Valuing Diversity

Chapter 3: Delivering Services

Providing Information and Advice

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Guidance states that: "Information should be ...... available in languages other than English and in content should reflect the needs and concerns of different local cultural and religious communities." (1).

a. Leaflets and videos: Many agencies now produce bilingual or multilingual leaflets explaining services, and some have produced videos. The Immigration Advisory Service (2) provides a video available in 14 different languages about immigration and asylum issues. A Tayside/Dundee Social Work Department booklet contains information about social work services in six minority ethnic languages. Their video "Services for You" is available in Urdu and Cantonese. Translations for specific initiatives are also available. Information regarding the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 should also be translated for children and caregivers. Home Start UK have produced a useful booklet for parents called "What is the Children Act?" (3). The receipt of bilingual or multilingual information may lead potential service users to expect that a service will also be immediately available to them in their own language. Where this is not the case, it is helpful to advise them of this and suggest that an English speaking relative or friend approaches the agency with them or on their behalf.

The location of bilingual or multi-lingual leaflets and booklets is important. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Guidance suggests that, "information should be made available in a variety of public places used by children and their families including GP surgeries, children's hearing centres, hospital outpatients departments and clinics, schools, libraries, community centres, nurseries, citizens advice bureaux and law centres, Benefits Agencies, and places of worship where appropriate. There may be a need to target particular settings to reach .......... particular communities" (4).

Where children are subject of a child protection investigation and/or are likely to become looked after, they and their families should receive written information to help them make sense of what is happening and know what action they can take. Guidance on the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 states that "provision of written as well as verbal information at every stage of the looking after process is required ... It may need to be translated into another language ... or an interpreter may be needed". (5)

b. Information and advice services: Some family support organisations run information and advice drop in services. Bilingual staff are available to give information and advice on housing, welfare benefits, immigration, schools, nurseries, play groups and health. Some organisations run information giving sessions where professionals talk to Asian or other black and minority groups, particularly groups of women.

c. Collaboration: Establishing links with a community requires detailed knowledge of what is going on locally, and their formal and informal networks. Collaboration between social work departments and voluntary agencies with such links is particularly important when working with black and minority ethnic children and families.

The NCH Action for Children San Jai Chinese Project has produced an information leaflet which outlines ways in which they work with social work departments. These include:-

setting up initial meeting arrangements to accommodate Chinese users, social workers and San Jai staff; providing bilingual support and advocacy for Chinese users of social work services; attendance and support for Chinese users at children's panels, case conferences, meetings and reviews; representation and advocacy on behalf of Chinese individuals and families; educational resource/consultancy to social workers, providing background cultural information.

The Youth Counselling Service Agency in Glasgow and a local social work office have jointly drawn up "A Paper of Understanding" in a commitment to achieving ethnically and culturally appropriate services. This includes establishing joint packages of care to maintain young people within their community, joint training, and monitoring of services.

Interpreting and Translation Services

It is crucial that interpreting and translating services are readily available to practitioners. It is not uncommon for children or relatives to be used because no other resources are available. This is an unacceptable solution. For instance, a woman who has been assaulted by her husband and is seeking refuge may not wish her relatives to know.

It may be helpful for managers to contract a service agreement with an appropriate agency with sufficient resources earmarked to pay for these services. Staff and interpreters will benefit from training together to learn about the complexities of each other's work. The main interpretation and translation agencies in Scotland are listed in chapter 5.

Access, Referral, Assessment and Planning

Improving Access to Services

Where services are offered within an unfamiliar cultural setting, access to services may be an issue. Consider:

The criteria families need to meet in order to obtain a service. Do the criteria inadvertently exclude black and minority ethnic families? How services can be adapted to meet such families' needs. For example, the Orchard is an inter-agency initiative, providing day care and residential services for children with learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities in the North of Scotland. Dietary, religious and cultural requirements are discussed with all parents. There are staff who speak Gaelic, and they have also established a befriending network between black and minority ethnic children and local college students. Fear of Racism. MELDI (Minority Ethnic Learning Disability Initiative) highlighted a general reluctance by carers to use public transport in the evenings. MELDI was able to secure funding to provide transport which raised attendance at the carers' groups substantially. Respecting cultural practices. Examples might be a need to organise single gender groups or for joint women and children services.

