How to assess a parents capacity to change

Relational Activism in Social Work

The podcast focuses on two main themes: assessing capacity to change in social work and a parent’s personal journey through the child protection system.

Part 1: Assessing Capacity to Change

Rich Devine shares insights from his 14 years in social work, focusing on the challenges of evaluating a parent’s capacity to change within child protection contexts.

1. Challenges in Assessing Change:

2. A Framework for Assessing Capacity to Change:

Part 2: A Parent’s Perspective – Lee’s Story

Lee Crouch shares his personal journey of transformation from losing custody of his children to their eventual reunification.

1. The Initial Crisis:

• Struggled with substance misuse, unresolved grief, and anger, which led to the removal of his children.

• Court proceedings felt dismissive of his early efforts to change, compounding frustration.
2. The Turning Point:

• A program with SWIFT (a support service) helped Lee learn to process emotions, manage anger, and face his struggles directly.

• “Talking” became a key tool for change, allowing him to release emotions constructively and improve relationships.

3. Rebuilding Trust and Contact:

• Despite resistance from the local authority, Lee and his partner advocated for increased contact with their children.

• Over time, consistent effort and collaboration with foster carers and social workers led to more contact and eventually reunification.

4. Lessons Learned:

• Lee emphasizes the importance of addressing root causes (e.g., addiction, grief) rather than merely imposing parenting courses.

• He advocates for a supportive network for parents in similar situations and stresses the need for proactive interventions before crises escalate.

The episode concludes with reflections on embracing the present moment, acknowledging the constant potential for change and growth in the “now.”

We hope you enjoyed this episode, please do contact us and share your reflections. If you have any questions or topics you would like us to explore, do get in touch:
Links:
Relational Activism: https://www.relationalactivism.com/
Rich's BASW Child Protection sessions: https://basw.co.uk/social-work-child-protection-professional-practice-programme
Rich Devine's blog: https://richarddevinesocialwork.com/about/
Tim Fisher LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/timfisher101/
Rich Devine LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-devine-181763177/