Lessons learnt from researching 'policy in action'.

Waugh, Fran

Introduction

Challenges and difficulties of undertaking research which examines child protection practices in situ have been highlighted both internationally and in Australia since the mid 1980's (Dingwall et al 1983; Parton 1989; Tominson and Goddard 1993; Scott 1996). This article outlines the issues involved when undertaking in situ research into 'policy in action' in the context of work practices undertaken by front-line workers in the New South Wales Department of Community Services (DoCS) (2) in responding to notifications of child emotional abuse. The interaction of differing elements of official policy, the front-line workers (3), the service-users, the implementing organisation, other relevant organisations and the media, determine 'policy in action' (Waugh 1997). The issues confronting the researcher from the initial development of this research project, through the data collection stage until the completion of feedback to the research participants provides the focus of the discussion. Hence the emphasis of this article is on describing the data collection stage as it sets the context in which the difficulties arose and strategies for dealing with them are considered. It is not the intention of this article to discuss the specific details of analysing the data or to outline the findings or the conclusions of this research.

Factors underpinning this research

Background to the research project

This research focused on child emotional abuse because it is considered to be a core issue in abuse and neglect. The difficulties of defining and assessing child emotional abuse are a constant theme in emotional abuse literature (O'Hagan 1993; Iwaniec 1995). O'Hagan (1993) claims that emotional abuse is the least heard about abuse and most easily ignored. However, emotional abuse was the largest category of all abuse types (emotional, physical, sexual) and neglect notifications in New South Wales from 1991 until the re-coding of issues for reporting concerns about children in 1997. It accounted for 31 per cent of all notifications (33,448) in 1995 and 34 per cent of the 28,944 notifications in 1996 (NSW Department of Community Services, 1996).

Underlying theoretical assumptions

This research is influenced by ecological and feminist perspectives which view the emotional abuse of children as the result of human actions, beliefs, behaviours and circumstances which have been formed and influenced by a range of factors, including the adult's own parenting experiences, the conditions under which adults and children live, cultural beliefs about children, the rights of children, gender, ethnicity, the influence of power, economic circumstances, personality and family relations (Garbarino 1998; Brassard et al 1987; McGee and Wolfe 1991; Farmer and Owen 1995; O'Hagan and Dillenburger 1995; Wearing 1996). In summary, the ecological perspective views individual influences, family influences, community influences and cultural influences as interacting with, and contributing to, the etiology of emotional abuse. Feminist perspectives highlight the significance of gender, race and power in abusive relationships. These theoretical propositions underpinned the development of the research questions and facilitated the research methodology.

The research questions

The aim of the research project was to deconstruct the complex interplay of policy, professional practice tenets and particular organisational constraints. Five research questions compelled this study into 'policy in action' as practised by front-line workers in the New South Wales Department of Community Services:

* How do front-line workers (required on a daily basis to respond to, manage and undertake discretionary judgements about a range of crisis situations) understand and utilise the complex 'official' information which is available to them?

* How do these workers integrate the precepts contained in 'official' information about child abuse, into their daily practice?

* What is the significance of each worker's understanding of, use of, and response to, 'official' information; and to what extent is each worker's practice influence by this understanding and response?

* How can the 'process of definition and re-definition' be unpacked, so that this process can be viewed in terms of its significance to 'policy in action' and to the construction of each worker's actions?

* What are the key determinants, which construct and constrain workers' actions and responses in child protection work?

Methodology

This research explored the work practices undertaken by the Department of Community Services front-line workers at a non-metropolitan community service centre (Office A) and a metropolitan community service centre (Office B) in New South Wales, from May to December 1995, examining those practices surrounding notifications that a child had been emotionally abused. These centres were chosen because they recorded very high numbers of child emotional abuse notifications.

Three sources of data were collected and examined The first entailed the in situ tracking of emotional abuse notifications from intake to when a decision was made by a district officer and assistant manager regarding confirmation (1) and, or registration (2) of the case. This provided an opportunity for observation of the various stages of 'official' front-line responses involving intake and investigation practices. In addition, the corresponding decisions that accompanied these two stages of child protection were noted. I completed a questionnaire on each of the notifications that were received by the offices or transferred to the offices during the time of my research. This included notifications of emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse or neglect. Special attention was paid to the narrative that documented the intake worker's account of the allegations at the time of the notification. I was able to access the service-users' files once a district officer had completed an investigation, which enabled me to view the written account of the 'official' intervention of the district officer, the service-users and assistant managers. I completed an additional questionnaire on the emotional abuse cases that had been investigated. Intake workers were aware that a questionnaire was being completed on all intake matters and that those cases which were identified as containing emotional abuse concerns would be tracked for a three month period.