Referrals

All referral forms should have a section to complete concerning ethnicity and religion, with a view to collating accurate statistics on the take up of services. The extent of completion should be monitored and, if a problem is discovered, a review undertaken. The workers completing the forms may not know why it is important for such information to be recorded or they may understand the importance but be unsure how to ask for it. A "script" may be helpful, with suggested ways of asking for information and responding to questions which this evokes, eg Question: "How would you describe your ethnic background?" Response: "Why do you want to know that?" Reply: "We try to offer an equal service to all the different communities who live in our area".

The Barnardos Khandan initiative in Edinburgh is committed to "same race" placements. It uses a detailed and useful referral form for children coming into foster care, with information requested on:

nationality and race; languages spoken at home; religion and current practice; the child's natural and extended family, their racial and cultural origins, experience of racism, and the role of religion in their lives; the child's view of his/her own identity and any identity confusion, experience of racism and quality of contact with culture/community.

Recording of names is important. Different cultures use different structures for names. It is important not to assume that all fit within the indigenous structure ie a personal name followed by a surname. If in doubt, it is usually best to ask which is the family name. There may be variations in terms of how black and minority ethnic people choose to identify themselves. Some may have changed their name to accommodate the majority culture. People should be given the freedom to identify themselves as they choose, although it can be important, for instance if a police reference is to be sought, to check whether a name is the person's given name or one he or she has chosen to use.

Assessment and Planning

Increasing understanding

An assessment and planning process involves gathering "sufficient information to enable a judgement to be made about those aspects of the child's health, welfare or development that require some help, and what services, if any, the (local authority) should provide." (6) It is impossible to make accurate judgements about a child's needs without considering racial origin and cultural background. It is particularly important in cross-cultural assessment work "to try to understand the experience of another. It is necessary to dismantle the world as seen from one's own place within it, and to reassemble it as seen from his, or other." (7) The more you can understand the importance and effects of your own culture and ethnicity, the more you can begin to appreciate another person's experience. Training may help this process.

Every culture has a broad consensus about social norms. Without knowledge of these varied social norms, cultural stereotypes can develop where black and minority ethnic families are considered to be strange, deficient or inferior. Information on aspects of different cultures and religions is available in a number of publications (8). For instance, a useful article by Singh highlights differences between Asian and white western culture in the understanding of marriage, the place of religion in society and a different balance between self/individualism and the family and community (9). Such articles provide a useful starting point for raising awareness but they should not be used in a prescriptive way. It is important to discover individual families' beliefs and practices.

Knowing how to raise questions

Practitioners may feel awkward about raising the subject of religion, ethnicity, culture and language. The need to inquire about heritage may be mistakenly seen as necessary only when working with children and families from a black and minority ethnic background and be seen as singling people out. There may be an anxiety about saying "the wrong thing" and inadvertently causing offence.

In spite of these potential pitfalls it is essential that practitioners understand the importance of such information and discover ways of collecting it sensitively and effectively. Plan in advance open, non-threatening questions, such as "Can you tell me more about your religious background?" followed by "which particular aspects of your religion are important to you and your family or are they all equally important?" Explore general issues about religious beliefs and practices then address the specific issues of how this might affect service provision, for instance issues of diet, dress and how religious festivals might be celebrated in a family centre.

If necessary, admitting ignorance and expressing a desire to learn will show the service user that their views and needs will be taken into consideration.

Assessing strengths

"An assessment should focus on a family's strengths and skills as well as weaknesses". (10)

It is important not only to recognise difference but to appreciate some of the positive aspects of difference. A useful exercise is to find out as much information as possible about a minority ethnic culture, for example, the role of extended families or arranged marriages, and then list some of the possible advantages. Customs and practices which you personally might find restrictive can be a source of strength and fulfilment to individuals brought up in a different culture.

