The descriptive tyranny of the common assessment framework: Technologies of categorization and professional practice in child Welfare

British Journal of Social Work

Volumn 39, Issue 7, 2009, Pages 1197-1217

  White, Sue ^a   Hall, Chris ^b   Peckover, Sue ^c  

^a LANCASTER UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD   (United Kingdom)

^c NONE

Author keywords

Assessment; Common language; Ethnography; Every child matters

Indexed keywords

EID: 70350521113     PISSN: 00453102     EISSN: 1468263X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bcn053     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. Aas, K. (2004) 'From narrative to database: Technological change and penal culture', Punishment and Society, 6(4), pp. 379-393
2. Aas, K. (2005) Sentencing in the Age of Information: From Faust to Macintosh, London, Glasshouse Press.
3. Billig, M. (1985) 'Prejudice, categorization and particularization: From a perceptual to a rhetorical approach', European Journal of Social Psychology, 15, pp. 79-103.
4. Bowker, G. C. and Starr, S. L. (2000) Sorting Things Out: Classification and its Consequences, New Baskerville, MIT Press.
5. Brandon, M., Howe, A., Dagley, V., Salter, C., Warren, C. and Black, J. (2006) Evaluating the Common Assessment Framework and Lead Professional Guidance and Implementation in 2005-2006, London, DfSE.
6. Brook (2005) 'Protecting young people's right to confidential services: Responding to the consultation on information sharing databases', available online at www.brook.org. uk/content/M6-1-6-informationsharing.asp
7. Carvel, J. (2004) 'All eyes on the child', The Guardian, 19 May, pp. 2-3.
8. Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2003) Every Child Matters, Cmnd 5860, London, The Stationery Office.
9. Cleaver, H., Barnes, J., Bliss, D. and Cleaver, D. (2004) Developing Information Sharing and Assessment Systems, Research Report RR597, London, DfES.
10. Commission for Social Care Inspection (2005) North Somerset Fostering Agency: Inspection Report, London, CSCI.
11. De Fina, A. (2003) Identity in Narrative: A Study in Immigrant Discourse, Amsterdam, John Benjamins.
12. Department for Children, Schools and Families (2007) 'ContactPoint: Q and A', available online at www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/-files/ContactPointQandA. pdf.
13. Department of Education and Skills (2007) 'Every Child Matters, Change for Children, Common Assessment Framework', available online at http://www.everychildmatters. gov.uk/deliveringservices/caf/.
14. Department of Health (2000) Framework for Assessment of Children and Need and their Families, London, The Stationery Office.
15. Dow, J. (2005) 'Information-sharing databases under the Children Act 2004', Journal of Intergrated Care, 13(5), pp. 31-34
16. Dowty, T. (2006) Children's Databases: Paper to Presented to 'Children: Over Surveilled, Under Protected' Conference, London School of Economics, 27 June 2005, available online at http://childrenoversurveilled.lse.ac.uk/docs/ DatabaseHandout.pdf
17. Earl of Northesk (2004) House of Lords Official Report, 24 May, col. 1156.
18. Education and Skills Select Committee (2005) Every Child Matters, Ninth Report, Vol.1, London, The Stationery Office.
19. Erickson, F. (2004) Talk and Social Theory: Ecologies of Speaking and Listening in Everyday Life, Cambridge, Polity Press.
20. Garrett, P. M. (2004) 'The electronic eye: Emerging surveillance practices in social work with children and families', European Journal of Social Work, 7(1), pp. 57-71.
21. Garrett, P. M. (2005a) 'New Labour's new electronic "telephone directory": The Children Act 2004 and plans for databases on all children in England and Wales', Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 12(1), pp. 5-21.
22. Garrett, P. M. (2005b) 'Social work's "electronic turn": Notes on the deployment of information and communication technologies in social work with children and families', Critical Social Policy, 25(4), pp. 529-553
23. Gubrium, J. F. and Holstein, J. (1998) 'Narrative practice and the coherence of personal stories', Sociological Quarterly, 39(1), pp. 163-183
24. Gubrium, J. F., Buckholdt, D. R. and Lynott, R. J. (1989) 'The descriptive tyranny of forms', Perspectives on Social Problems, 1, pp. 195-214.
25. Hall, C. (1997) Social Work as Narrative, Aldershot, Ashgate.
26. Hall, C., Slembrouck, S. and Sarangi, S. (2006) Language Practices in Social Work: Categorization and Accountability in Child Welfare, London, Routledge.
27. Hudson, B. (2005) 'Information sharing and children's services reform in England: Can legislation change practice?', Journal of Interprofessional Care, 19(6), pp. 537-546
28. Hudson, J. (2002) 'Digitising the structure of government: The UK's information age government agenda', Policy and Politics, 30, pp. 515-531
29. Information Commissioner (2005) Memorandum to the Education and Skills Select Committee in Respect of the Committee's Enquiry into Every Child Matters, available online at www.ico.gov.uk
30. Laming, H. (2003) The Victoria Climbié Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry Presented by the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for the Home Department by Command of Her Majesty January 2003, Cm 5730, Norwich, TSO.
31. Lash, S. (2002) Critique of Information, London, Sage.
32. Manovich, L. (2001) The Language of New Media, London, MIT Press.
33. Munro, E. (2005) 'What tools do we need to improve identification of child abuse?', Child Abuse Review, 14(6), pp. 374-388
34. Payne, L. (2004) 'Information Sharing and Assessment (ISA): Can data management reduce risk?', Children and Society, 18(5), pp. 383-386
35. Peckover, S., Hall, C. and White, S. (forthcoming) 'From policy and practice: The implementation and negotiation of technologies in everyday child welfare', Children and Society.
36. Penna, S. (2005) 'The Children Act: Child protection and social surveillance', Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 27(2), pp. 143-157.
37. Pithouse, A. and Atkinson, P. (1988) 'Telling the case: Occupational narrative in a social work office', in Coupland, N. (ed.), Styles of Discourse, Beckenham, Croom Helm.
38. Reder, P. and Duncan, S. (2003) 'Understanding communication in child protection networks', Child Abuse Review, 12, pp. 82-100.
39. Reder, P. and Duncan, S. (2004) 'Making the most of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report', Child Abuse Review, 13(2), pp. 95-115.
40. Serres, M. (2007) Parasite, Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.
41. Warren House Group, Dartington Social Research Unit (2004) Towards a Common Language for Children in Need, available online at www.whg.org.uk/ commonlanguage/ index2.html
42. White, H. (1980) 'The value of narrativity in the representation of reality', Critical Inquiry, 7, pp. 5-27.
43. White, S. (1998) 'Examining the artfulness of risk talk', in Jokinen, A., Juhila, K. and Poso, T. (eds), Constructing Social Work Practices, Aldershot, Ashgate.
44. White, S. (2002) 'Accomplishing the case in paediatrics and child health: Medicine and morality in interprofessional talk', Sociology of Health and Illness, 24(4), pp. 409-435
45. White, S. (2003) 'The social worker as moral judge: Blame, responsibility and case formulation', in Hall, C., Juhila, K., Parton, N. and Poso, T. (eds), Constructing Clienthood in Social Work and Human Services, London, Jessica Kingsley.
46. White, S. and Featherstone, B. (2005) 'Communicating misunderstandings: Multi-agency work as social practice', Child and Family Social Work, 10, pp. 207-216
47. Williams, F. (2004) 'What matters is who works: Why every child matters to New Labour: Commentary on the DfES Green Paper Every Child Matters', Critical Social Policy, 24(3), pp. 406-427