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This paper analyses social workers' moral agency in addressing child abuse and neglect. We argue that ethically sound social work requires the capacity to exercise strong, multidimensional moral agency. The contribution is based on a qualitative interpretative meta-synthesis of four studies representing different forms of child abuse and neglect in varied contexts. Drawing on our analysis, we identify three thematic categories of moral considerations in terms of social workers' moral work in addressing child abuse and neglect: genders and generations, agencies and responsibilities, and families and communities. We then proceed to posit four dimensions of moral work in child and family social work – individual; cultural and communal; societal and political; and global – and argue that if they are to exercise strong moral agency, social workers must negotiate these intersecting contextual dimensions. Recognising the salience of these dimensions, how they increasingly intersect, and what this demands of social workers is necessary for the profession. Social workers must embrace individually sensitive, culturally translative, politically engaged and globally aware moral agency. This is crucial in elaborating context-sensitive practice that critically engages with moral complexities when working with individuals, families and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical research with social workers exploring their understandings and use of codes or ethical theories in practice remain underdeveloped in the UK. This article, based on the British Association of Social Work commissioned Enquiry into the role of the social worker in adoption with a focus on ethics and human rights, provides an important contribution in this context. The Enquiry engaged with a range of stakeholders and explored their perspectives on the adoption process, but the primary focus of this article is on how ethics were understood and discussed by social workers. One hundred and five social workers participated in the Enquiry through questionnaires, interviews and group discussions, and a thematic analysis of their data revealed important findings. For example, the social workers made no explicit reference to codes of ethics or specific ethical theories. However, some of the themes that emerge from the analysis support discussions in what is now a substantial international literature on the importance of recognising 'ethics work' by social workers (Banks, 2016). Weinberg's (2009) explorations of moral distress and ethical trespass are also important and underdeveloped concepts that resonate with themes from the Enquiry and could support more ethically enquiring cultures within organisations and more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article an autoethnographic approach is used to explore the author’s work with families living in poverty who are involved in the child protection and family court systems. The psychological and social impacts of poverty and structural inequalities on families are highlighted through case studies, as is the influence of wider policy and political contexts on social work practice with children and families. The capability approach developed by Amartya Sen is outlined and its relevance to social work practice discussed. The article concludes that the capability approach, particularly when complemented by the work of Nancy Fraser, offers possibilities for the development of critical social work practice with families living in poverty within a human rights and social justice framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The family courts in England and Wales are being significantly reformed in line with the coalition government's aim to speed up the process and increase the numbers of children being adopted from care. In September 2013, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment, Re B‐S (Children) [2013] EWCA Civ 1146, that has wide‐ranging implications for professional practice and decision making in care proceedings. The judgment challenges the policy direction and provides guidance about what is required before courts can make orders separating children from their birth families, particularly in cases of non‐consensual adoption. In this paper, we outline the changes occurring in the family justice system, some key elements of Re B‐S, and examine the challenges for implementing practice consistent with the requirements of Re B‐S. It is argued that the standards set by Re B‐S are unlikely to be fully implemented without much further attention to the complexities posed by the policy and practice context of social work with children and their families involved in care proceedings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]