Child protection practitioners and leaders are under pressure every day. While ideas are important, they will quickly want to know, how do I do this? This is why I have always focused on methods and practice tools and then refined them, based on how practitioners can apply in their direct work with children and families. Through that iterative learning by doing process the practice methods become fit for purpose.

 

Most children’s services practitioners, manager and leaders instinctively embrace the idea of belonging. This is why they quickly ask about how to apply the idea in the practice.

 

Since 2014 I have been collaborating with practitioners and organisations in various parts of the world how to bring make the idea real in their work. By this process I have been involved in developing:

 

• A Belonging assessment framework for Children in Care and for Young People aging out of Care (called Pathway Planning in the UK)

• Belonging-focused Case management (IT) system integrating practice guidance and the Belonging assessment forms

• Training focused on directly involving the young person in care and naturally connected network in continuous assessment, planning and review

• Practices to build collaboration between foster and kinship carers with parents and naturally connected network for the benefit of the children

• Practices to make the first day of removal the first day of return

• Developing and documenting belonging focused practices for children in long term care

• Re-structuring family time (contact) arrangements so that it involves parents, extended family and friends for the entire time the child or young person is in care whether briefly or till they are an adult

• Proactive planning with both carers and family to ensure arrangements for the child moving to and from family time that minimises their distress and is understood and managed together by the carers and family

• Revisioning organisational arrangements including creating measures meaningful to maximising belonging and connection for children to their culture, community and family of origin throughout their involvement with child protection services and whether they are in care or not

 

All of these methods and practices are a work in progress. To promote and expand this learning journey I invite practitioners, leaders, policy makers and academics to join me in the crossing point of bringing to life the dream of a belonging focused child protection system can look like in everyday practice and organisation.