Assessing the effects of racism

Many families are resilient in the face of racism and develop ways of managing and coping which preserve their positive sense of identity and self esteem. For other families, however, racism can be one of a range of problems with which they are struggling. It may be the main cause or a contributory factor in their need for services. It may also affect their willingness to confide in or trust you or your agency.

Working collaboratively

Community based family support services, often run by voluntary agencies, may offer services which can assist an assessment, for example, setting up an initial meeting in familiar surroundings and providing bilingual support and advocacy. Different expectations can lead to tensions between agencies, so agree in advance criteria for referrals and ways of working together.

Assessment and planning in child protection cases

Written policies can help guide practitioners. For example the London Borough of Islington's guidelines on sexual abuse explicitly seek to address issues for black and minority ethnic children and families:

"Child sexual abuse happens in all cultures and all children have a right to be protected. Cultural differences must not be used as a reason for non-intervention but workers should not ignore family and community networks as a source of protection.

Workers should be sensitive to the many differing factors which may need to be taken into consideration, depending on a child's racial or cultural background.

For example:

it may be more difficult for a black child to disclose to representatives of white authority that s/he has been abused - the consequences for the family will be different than for a white family; it may be that the child has internalised racism or the negative cultural stereotypes in a way that makes her/him feel that s/he has been abused because of her colour/religion etc; religious and cultural beliefs may exacerbate feelings of shame and guilt; it may be less easy for a mother to protect her child in some cultures than in others, depending on the power position of women within their culture; it may be that the consequences of disclosing within a particular culture are that the abused child will never be accepted back into her/his community; it may be that workers will need to consult with appropriate ethnic minority colleagues and/or the ethnic minority specialist workers on these issues."

Case Example 5

Rana Ali, aged 13, has alleged assault by her father. She has sustained some minor bruising to her face. Rana, who is refusing to return home, is made subject of a child protection order, following an interview with her father. In the social worker's opinion, Mr Ali appears violent and over emotional and he admits having hit Rana. Originally from Pakistan, he came to Scotland in the early 1960s. He expresses the view that Rana is running wild, mixing with boys and "spending too much time with white folk". Rana is happy to have been placed with white foster carers and wants to stay there. Her parents are threatening to take her back to Pakistan. The social worker involved is a white female. She was refused access to speak with the mother.

Consider:

What are Rana's rights? What are the parents' rights and responsibilities? What differences in culture between the family and practitioner may give rise to misunderstanding of parental actions and attitudes? How should the practitioner assess the ongoing level of risk to Rana? How should the practitioner assess the impact of racism on the family? What difference, if any, might a black or minority ethnic practitioner make? What should be contained in the care plan for Rana? How could the practitioner plan to meet the ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic needs of Rana?

Case Example 6

Mr and Mrs Y and their five children are living on a roadside camp on the outskirts of Hilltown. Their two month old baby has a severe medical condition which requires frequent hospitalisation. There are also concerns about possible neglect of the child; these relate to the cold temperature and dampness in the caravan and the possible over dilution of feeds. The child was born in Hilltown Hospital and the family wish to maintain contact with the medical staff because of their knowledge of the child and his condition.

The council has only one traveller site which is presently full, with no sign of a vacancy arising. The council has not achieved the pitch target required for the area. There are a number of other caravan sites in the vicinity, but they do not allow children on site or theyonly rent out static caravans. The family do not wish to consider council housing as they previously lived in a house for two years and found the experience difficult. The policehave visited the roadside and indicated the family will be charged if they do not move.

Consider:

What duties does the local authority (housing and social work) have? What can be done to improve the situation? What rights do the children have? What rights and responsibilities do the parents have? What sort of work should there be with other agencies? In what ways can regard be had to the child's religious persuasion, racial origins, and cultural and linguistic background?

Assessment and Planning where Children are Looked After by the Local Authority or Placed for Adoption

A systematic assessment will be necessary which should include how the child's racial, religious, cultural and linguistic needs will be addressed whether placed at home, in foster care, in residential care or with adoptive parents.