The second component of the research assumed an ecological perspective which involved observation of the day to day work of the district officers in the community service centres, noting the various factors that influenced work practices. The predominant 'systems' at play were the Department of Community Services front-line workers, the informants, the service-users, the formal policy constructs, the workplace milieu, the organisational and external factors linked to other organisations and to their workers who had contact with the district officer, and finally, the media. Each of these 'systems' could be seen to present a series of beliefs, perceptions and knowledge about 'correct' practice that impacted upon the practices of the district officer.

The interplay of these three sets of perceptions and understandings, those of the 'official' Department of Community Services policy on emotional abuse, those of the district officers, and those of other players in the notification and assessment process, constituted a dynamic which constructed the eventual practices undertaken by the district officer. In addition, themes and concerns which engaged the attention of the district officers in their day to day practices were elicited through observation and workplace-based discussions. The observations concentrated on the worker conducting intake, commonly referred to as 'duty' and on workers' interactions with colleagues. Furthermore, I attended briefing and debriefing meetings between district officers and their assistant managers concerning a number of emotional abuse notifications. I also attended 'allocation meetings' in Offices B and C (1), where the investigation and assessment process was planned. I attended staff meetings in Offices B and C but was excluded from such meetings in Office A.

The third source of data collection was the conduct of semi-structured interviews with the district officers, assistant managers and psychologists, totalling 39 interviews. The purpose of such interviews was to collect information about the process of defining emotional abuse as undertaken by the workers in practice. In addition, those issues which the workers viewed as important elements in their intervention with the children and their families in emotional abuse notifications, the manner in which decisions were made by them about these children and data about other factors which guided their practice, were elicited. Also, the worker's perceptions about the constraints of their practice in emotional abuse notifications were ascertained. An underlying question that this component of the research sought to address was what was the relationship between policy and practice from the perspective of the district officer?

A final source of data was drawn from my own practice in the Department of Community Services where my observations and experiences had pointed to some important questions about practice, and about the central importance of definition formation in practice. My own practice experience provided the knowledge base for the development of a template for data collection in the community service centres. Because I had developed a level of expertise in child protection work, I drew on this knowledge to guide my research inquiry in the front-line workers' practices. I also conducted a pilot in April 1995, in a non-metropolitan community service centre (referred to as Office C in this research) to facilitate the refinement of the questionnaire format and data collection mechanisms.

In summary in this project, evidence was collected in the offices from unstructured observations, reviews of case files and interviews with the Department of Community Services front-line workers. Direct observation of the workplace environment and of the interaction between the various actors in the workplace organisation, in different locational contexts, served as an important source of evidence. In other words a variety of sources, a variety of types of data and a variety of research methods were used in study which characterise a case study (Yin 1994; Denscombe 1998).

Issues confronting the researcher and strategies for addressing identified issues

Despite the opportunity to collect rich data from in situ research into child abuse investigations, there have been several issues identified about such a research process (Dingwall et al 1983; Parton 1989; Tominson and Goddard 1993; Scott 1996). The issues identified in this particular research relate to ethical issues; access to research sites; tensions between front-line workers and the researcher; the stresses associated with in situ research; and managing the data collected from the multiple sources. Each of these issues will be outlined in turn together with suggested strategies to address the identified concerns.

Ethical issues

When I applied to the New South Wales Department of Community Services for permission to undertake the research I guaranteed that there would be strict confidentiality relating to particular cases and that the identity of workers and the Community Service Centres participating in the research would remain anonymous. Anonymity was important to prevent workers or work sites from being identified in the research findings. In order to protect the anonymity of the Department of Community Services front-line workers the exact location of the research sites was not revealed but simply referred to as Office A, Office B and Office C. At this stage the Department of Community Services had no embargo on the researcher releasing research findings. The researcher was considered to possess the intellectual property rights regarding the research findings but agreed to provide the Department of Community Services with a copy of the final document, in my case a doctoral thesis. While mechanisms to address confidentiality and anonymity were instituted the issues related to the privacy and rights of the service users were more complex. The service users did not know that their files were being accessed by the researcher. Does the argument that it is the decision-making process and intervention that is being tracked and not the particular service user that is of relevance to the researcher hold? These were issues I continually grappled with in this in situ research in ensuring that the principles of anti-oppressive practice underpinned the various components of the research process.

