Safeguarding Black Children

Good Practice in Child Protection

Claudia Bernard, Perlita Harris

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781849055697
• eBook ISBN:
  9781784500115
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Discrimination & Race Relations
• Index: Social Sciences

Providing an exploration of the key issues, this book offers practical advice on how to improve the safeguarding and welfare of black children and young people in need.

With contributions from academics, researchers and practitioners, it promotes an understanding of the particular cultural and social issues that affect black children in relation to child protection. It highlights how race and racism, as well as culture, faith and gender, can influence the ways need and risk are interpreted and responded to. Drawing on insights from research evidence, case examples and practice guidelines, it outlines the range of factors that contribute to the vulnerability of black children and describes how to improve techniques of working with minority ethnic families. The book covers issues such as the effects of parental mental health problems, living with domestic violence, child maltreatment, and demonstrates how these might be understood differently for black children and young people. There are also chapters on topics such as female genital mutilation, witchcraft and forced marriage.

Essential reading for all social workers and child protection workers, as well as students and support managers, Safeguarding Black Children provides the tools and understanding needed to better support these children.

PART I

THE EFFECTS OF ADVERSE EXPERIENCES ON BLACK CHILDREN

INTRODUCTION TO PART I

THE EFFECTS OF ADVERSE EXPERIENCES ON BLACK CHILDREN

In the first part of Safeguarding Black Children, we examine the effects of a range of adverse experiences on the lived experience of black children. Black and mixed ethnicity children in the UK may be exposed to a broad range of challenging or difficult experiences that have significant implications for their well-being. In this section we focus on three of these. We begin with an exploration of the impact of parental mental ill-health, followed by black children’s experience of domestic violence. This is followed by a chapter on living in gang-affected neighbourhoods.

Although children of all ethnicities share some commonalities of experiences of parental mental ill-health, domestic violence and living in gang-affected neighbourhoods, there are specific issues that arise for black children in the UK. Across these chapters, the authors point to the need to understand the wider contextual factors, the ‘nuanced connections between race, class and gender’ (Bernard 2016, p.75) and how ‘race plays an important role in shaping their [children’s] experiences, since societal messages devalue black families in the UK’ (Bernard 2016, p.82).

Keating and Brown, in their chapter on parental mental ill-health, draw attention to the ‘othering’ of black people and the over-representation of black adults in mental health statistics, while arguing that relatively little is known about the specific mental health experiences of black mothers and black fathers, or the experience of their children. They explore the implications for parenting capacity and for children’s well-being, before a consideration of black parents and mental health, and the challenges facing their children. The authors identify significant gaps in our understanding including the need for statistical data on the number of black parents with mental ill-health and empirical research on the experience of young black carers. Suggestions for best practice with black families are made, including adopting a whole family approach and engaging community and social networks.

In Chapter 2, Bernard examines what is known about the effects of domestic violence on children, followed by the particular issues for black children. She argues that black children’s experiences are situated within a number of interconnected inequalities. A range of issues is examined including immigration status and domestic violence, possible fear by black children and their families about seeking help, the relationship between domestic violence and child abuse and neglect, and the complex dynamics of male coercion and control. Significantly, Bernard identifies what effective and supportive interventions with black mothers that secure their children’s safety might look like, plus interventions with black fathers that hold them accountable for their violent behaviour and help them to understand the impact on their children. Throughout, the importance of remaining child-centred is emphasised.

In the third chapter, Firmin and Pearce explore some of the potential relationships between ethnicity and young people’s vulnerability to gang-association where children are exposed to violence, including girls being exposed to domestic violence and sexual violence. They consider the characteristics and experiences that make young people vulnerable to gang association, such as neighbourhood of residence, exposure to domestic violence, previous victimisation and school exclusion, and the interplay between these characteristics, the gang-affected neighbourhood and the children that create the social conditions for gang-association. The practical implications for improving the safeguarding response to black children and young people living in gang-affected neighbourhoods is examined. Both Keating and Brown, and Firmin and Pearce, draw attention to the need for professional responses that address the contextual factors or stressors black children experience.

CHAPTER 1

MENTAL HEALTH AND BLACK CHILDREN

FRANK KEATING AND STEFAN BROWN

Families with parental mental health issues face significant challenges and vulnerabilities and in racialised contexts these challenges can be more pronounced and complex (Parrot, Jacobs and Roberts 2008). Mental ill health in families varies greatly having differential impacts on children and their families, with very serious consequences for some children. For example, in their analysis of 40 Serious Case Reviews (SCRs), Brandon, Bailey and Belderson (2010) found that almost two-thirds (63%) of children lived in a household with a parent or carer with a current or past mental illness. However, with adequate support, most parents with mental health problems care effectively for their children (Aldridge and Becker 1993; Diggins 2011; Reupert and Maybery 2007). This chapter will explore the effects of parental mental health problems on black children and particularly examine the issues in relation to safeguarding and child protection. Given that this book is about safeguarding children, we will provide an overview of parental mental health and the impact on children in general to set the context for an exploration of these issues in relation to black children. This will be followed by an overview of the underlying processes that inform how we understand and view black families with parental mental health problems and an exploration of the issues for black children in particular. We conclude with recommendations for appropriate support and care for black families and suggest that ‘think family, think parent, think child’ should be the philosophy that informs service provision where parental mental health problems are present.

