A review of research about how child welfare workers’ environments influence their decisions about neglect
Quick-read summary
This work involved a systematic review of previously published research about how child welfare workers’ decisions about neglect are influenced by their environments.
We conducted a systematic search of key databases looking for studies published since the 1989 Children Act, in which statutory thresholds in England are defined. 39 studies met the criteria for review.
The review found evidence that high caseloads and work-related stress might result in neglect receiving lower priority for intervention
There was also some evidence that child welfare workers were less likely to recommend that a child be removed from their parents’ care due to concerns about neglect, if support services were available.
These findings suggest that greater investment in services, particularly early intervention may help children experiencing neglect receive sufficient, timely and proportionate support.
We also found that practitioners find it challenging to evidence neglect and this can result in delays intervening, suggesting that practitioners may benefit from training and support in court skills.
Who is this evidence useful for?
Children and family social workers, children’s family support workers, children’s services team managers/ supervisors, children’s services senior managers, policy makers.
What is the issue?
In both the UK and the USA, neglect is the most commonly documented form of child maltreatment.
Definitions of child neglect generally refer to ‘acts of omission’ i.e. the failure of a person with parental responsibility to do something necessary for a child’s wellbeing, such as providing inadequate supervision and failing to meet children’s physical, emotional, and educational needs. In extreme cases, neglect may lead to death or serious injury. It is also associated with a range of long-term psychological difficulties.
Child welfare workers, including qualified social workers, play a pivotal role in responding to reports of child neglect. They assess risk and oversee interventions, including applying to court for a child to be removed from their parents’ care. However, working definitions of neglect have been shown to be complex, multi-faceted and somewhat subjective.
Recent research has highlighted a lack of evidence-based tools for the measurement of neglect. Practitioners report uncertainty about thresholds for intervention, and there is evidence of level of inconsistency in decision-making between child welfare workers, even when standardised assessment tools are used.
Research summary
We conducted a systematic search looking for studies in English of any methodology, published since the 1989 Children Act, in which statutory thresholds in England are defined.
We used child welfare workers’ definitions of neglect or, in the absence of this, defined ‘neglect’ as harmful acts of omission by a caregiver (failure to do something necessary for a child’s wellbeing). We included the views of child welfare practitioners with or working towards a social work qualification and those completing statutory child protection investigations, whatever their qualifications.
39 studies met the criteria for review. Themes were identified iteratively and synthesised using a narrative method.
What did the research find?
The review found evidence that high caseloads and work-related stress might result in neglect receiving lower priority for intervention The threshold for statutory intervention also appears to be influenced by the availability of non-statutory support services.
Why is this important?
These findings suggest that greater investment in services, particularly early intervention may help children experiencing neglect receive sufficient, timely and proportionate support. We also found that practitioners find it challenging to evidence neglect and this can result in delays intervening, suggesting that practitioners may benefit from training and support in court skills.
There are also implications for research into child neglect. Many studies measuring the incidence of neglect use worker substantiation as an indicator but our findings suggest that there may be variation in how this threshold is applied.
If individual and organisational characteristics may create variety in thresholds for neglect, qualitative research may benefit from purposely sampling a diverse range of these characteristics.
Meanwhile quantitative studies may need to measure and control for these to ensure that they do not confound research into the impact of other variables
Recommendations for policy and practice
The findings suggest that greater investment in services, particularly early intervention may help children experiencing neglect receive sufficient, timely and proportionate support.
Given the evidence that practitioners find it challenging to evidence neglect and this can result in delays intervening, practitioners may benefit from training and support in court skills.
What happens next?
Findings were used to develop in-house training for social workers at one of the authors’ places of work. They were also discussed in practitioner research forums.
The authors of this work include practicing social workers and experts-by-experience in children’s social care as well as academics.
Find out more
Email jenny.gibbs@newcastle.ac.uk
Read the full research paper
Sage Journals: Trauma Violence and Abuse, March 2025
Funding
This work was largely completed in the author’s own unfunded time. However, finishing touches were supported by a National institute of Health Research (NIHR) Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Social Care Fellowship.