Social Work and Irish People in Britain Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- one Fleeing Ireland: social exclusion and the flight of Irish ‘unmarried mothers’ to England in the 1950s and 1960s
- two Responses in Britain to the PFIs: the repatriation of ‘unmarried mothers’ to Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s
- three The ‘daring experiment’: London County Council and the discharge from care of children to Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s
- four ‘Race’, ethnicity and Irish ‘invisibility’
- five Social services departments and Irish children and families in the early 21st century
- six ‘Maximising things for your community’: the views of social workers
- Conclusion
- References
- Appendix A Information derived from the Department of Health ‘Children in Need’ (CIN) survey, September-October 2001
- Appendix B Statistical responses to the questionnaire mailed to social services departments in England and Wales
- Index
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five - Social services departments and Irish children and families in the early 21st century
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- Acknowledgements
- Dedication
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- one Fleeing Ireland: social exclusion and the flight of Irish ‘unmarried mothers’ to England in the 1950s and 1960s
- two Responses in Britain to the PFIs: the repatriation of ‘unmarried mothers’ to Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s
- three The ‘daring experiment’: London County Council and the discharge from care of children to Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s
- four ‘Race’, ethnicity and Irish ‘invisibility’
- five Social services departments and Irish children and families in the early 21st century
- six ‘Maximising things for your community’: the views of social workers
- Conclusion
- References
- Appendix A Information derived from the Department of Health ‘Children in Need’ (CIN) survey, September-October 2001
- Appendix B Statistical responses to the questionnaire mailed to social services departments in England and Wales
- Index
- To order further copies of this publication or any other Policy Press titles please contact:
Summary
So far, this book has investigated social work's historical responses to Irish ‘unmarried mothers’ and children in Britain and gone on to look at how today's dominant conceptualisation of ‘race’ and ethnicity has tended to omit an Irish dimension. In a contemporary context, however, it is clearly important to try to find out how social services departments (SSDs) are responding to Irish children and families. Indeed, to generate a more appropriate response it is important to try to ascertain what the current approach is in terms of social work practice in the various SSDs throughout England and Wales.
In what follows, the chief research instrument was a questionnaire, which was completed by SSD directors or delegated officers within their organisations. The support of the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS) was obtained in July 2001 in order for the questionnaire to be distributed among its members and it was agreed that no specific SSD would be identified in any research that was subsequently published. Initially, a pilot exercise was undertaken and a draft version of the questionnaire was mailed to five directors in geographically and demographically diverse areas of England and Wales. This included an authority in Wales, London, the Midlands, and in north-west and south-west England. Having obtained their views on the content of the questionnaire and the process of completing it, minor amendments were made. It was then mailed to the directors of SSDs in England and Wales in January 2002.
All SSDs who were are members of the ADSS network were mailed, excluding those in Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Man. That is to say, 171 SSD directors were sent a copy of the questionnaire. Seventy-five (44%) mailed it back. Using the regional structure adhered to by ADSS, it is also possible to identify those areas represented as providers of data in this chapter. For example, almost a quarter of questionnaires returned were from the Greater London region. The full regional breakdown of returned questionnaires was as follows:
North – 12%;
Yorkshire and Humberside – 5%;
North West – 14%;
East Midlands – 5%;
West Midlands – 8%;
East – 10%;
Greater London – 22%;
South East – 10%;
South West – 4%;
Wales – 10%.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Social Work and Irish People in BritainHistorical and Contemporary Responses to Irish Children and Families, pp. 89 - 108Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2004