Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook - Health Service ...

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Child Protection and Welfare Practice Handbook
• It is important to ascertain how a father figure understands his role
as a responsible parent and positive role model and carer.
• It is important to ascertain a father’s role in the child’s everyday life,
how he understands and meets the child’s needs, how much time
he spends with the child and the nature of the relationship that
exists between them.
• It is important to ascertain the degree to which the father and the
child’s mother agree on aspects of parenting, particularly boundary
setting and discipline.
• It is important not to apply different standards of care to fathers.
• It is also important to assess significant males in the family unit
since often not enough information is known on these people (e.g.
new partners).
• It is important that all referrals are examined in detail for accuracy
and that no information is minimised by professionals, for example,
allegations made in ‘custody and access’ cases or ‘bad family or
community relations’. Each referral must be investigated on the
evidence presented. There may be truth in the allegations and
checking for credibility can at times be a challenge.
• Time should be spent with each member of the family, both
together and separately, explaining the purpose and process of
assessment.
• Time should be spent observing the interaction between children
and carers.
• Research has shown that investigations and assessments of child
protection and welfare concerns often focus solely on the child’s
main carer. Children should always be included in the assessment
process, along with their siblings.
• Always check differing or inconsistent explanations about any
indication of harm to the child.
• Explore as many options available to the assessment process to
ensure information received has credibility.