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Guidance states that "A child's needs are most likely to be fully met in a family that matches his or her racial, religious, cultural and linguistic background. Children should be placed in foster homes which can address their identified needs and which provide a familiar way of life, behaviour, attitudes, expectations, religious practices, language, food and cultural activities." (11) Where, in exceptional circumstances, it is not possible to provide a "same race" placement the guidance states that "it is essential that both foster carers and social worker have, or are willing to obtain, knowledge and understanding of the child's heritage and that they are prepared to help the child maintain his or her heritage." (12) This also applies for children who are placed for adoption.

Barnardos policy (13) identifies exceptional circumstances as follows:

Where taking account of the child's or young person's view ... and after counselling and appropriate input of identity work ... the result is a specific preferred transracial placement. Where the child or young person requiring placement wishes to join his/her sibling who is already placed and, on balance, this preference has greater weight and is consistent with the child's or young person's overall needs and wishes. Where a child or young person has already made a crucially important relationship with a potential or actual adoptive parent or foster carer who does not share the race, culture, religion or language of the child. Where strenuous efforts to achieve a placement reflecting the child's race, culture, religion or language have not succeeded in full or in part.

It may not always be possible to find an ideal solution to a particular need. For instance, if a child from the only minority ethnic family on an island is accommodated by a local authority, contact with the parents is likely to be very important, which will mean a transracial placement on the island. It is important to arrive at the best possible solution to meet the needs of the child, and to provide additional information and support for the residential or foster carers and the child.

'Same race' placement policies are of little value unless they are accompanied by a determination on the part of the social work agency to recruit and retain a diverse range of placements (14). Some local authorities and voluntary agencies are building up a depth of experience in this area of work and they are normally willing to share their experience and expertise. The following are broad guidelines:

Publicity and recruitment

Many black and minority ethnic families are not aware of the need for foster carers and adopters. Articles in appropriate newspapers and newsletters and speakers at community meetings can help raise awareness. In a specific campaign:-

Advertise in appropriate places and languages, with posters in Asian, African-Caribbean and Chinese shops, leave leaflets at religious and community centres, festivals, doctors surgeries and health clinics, make contact with local community organisations and place advertisements in black or minority ethnic newspapers and radio stations. Hold information meeting in buildings which are familiar to the community. Hold meetings at times convenient to local families. Find out what barriers exist to attendance eg the need for child care and provide services to overcome these. Conduct the meeting in relevant community languages either by using practitioners from the same community or by providing interpreters.

Although single campaigns can be successful, their success is unlikely to be sustained over time. There should be a black and minority ethnic component to all recruitment campaigns.

There may also be a need to develop family finding strategies for a particular black or minority ethnic child. For instance, one local authority successfully sought a placement for a Caribbean child needing Caribbean adopters by:

Consulting with a black and minority ethnic practitioner involved in the field of adoption. Advertising information about the child in a number of publications eg Be My Parent and Adoption UK. Networking with the local Caribbean centre, agencies working with black and minority ethnic people, local shops and an African hairdresser.

Fifteen enquiries were received and the child was successfully placed.

Assessment, approval and support of foster carers and adopters

Managers and practitioners need to consider whether their current assessment methods may disadvantage black and minority ethnic applicants. In a "colour blind" approach, the effects of racism on the family are unlikely to have been assessed, the importance of religion may have been overlooked and the role of the extended family may not have been explored (15). It is important that members of adoption and fostering panels receive race awareness training and that attitudes are explored in their appointment interviews. Wherever possible, panels should appoint appropriately qualified or experienced black or minority ethnic members, who will provide relevant expertise and help applicants feel more comfortable.

Once applicants have been approved, consider their need for support. Do not overburden new carers with particularly difficult children just because they come from the same ethnic background. Training will be crucial. Almas' article (16) is helpful on this issue.

Placement in residential care

Most of the residential homes and schools in Scotland have all white staff groups and a very high majority of white residents. The potential for racist bullying and abuse is high within groups of young people who all have difficulty in their lives. Where there is no choice but to place a child in an all or mainly white environment, issues such as the willingness of staff to find out about and meet the child's needs and their commitment to challenging racism will be critical. Whenever practicable, take the views of the child and parents into consideration.

