Engaging with Families in Child Protection: Lessons from Practitioner Research in Scotland

This paper reports findings from practitionerled research on engagement with families in the child protection system in Scotland. Engagement is here defined in a participative sense, to mean the involvement of family members in shaping social work processes. Key findings include the importance of workers building trusting relationships; the value of honest and clear communication, information, and explanation; and the potential for formal structures such as reports and meetings to hinder family engagement. These findings contribute to a growing critique of managerialism in social work.