Due to the already demanding nature of child protection work there was an onus on my part to ensure that this in situ research would not place additional stress on workers by either undertaking intrusive observations of work practices or requiring the workers to perform additional tasks eg to complete questionnaires on new intake matters. Once approval had been granted by the New South Wales Department of Community Services I submitted an application to the University's Human Ethics' Committee which addressed the above concerns regarding confidentiality, raised the issue of the need to obtain informed consent from workers who would be participating in interviews and provided copies of the specific research tools (namely, the questionnaires, the interview schedule, the information sheet about the research and the interview consent form). Completing the applications for both of the above authorities proved to be critical in the research process as it required me to articulate the aims and potential outcomes of the research in a clear and concise manner; to identify practical measures of ensuring confidentiality such as coding and the secure storage of material; and to be able to justify and defend my research proposal and my chosen research methods for collecting relevant data.

In developing the research proposal it was also important to establish a mechanism for the researcher to report to her supervisor and the assistant managers in the Department of Community Services if concerns arose about front-line workers' practices. No such incidents occurred in the course of the research but such a measure is an important component of ethical research practice for social workers who undertake in situ research.

Access to the office sites

Once formal application had been made to the Department of Community Services to conduct this research and approval had been granted, and appropriate measures had been developed to meet the approval of the University's Ethics' Committee in terms of ensuring the confidentiality and security of the data, the pilot study in Office C was able to begin. My introduction to Office A and Office C was assisted by a student colleague who had been working in the relevant Department of Community Services area office as a child protection worker. My experience in child protection work in the Department of Community Services also facilitated my access to local office personnel. My credibility as a former child protection worker seemed to ensure acceptance by local Department of Community Service staff who exhibited both interest in the research project and a willingness to participate in the research process. Prior to the commencement of the research in each of the offices, I met with the Department of Community Services front-line workers to brief them about the project and to invite their questions.

Tensions between front-line workers and the researcher

One of the problems in undertaking in situ research concerns the existing tension between front-line workers and researchers. Workers in highly sensitive areas like child abuse, where the responsibilities are immense, are generally suspicious of people who in effect judge them, and who commonly point to deficiencies in their service provision (Parton 1989; Tominson and Goddard 1993; Scott 1996). Hence it was important for me to convey to potential participants the objectives of the research and to provide assurances that the research findings would not be misused or corrupted. While the participants' employer had granted permission for me to undertake the research I obtained individual consent of the workers prior to conducting any individual interviews with them and advised them I would respect their decision if they choose not to participate in an interview. I also chose to conduct the interviews in the latter stages of my observational period allowing workers a period of time to understand the purpose of the research and to establish a professional relationship with me as a researcher. In addition, as part of building trust and rapport with the Department of Community Services front-line workers, I provided a briefing about the research, regular informal updates as requested and formal feedback to all staff on the completion of the research. The establishment of this positive relationship with the front-line workers enabled me to collect high quality information and to formulate a more accurate understanding of the realities of case management (Parton 1989). There were three of the 39 workers who were initially resistant to and sceptical about the research. This provided me with the opportunity to further reflect on the aim of the research and to ensure that I conveyed this to the workers in a clear and succinct manner. Being approachable as a researcher was important so workers could feel comfortable about asking any questions related to the research.

The stresses associated with 'in situ' research

The following points were salient in my research. It was important to be clear about my role as a researcher and not to blur the boundaries between worker/researcher roles. Diplomacy was required on those occasions when a district officer attempted to seek my advice about cases. Those occasions involved either inexperienced, or untrained, district officers asking for advice or opinions regarding cases, or an assistant manager 'jokingly' asking me to assist in an investigation as a secondary worker. Also two assistant managers at times made comments which indicated they were threatened by the conduct of the research. The strategies I adopted to address these concerns were to listen, to be open, to be flexible, to be non-defensive and to be responsive to the particular issues raised by the workers. While at times this process was challenging it provided me with extra opportunities to reflect on the purpose of the research, to be clear of my role as a researcher and to develop alternative ways of conveying this to the front-line workers.

