“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT...”UNINTENDED EFFECTS AND POLICY OUTCOMES

Cilj ovog rada je prikazati kako kampanje koje godinama vode skupine civilnog sektora mogu dovesti do politike koju usvaja vlada, a koja ima, kako se ovdje dokazuje, posljedice koje začetnici politike nisu predvidjeli. Taj se problem istražuje uz pomoć povijesnog pristupa na temelju studije slučaja u području zlouporabe droge i pravosuđa za mladež u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu, gdje su politike u oba slučaja pokazale sličnosti; rane kampanje za poticanje promjena rezultirale su političkim angažmanom kod stranaka koje su preuzele vlast. Pitanje koje se u ovom radu nameće jest jesu li sudionici kampanja mogli predvidjeti ishode politika koje su u to vrijeme zagovarali? Je li moguće predvidjeti nenamjeravane posljedice prilikom oblikovanja kampanja za zagovaranje politika?This paper looks at how years of campaigning by third sector groups maylead to policy promulgated by government, with it is argued, consequences which were unforeseen by those originating the policy ideas. This isexplored by taking a historical, case study approach in the areas of drug misuse and youth justice within the UK where the policyoriginsof bothshowed similarities, with early campaigning to initiate change resulting in political commitment from incoming political parties. The question asked in this paper is could campaignershave anticipated the policy outcomes at the time they were campaigning?Is it possible to anticipate unintended consequences when formulating policy campaigns

Assisting economically marginalized and vulnerable youth and minimizing opportunities for exploitation by adult criminal groups

This paper examines the exploitation of marginalized children and youth at risk of violent victimization and sexual exploitation by networks of adult criminals. Using the UK as an example, we consider various public inquiries that identified serious failings in UK criminal justice, social care, public health, and educational systems. These reports said that children and youth had been exploited by networks of adult criminals over time. They also described a sense of defeatism and lack of agency among the criminal justice and social service agencies to address the social, criminal, and public health problems associated with this form of child and youth exploitation. We discuss research that illuminates this issue and suggest some avenues for building trust between victims/survivors, community members, criminal justice agencies, and social services

Evaluation of Birmingham Children’s Trust Supporting Families/Think Family Service: working with families where domestic violence and abuse is present

In the Executive Summary we summarise how the domestic violence and abuse service provided by Birmingham Children’s Trust (hereafter the Trust) meets (or does not meet) the evaluation criteria as laid out in the OECD Evaluation Framework (2022) and highlight issues of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. The service began under a government agenda originally known as Think Family and was later renamed as Supporting Families with an underlying approach focussed on meeting the various needs of families predominantly in the Early Help space. Grant funding came directly from central government and was/is based on the previous year utilising a “payment by results” or positive outcomes model. The Supporting Families grant is distributed across all types of need, including children in need, parental conflict, health needs, educational needs, substance use, neglect, etc. Some of the grant within the Trust is used for funding the specialist commissioned services for Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA); thus, the services being evaluated are those funded under the Supporting Families, for DVA provision rather than the service being a Think Family service. For simplicity and clarity throughout this report we will refer to the service as the Supporting Families/Think Family Service, as many respondents use the original terminology

Developing a theoretical framework to discuss mothers experiencing domestic violence and being subject to interventions: A cross-national perspective

© 2021 The Authors. Published by International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.1561The discourse about domestic violence has developed in patriarchal societies, and so we position our understanding of ‘mother’ within a patriarchal framework. We explore the ways in which ‘mothering’ and ‘mother blame’ have been constructed within that framework and how this becomes relevant in the context of domestic violence and child welfare social work. We review literature from Australia, Canada, England and Wales, and the United States of America that has focused on child welfare responses to mothers experiencing domestic violence and abuse. On the basis of that review, we argue that mothers are responsibilised for violence and abuse they do not perpetrate. We show that the way legislation operates in some jurisdictions facilitates hegemonic, patriarchal constructions. We call for a review of current child welfare social work policy and practice in which domestic violence is present.Published versio

Safer Street 4: Violence against women and girls and the night-time economy in Telford and Wrekin

Telford & Wrekin Council, West Mercia Police, Safer Telford & Wrekin

Fit for practice: how can we help? Pedagogic reflections

© 2015 The Authors. Published by Coventry University. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.18552/ijpblhsc.v3i2.191This paper is an active reflection on a pedagogic process of facilitating students’ ability to link theory to practice in two academic programmes, namely social work and health care. In both areas of study and practice it is essential that students are enabled to link theory to practice and learn how to reflect on their practice because they must demonstrate this aptitude as part of their training and registration process and subsequently as part of their continuing professional development. We reflect within the paper on our attempts to develop and facilitate a theory/practice process with students, with the broader aim that the students’ reflections would in time become a reflexive process. We argue that this would enable them to develop into students and practitioners able to challenge established practices and preconceived ideas. Our attempts to develop students’ ability to link theory to practice and their reflexive abilities were based on the use of two learning tools. We had each, independently, developed learning tools that took students through a number of ‘steps’ and required consideration of ‘theory-to-practice’ and ‘reflection’. We focus on a discussion of that process and of the tools utilized in the context of teaching and learning, drawing on theories of reflective practice. Our findings add to the small, but growing body of literature which has examined reflection and the use of tools to aid reflection and reported a positive impact on learning.Published onlin

Negotiating with technology: advancing the virtual in qualitative research methods

This is an author's accepted manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Qualitative Research Journal on 09/04/2024, available online: https://doi.org/10.1108/QRJ-12-2023-0187 The accepted manuscript may differ from the final published version.Purpose This study aims to describe key elements that are critical to virtual qualitative research especially while working with practitioners as participants. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes a reflexive researcher approach using a case study to explore how researchers adopted a qualitative research approach using digital technology. We use five principles suggested by Boland et al. (2022) as a framework to consider and reflect on our experiences as researchers and those of our participants. Findings We highlight the gatekeeper’s support, trusted relationship with the organisations, interpersonal skills of interviewers, stringent measures of securing data and shared experiences of interviewee and interviewers helped complete virtual research. We recommend that four key factors such as digital competency, feasibility, flexibility and resilience should be considered while undertaking or commissioning virtual, qualitative research studies. Originality/value Social care practitioners and qualitative researchers increasingly negotiate with digital technologies to undertake their work. In this paper, we evidence how online qualitative approaches can be effective provided challenges are dealt with diligently in each stage of the research process.Published onlin