the EYAT
• Support services provided from conception till the child is
eight years old – focus on young babies.
• Early identification of vulnerable parents: at 10-12 weeks of
pregnancy.
• EYAT’s midwives meet with all women, and their partners,
referred to identify what additional supports they may need.
• Work in partnership with families and adult services (i.e.
adult mental health team, learning disability team and
welfare benefit services).
• Parenting assessments undertaken in the antenatal period
and early decision making for the most at risk babies.
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Evaluation
Aims:
Describe and assess the services and
support made available to parents.
Explore parents and professionals
views and experiences.
Identify the impact this has on parents
and children; professionals within the
team, as well as on other services.
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Evaluation
Methodology:
Ethnographic observations.
Questionnaires to parents.
In depth interviews – with parents and
the EYAT.
Case files analysis.
Online questionnaire to other service
providers.
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I felt having [family
support worker BF)
there, to tell my worries
to about everything,
helped as I had no one
else. Having her made
everything seem
possible. There was
nothing that (BF) didn’t
help me with.
The Early Years
Team is always
there at the end
of the phone if
you need them.
My family support work,
[BT], was absolutely
brilliant, she supported
me with everything – from
going for coffee/lunch and
a chat to helping me with
the house work and
cleaning. She was fab !
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Findings
You know, I could – there were some things I’d tell
the other [social worker from locality team] but
with BF I could sit, you know, it was like talking to
my mother or something. I could sit and tell her
anything really, you know? […] I didn’t have a
problem talking about things like that with her,
and that, and about my relationship with (child’s
mother)…And she’s just a…she’s a good listener
and that you know, she’ll listen, and she’ll give
you a bit of advice and that. So, it’s just, she’s a
very helpful woman.
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EYAT practice
CURRENT SERVICE
EYAT’S PRACTICE AIMS
CULTURE OFTEN IS…
TO BE…
•Narrow
•Holistic
•Negative
•Positive
•Inflexible
•Flexible
•Strict referral criteria
•Inclusive
•Process driven
•Person centred
•Short term
•Long term
Therapeutic
relationships
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EYAT ethos
…help parents
develop an
understanding
of their child
[…] through
developmental,
attachment
based work.
we have... the theory of
mind mindedness,
somebody holding you in
mind, we hold really dear
as a team, that, actually,
everybody needs to have
somebody holding them in
mind and it's a very lonely
place to be if you don't
and so quite often...
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…and also being able to work
in a collaborative way with
families, not only in a
punitive way, but actually in
a family support model, a
holistic approach, was
something I think when I
trained to be a social worker,
I imagined that’s what I
would be doing.
Is it sustainable?
…because I am very conscious
within my role as a locality social
worker that, partly to do with
diminished resources, because of
the budget, the climate that we’re in,
we have very limited amount of
money and resource in terms of
time…(Senior Social Worker)
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Can it be replicated?
We've got a little girl who had her first baby at 16. She was...
most of her childhood on a home supervision requirement...
Despite all the support that we tried to give her at the time,
we couldn't give her what she needed… So her first baby
was accommodated and has since gone to an adoptive
family, but she's had another baby and while she was
pregnant she took pneumonia and was very ill and [MW] was
aware that she was there and I finished work one night and
was buying some things in Tesco and I saw [MW] walking
about with a basket and I said “How is [TL]?” and she said
“Oh, I've been in and she didn't have anything and nobody's
visited” so in the basket [MW] had pants, toothpaste,
toothbrush, grapes, lots of things, and she said “Before I
finish today I'm going to go back in and do a visit, like she
should be having from home.” And, actually, we've got off...
you know, that relationship and sustaining that relationship
beyond the point that you've removed the first baby.
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Can it be replicated?
It is one thing to set up partnerships and
strategies to join things up. It is another to
develop the mix of skills, energy and
commitment to make them effective.
(see Colin Whittington 2003)
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