As a result of the length of time (107 days) and close proximity in which the research was being undertaken, district officers came to accept my presence in their workplace and to convey a sense of interest in the project. The majority of district officers felt comfortable to speak about the difficulties and pressures of their work, and to convey to an 'outsider' their concerns about the difficulty and complexity of their role in child protection work. As a consequence of spending 107 days in situ a number of issues arose including:

* the need to be aware of the offices' staff politics;

* the high levels of stress freely floating in the three community service centres on extremely busy days;

* the low morale of a number of the district officers which at times resulted in a stifling and depressing effect; and

* the need that some district officers had of sharing their workplace grievances with me.

Some of the strategies I found helpful in addressing these above issues were:

* writing detailed field notes at the end of each day. This provided one avenue for containing the stress and enabled myself to be able to separate from the workplace stresses;

* staying focussed on my role as a researcher; and

* not to be seen as supporting or favouring any particular workers.

While I had a sound understanding of the stress associated with the front-line worker's intervention with children and families where there are allegations of child abuse I was surprised by the level of stress I experienced as a researcher in hearing the stories of the children who had been notified to the Department of Community Services. The emotional stress on researchers engaged in exploring and analysing such sensitive information as child emotional abuse is frequently down-played by front-line workers, as they are required to work at the raw edge of such issues. However, it was critical in my research project to not only be aware of the effect of the sensitive nature of the content and the challenges associated with in situ research but to be able to address them constructively through regular independent supervision. Riger (1999) in considering research on violence against women has raised similar issues in regard to stressful emotions experienced by researchers. One worker when researching violence against women talked about feeling anxious and depressed after constantly reading about and discussing violence against women. This was addressed by the researcher collaborating with experienced practitioners about how they dealt with their own emotional distress. Such a strategy was not used in my research as I obtained support from independent supervision and I did not consider that it was the responsibility of the front-line workers to provide such support.

Moran-Ellis (1996) has written about her experience of undertaking research on child sexual abuse and coined the phrase 'pain by proxie' which refers to the anger, isolation and the emotional distress which intruded into her personal life as a consequence of her research. While I did not experience such stress in my research I consider the strategies Moran-Ellis used to address her emotional stress to be important for researchers undertaking in situ projects. These strategies were group support and reflection. Reflection was a strategy that I had utilised in my research.

Managing data collected from the multiple sources

A common complaint about case studies is that they take too long, are resource intensive and expensive and they result in massive unreadable documents (Carroll and Johnson 1990). However, in this research project a great deal of information was obtained through my close management of the collection process. I attempted to observe the precepts of a 'good' case study by: being explicit about what was being done, and why; being diligent about following clear procedures such as keeping regular field notes; being disciplined about maintaining adherence to the research questions without being so rigid that exciting opportunities were ignored (Carroll and Johnson 1990). In addition it is critical that the researcher develops a reflective stance.

Conclusion

Researching the work practices of child protection workers in situ provides an important opportunity to tease out the complexities, difficulties and challenges impacting daily on workers as they strive to implement child protection policy (Waugh 1997). Knowledge of the processes involved in undertaking in situ research are important for social workers as this type of research provides the opportunity to explore work practices in-depth. While such research is exploratory it provides both an avenue for social workers to be held accountable regarding their intervention with service-users and data required to evaluate a particular service. Most importantly, in situ research offers information about social work processes and decision-making by practitioners. As in situ research makes great demands on the researcher in terms of time, interpersonal skill, sensitivity and vulnerability to the whims of participants in the case study environment it is important that the researcher is not only responsive to the needs of the participants but develops effective strategies and supports to promote high quality research. Therefore it is critical that the researcher adopts both a reflective stance and a supportive network to deal with the stressful emotions associated with undertaking in situ research in an area where the context is emotionally charged as is the case with child abuse.

(1) Confirmation of cases refers to those notifications where the allegations have been investigated and substantiated (New South Wales Department of Community Services, 1994).

(1a) Office C represents the non-metropolitan community service centre where the one month pilot was conducted in April 1995.

(2) The Department of Community Services is the state government department in New South Wales which is statutorily responsible for the investigation of allegations of child abuse under the Children (Care and Protection) Act, 1987 (NSW).

(2a) Registration of cases occurs when abuse or serious risk of abuse has been confirmed and the child is in need of ongoing protection to ensure his or her safety (New South Wales Department of Community Services, 1994).

(3) The front-line workers referred to in this research are the district officers, the assistant managers and the psychologists working in DoCS Community Service Centres. District officers are delegated officers in DoCS who are responsible for undertaking intake, investigative assessments and ongoing work with children and their families where there are allegations of child abuse and neglect.

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Fran Waugh [1]

[1] Fran Waugh is a lecturer in The Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Sydney.