At the outset we need to highlight that, although there is some evidence on the impact of parental mental health problems on children generally, Greene, Pugh and Roberts (2008) suggest that there is a dearth of literature and evidence on the impact of this on black children specifically. Greene et al. (2008) posit that we can still learn from this evidence to make generalisations to black children. The situation is compounded due to a lack of reliable data on the number of black parents who are treated by mental health services and similarly the number of black children who are affected by parental mental health, as will be illustrated below. Moreover, a great deal of the evidence on parental mental health focuses on women and there is limited research on the roles of men in families and even less so for black men (Parrot et al. 2008).

Underlying processes

Exploring concerns about mental health, parenting, and child well-being, overlaid by issues of ‘race’, ethnicity and culture presents us with multiple complexities. With reference to mental health, we need to consider the nature of mental illness and the tensions in service delivery. For children, we need to consider the theoretical and policy stances towards them. In relation to ‘race’ and ethnicity, we need to consider some of the dualities in the disparities that are evident for both adults and children. These issues will be reviewed below.

The nature of mental illness

Following the lead of Tunnard (2004, p.7) the term ‘parents with mental health problems’ will be used to denote:

parents who are experiencing such emotional distress that they find it hard to function as well as they would wish and they or others are concerned about the actual or likely impact this is having on their children.

First, we have to acknowledge that mental illness is not a fixed state and it can fluctuate over time. People with mental health problems can have long periods of stable mental health (Diggins 2011). Second, we have to appreciate that there are different categories of mental health needs and this will affect parents with mental health problems differentially (Cleaver, Unell and Aldgate 2011). The different categories are low, moderate and major. Low mental health need refers to everyday worries and generally may not require professional intervention. Moderate mental health need, also more generally referred to as common mental disorders, includes mild depression and anxiety disorders – it is estimated that one in every four to six individuals will experience this at any given time (Ofsted 2013). Mental health need at this level is widespread and it can reasonably be assumed that social workers will encounter this in their everyday practice. Major mental health need refers to conditions that are severe and enduring and include, among others, severe depression, manic-depressive disorder, schizophrenia and dual diagnosis (for a fuller exploration of these categories for need, please see Golightly 2014).

There is a great divide between adult mental health services and child and family welfare services that is evident in how they are configured, their priorities and theoretical stances. In children’s services, the legal and policy contexts place the needs of the child as paramount, and often this is juxtaposed against the parents’ needs and rights. However, in both adult mental health services and children services there is the proposition that if the needs of parents are adequately addressed then it is more likely that their children will have improved well-being (Webber, McCree and Angeli 2013).

Dualities in disparities

Black people are over-represented in mental health statistics (Davies 2014) and black children are over-represented in child protection statistics (Barn, Ladino and Rogers 2006; Bernard and Gupta 2008; Chand 2000; DfE 2014). As highlighted in the introductory chapter of this book, we know that there are a significant number of black families with dependent children. However, we do not know how many of these families are affected by parental mental health – this is an area of significant concern.

A process that is core to these dualities in disparities is ‘othering’ – this is when a social division or an aspect of identity such as minority ethnic status is used to define these individuals as other and different to hegemonic norms of ‘whiteness’ and European (Clifford and Marcus 1986; Kitzinger and Wilkinson 1996; Lister 2008). Othering is essentially about defining someone as ‘not as one of us’. The dualities highlighted here are complex due to the processes of othering that work in different ways to inform the identities and social contexts for black people. First, there is othering based on racialisation and ideas about superiority (Lister 2008; Rosenfield 2012). Second, othering based on hegemonic ideals of normality and madness (Gorman 2013; Krumer-Nevo and Benjamin 2010). Third, othering based on what is perceived as normal childhood (O’Dell et al. 2010). We argue that otherness for black people is commonly evaluated negatively and therefore imbued with stereotypes, stigma and racism (Rosenfield 2012) that present a complex picture for parental mental health problems and safeguarding black children.

Parental mental health in general

Following the lead of Reupert and Maybery (2007), we propose that parental mental illness has wide ranging impacts: it affect the parents, the child(ren), the wider family, approaches to service delivery and the wider society. People with mental health problems are as likely as the general population to become parents. However, we should not naturally assume that this will automatically raise concerns about parenting capacity and safeguarding of children. Evans and Fowler (2008) suggest that most parents with mental health problems continue to provide love and care for their children. Aldridge (2006) encourages us to recognise that parental mental illness is not a precursor to risk of harm or developmental delay in children. What makes it difficult for parents is the lack of appropriate and coordinated care and support to manage their mental health while also carin...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Of Related Interest
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword by June Thoburn
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I The Effects of Adverse Experiences on Black Children
• Part II Different Categories of Maltreatment
• Part III Safeguarding Black Children from Harmful Practices and Safeguarding Trafficked and Separated Children
• Concluding Remarks
• The Contributors
• Subject Index
• Author Index