Negotiation and resistance: It's all about the child
Learning Objectives
After considering this resource, you should understand the importance (and challenges) of child-centred practice.
Effective social work is often built on the foundation of purposeful use of power and negotiation. This is particularly true in cases of child protection, where social workers often face resistance and hostility from parents and carers.
This chapter from Cooper et al's Best Practice with Children and Families, looks at an apparent case of child and family support that on closer scrutiny turned into high priority child protection. In order to safeguard the well-being of the child in this situation, the social worker had to develop a strong relationship with the child and give her a voice to counteract the non-engagement of her parents.