Toolkit for social workers
Assessing risk and good enough parenting
The Assessment Framework and the adaptations to it suggested above present a means of obtaining a comprehensive 365 degree assessment of the effects of parental alcohol misuse on a child.
Making decisions about the level of risk is relatively easy for social workers where a key part of their routine work is doing just this. Where there is no immediate danger it can be more difficult to arrive at the right conclusion for a particular family. Assessing the level of risk and balancing this against resilience factors might be helpful.
Clearly a child is at immediate risk if:
- In the sole care of a parent who is drunk
- They are left unsupervised in the presence of drinking friends in the home
- If the parent, especially one with sole care, experiences blackouts
- If they are in a car with a driver who has been drinking
When these situations occur there are obviously no factors capable of protecting a child. These events can occur if one or both parents are binge drinkers or if one or both parents are addicted to alcohol and even if parents with no real drinking problem do drink over the top occasionally. However in most incidences we are looking at parents who drink at dangerous levels at least regularly.
Completing a core assessment will throw up lots of information and other than where there is immediate risk, it may be hard to see the wood for the trees, ie to identify family strengths and factors known to protect against long term harm which would off set longer term risk of harm and where intervention, additional support and services might be most effective in keeping a family together.
It might be useful to list the risks and look for strengths in the family, which relate to that risk.
For example, in respect of the immediate risk situations set out above, for a young child at that moment:
Risks |
Strengths |
Young children alone with parent incapable of protecting them at times |
0 |
However other than faced with a child in immediate risk, a basket of factors need to be matched and the overall situation assessed.
Good enough parenting would be where the strengths of the family (including those which can be reasonably put in place) overall balances against the risks. For example:Situation 1: Mother binge drinks. Mainly at weekends. Sufficient to experience black outs and cause severe hangover/withdrawal for a day or two afterwards. Has 2 children, 7 and 4 years old. Single parent but father sees the children monthly.
Risks |
Strengths |
Points that can be checked |
Risk of accident in the home Risk of not being able to care for a sick child or in an emergency Children confused, upset and frightened by mother’s behaviour and inconsistent reaction to them Children fearful of mother dying if sleeping heavily Older sibling protecting the younger Children not able to get to school and nursery on time after the weekend, and may be badly dressed and fed. |
Mother able to plan weekend’s activities Father has children on weekends when she binges. Mother plans ahead for food and clothes for children over weekend and for school on Monday. Children are either taken to school by father or neighbour or walked to school by mother (not driving). |
Meeting mother at weekends when she plans not to drink. Meeting father to confirm the regularity of contact and his ability to care for the children. General impression of the degree to which mother is able to organise her life and for the needs of children. Contact with the school concerning attendance and condition of children on arrival. |
Risks and strengths are balanced
Good enough parenting
Action recommended: Identified individuals able to agree to inform someone if situation changes and system for doing so in agreement with mother.
Situation 2: Couple living together with one child of 5 years. Father is a heavy drinker, probably dependent. Lives own life centring on drinking and has withdrawn from family life. Mother struggles to get on effectively without him but is getting very down. There are financial problems.
Risks |
Strengths |
Checks/point to watch |
Young child being left alone with drunk father Young child exposed to his drinking friends
Exposure to arguments and rows Mother increasingly focused on dealing with consequences of father’s drinking – rows, lack of money, his presence |
Mother does not have a drink problem Mother never leaves child alone with father Mother is able to leave child with friends/family for periods and these live nearby Mother has independent source of income (part time job?)
Mother has good relationships with other supportive people. |
Talking to these people Any evidence of domestic violence?
Monitoring how mother is coping. Inform school and access after school support. |
Good enough parenting
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