© British Association of Social Workers
Which Children are Registered at Case Conferences?
1Terry Fisher is a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of York, having previously worked as a local authority social worker and training officer
2Liza Bingley Miller is also a Lecturer in Social Work at the University of York, having previously worked as a Social Worker and as a research fellow at Great Ormond Street Hospital in Camden
3Ian Sinclair is Professor of Social Work at the University of York, having previously been Director of Research at the National Institute of Social Work
Correspondence to Terry Fisher, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD.
Summary
A postal questionnaire to social workers was used to describe the characteristics of situations where children were the subjects of child protection case conferences, to identify factors distinguishing those registered from those not registered and to describe the accounts given by social workers of the reasons for registration. The paper reports and analyses this information and raises some basic issues about the relative importance in registration decisions of evidence of physical or sexual abuse, characteristics of the adults involved, and a child's feelings and emotional state.