Residential placements can seem very threatening to families who may fear that their children will learn habits and behaviours unacceptable to their community. To increase both parents and young people's confidence, staff need to offer:

A flexible approach to maintaining contact with family members. This may involve arranging for visits and reviews to take place in more accessible and familiar places; identifying the need for interpreters; and giving consideration to other ways of working eg outreach work within the black and minority ethnic communities Help so that the child can maintain contact with his or her community, for example, by encouraging attendance at local community based youth groups or language classes. Consultation with a black or minority ethnic worker and, in the longer term, recruiting and retaining black and minority ethnic workers in residential care. Policies which challenge racism.

The materials developed by Heartstone (see chapter 5), although they have mainly been used in schools, might be helpful in addressing issues of racism with children and young people in residential care. Racism should be addressed whenever it occurs, not just when there is a black or minority ethnic young person in residence.

Looking after Black Children of Mixed Parentage

Assessing the needs of black children of mixed parentage can be complex for a number of reasons. They may identify themselves as white, black, of mixed parentage or even "half caste". In a survey undertaken by the Early Years Trainers' Anti-Racist Network (17), a number of grandparents, parents and young people of black mixed parentage were asked to talk about their experiences. Some clearly identified themselves as black, others did not, preferring to be called mixed race or mixed heritage. Respect the child's own definition but at the same time, assess whether or not children have an understanding of their heritage from both birth parents and the impact of racism on their lives. Whilst children may view themselves as white, society is likely to treat them as black.

The principle that a child's needs are most likely to be fully met in a family that matches his or her racial, religious, cultural and linguistic background applies to black children of mixed parentage. The ideal situation would be to provide a family where the parents are of similar backgrounds to the child's parents, able to offer a positive role model of managing a bicultural heritage.

Where this is not possible, assess whether the child should be placed with black and minority ethnic foster carers offering contact with the black community and help in managing racism or for clearly assessed and recorded reasons the child should be placed with white carers. In these circumstances it is essential to set up links with both the child's communities of origin.

As part of the Khandan initiative, a befriending scheme has been established for transculturally placed children. Contact with Asian families is planned on a regular basis for Asian children placed transculturally with little or no contact with their own culture.

Case Example 7

Mark is a nine year old black child with a Nigerian father and a white Scottish mother.

His father left the family home some years ago and is not in contact. Mark is becoming increasingly difficult to manage and is currently staying with his maternal grandparents as his mother is unable to cope. He is experiencing difficulties at school and the head teacher's opinion is that Mark is a "trouble maker". Mark insists that he is being bullied by a group of boys at the school because of his colour. His grandparents have now contacted the social work department, asking them to look after Mark. In discussion, it transpires that the grandparents refer to Mark as "half-caste" and have called him a "black bastard" when angry with him.

Consider:

How might you assess Mark's experience of racism and its impact on him? How would you negotiate with the school with respect to Mark's allegations of racial bullying? How would you help Mark develop strategies for dealing with racial abuse? What potential advantages might a black worker have in this situation? If Mark needs to be accommodated what kind of placement would you try to find? If this was not available, how might you compensate for any perceived deficits in meeting Mark's needs? How would you work with Mark's mother and grandparents concerning their attitudes to his ethnic heritage?

Religious Persuasion

Where a young person chooses a religious persuasion which conflicts with that of their parents or rejects religion altogether, workers and carers need to consider the context and possible effects:

Is it a genuine conversion or an adolescent protest? Is it a consequence of internalised racism? Has the child been inappropriately influenced by a worker, carer or peer of a different faith? What effects will rejection of their beliefs have on the child's relationships with family and community?

Black and minority ethnic families are more likely than the indigenous population to see religion as a very important part of their lives. Rejection by a young person of their family's religious persuasion can be a very serious step with both immediate and long term damaging consequences. Adolescents often live for the moment, and staff and carers need to maintain a longer term perspective on their behalf. For instance, a young woman from a Muslim family who is rejecting her religion and culture may say she wishes to live with white foster carers. Her social worker, fearful of the possible long term alienation or rejection from her family and community, might decide that it is in her best interests to be placed in a Muslim foster family, which is prepared to allow her some leeway concerning her religious and cultural activities.

