Children have a right enshrined within the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to participate in decisions that affect them, and their participation in social care services can have a positive impact on their own self-esteem and confidence, but also the quality of service and decisions made by the social care professionals working with them. Everyone seems to agree on the idea that children have to be heard, but not on how, where and when they can participate, or the organisational cultures needed to facilitate it. Promoting Children's Rights in Social Work and Social Care addresses...

First published in 1999, this book is based on an extensive research study of the experiences of eighty-three families and the range of professionals involved in initial child protection conferences, this book explores the opportunities and difficulties of working in partnership in child protection within the context of rights, justice and empowerment. The research identifies what families find helpful and unhelpful in the intervention, as well as analysing the difficulties faced by practitioners. In exploring the families experience, the author provides a concrete base for a much-needed...