The right decision at the right time – Making good decisions for children in care
Date:
18 November 2008
Venue:
London Voluntary Sector
Resource Centre
356 Holloway Road
London N7 6PA
Registration times:
9.30am – 10.00am
Conference:
10.00am – 4.00pm
Theme
There are few decisions that professionals make that are
more profound than whether the child comes into care,
or where and with whom they live and whether or not
they will return home. But how confident are we that we
are making the right decisions for individual children? Are
we all making decisions in the same way? Is there good
practice here that we could learn from?
Decision making is a core skill in social work and is crucial
to successful practice outcomes. With an increasing
emphasis on encouraging professionals to work together
to deliver services and to improve outcomes for children
and young people, making the best decision at the right
time can involve a number of professionals from across
social care, education, health and the law.
Making decisions about children in care – where
practitioners have to hold in mind a multitude of
considerations, tasks and perspectives – can be difficult
and challenging. And this work often takes place in an
environment where the risks of making the wrong
decisions can be very significant for the child and their
family. It is essential that practitioners remain clearly
focused on the needs of the child whatever other
pressures there may be.
This conference provides an important opportunity for
participants to learn about these issues from a range of
perspectives including the views of children in care, local
authorities and research on good decision–making and to
discuss the wider implications and relevance to current
practice dilemmas.
Aims
To offer delegates a range of perspectives on the
following key issues:
- How we currently make decisions for individual children
in care
- The importance of timely and evidence–based decision–making
- How we involve children in care in decision–making
about their lives
- How an understanding of relevant research can help us
to make better decisions and improve outcomes for
individual children in care
- Some current practice dilemmas – such as decision–making
around neglect and decision–making about returning home from care
Speakers include
- Gwen Carrington, Head of
Social Services, Gwynedd Council
- Elaine Farmer, Professor of Child and Family Studies,
Centre for Family Policy & Child Welfare, University of Bristol
- Carol Floris, Advice & Support Manager, and Matthew Taylor,
Senior Training Officer, Voices from Care Cymru
- David Holmes, Chief Executive, BAAF
- Sue Maskell, Director of Children’s Services, Conwy
County Borough Council
- Danielle Turney, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Centre
for Family Policy and Child Welfare, University of Bristol
Booking form and flyer
Download the conference flyer (pdf)
Download the booking form (word doc)
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