Care Planning and Reviews

The Arrangements to Look After Children (Scotland) Regulations 1996 state that where a child is looked after by a local authority, it should draw up a written care plan for the child which addresses immediate and longer term needs (18). It must, if placing the child away from home, obtain and record in writing information concerning nationality, race, religion and language. In the case of any child looked after, either at home or away from home, it must take account of all information available on racial origin, religion, and cultural and linguistic background before making any decisions concerning the child.

These issues should be considered again when the care plan is reviewed. For instance:

Has the child been able to discover and express views about his or her ethnicity or cultural background? Is the child in touch with his or her community or cultural or racial heritage? If not, what plans are there to keep the child in touch? Is the child helped to develop a sense of belonging to his or her own culture? Have staff or carers received relevant help and guidance? Should outside organisations and individuals be involved in planning for the child's future? (19)

The "Looking After Children: Good Parenting, Good Outcomes" materials provide care plans and review formats which address these issues. (20)

Service Provision - Some Practical Considerations

Sensitising social work service provision to the racial, cultural, religious and linguistic needs of children involves a number of practical considerations. These include:

The Need for Multicultural Play, Reading and Display Materials in order to:

provide an environment in which a child is comfortable; promote positive black and minority ethnic images and role models; provide visual illustration which promotes discussion of issues of difference; ethnicity, culture, religion and language; assist in discussion of issues concerning identity.

A day care service might consider obtaining materials such as wall charts with translation of words like "hello" or numbers into other languages, posters with black and minority ethnic children as well as white children featured in them, a calendar of religious festivals, black and minority ethnic dolls and books, and other ethnic play materials such as woks. Save the Children have developed a useful early years resource pack called "Playing in Harmony". A social work area office should obtain similar materials both for waiting and interview areas and for direct work with children. Whenever possible, books used in direct work should include black and minority ethnic characters as well as white characters. Residential homes caring for older children should also include multicultural CDs, tapes, videos with black or ethnic minority characters, and magazines. (21) An audit of resources can identify materials which are needed and also inappropriate resources such as racist books.

Even in rural and island areas of Scotland, resources provided for children should reflect the multicultural nature of society irrespective of whether or not black and minority ethnic children are present. It is important that white children should be aware of the multi-cultural nature of society as well as services being able to meet the needs of individual black and minority ethnic children who may require a service.

The Need for Choice of Diet

The former Tayside Region Social Work Department resolved the issue of providing an acceptable diet for children attending local centres by providing a vegetarian menu produced in consultation with parents, and the opportunity for parents to advise on stockists (eg Halal butchers) and oversee the cooking of ethnic dishes. Links with the local black and minority ethnic lunch clubs have resulted in Asian and Chinese meals being available on certain days.

Where children are placed with foster families or residential carers of a different background, familiar food will assist continuity and will demonstrate that their culture and religion are valued. To help with this:

discuss with the child and parents what sort of food they like and are familiar with and, where that differs from their own style of cooking, find ways of accommodating the child's preference; encourage carers to make links with local minority ethnic community centres to find out about different ways of preparing food, and where to buy specific foods; provide relevant training or pay for carers to attend evening classes in eg Asian cookery; allow children to have a regular "take away".

Issues around differences in food could be used to promote discussion within a group of young people about living in a multicultural society.

The Need for Choice of Clothing and Toiletries

Children should be provided with or encouraged to buy clothes appropriate to their cultural backgrounds. They should be helped to develop a positive image of their cultural heritage in all its forms, including dress. Carers need to be aware that fashions in other cultures can change rapidly eg type of materials, colours, trousers which may be tight or loose and so on. Most children want to be fashionable and it helps to build their self esteem if they can express this.

A range of toiletries should be purchased which meet the needs of black and minority ethnic children. For example, it is common for African and Caribbean children to need certain creams for skin care and Afro combs for their hair. Specialist hairdressers will make sure that their hair is kept in good condition and will be able to provide the most up to date styles as well as more traditional styles such as plaiting.