Dr. Andressa M. GaddaResearch Associate, CELCIS PaCT andressa.gadda@strath.ac.uk

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Back to the future: relational social work in a multi-

disciplinary team

EBP 2B

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Overview

• Background: the Early Years Assessment Team (EYAT) – what it is and what it does.

• Evaluation: design and methodology.• Emerging findings. • Discussion.• Q&A.

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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

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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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• 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.

Background: the EYAT

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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’S PRACTICE

AIMS TO BE…

• Holistic

• Positive

• Flexible

• Inclusive

• Person centred

• Long term

CURRENT SERVICE

CULTURE OFTEN IS…

•Narrow

•Negative

•Inflexible

•Strict referral criteria

•Process driven

•Short term

EYAT practice

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...

…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.

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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)