Interagency Work Case Study

This assignment will consist of a discussion of whether effective interagency work will lead to better outcomes for children and young people. Also in this assignment evidence will be presented that will support or contradict the statement, ‘Effective interagency working will lead to better outcomes for children, young people and their families’. This assignment will include my expectations from interagency that is efficient and how agencies will know that their work has been effective.

Interagency work is a collaboration between different agencies, this is where professionals are involved to work together on different case studies. Interagency collaboration is an ongoing partnership with diverse groups of people where problem solving is
easier and completed when working together, (Reeves et al, 2010; Wilson et al, 2011)

Effective interagency work can lead to better outcomes but there are barriers, ‘Whatever, the benefits of working with multi agencies, it can be difficult as it is expensive, therefore it is not always appropriate in specific cases’, (Adult commissions, 1998, p13-14). Inter-agencies collaborating can be costly depending on certain circumstances with children, young people and their families. Also ‘not all partnerships lead to good practice as they can be predatory rather than supportive’, (Atkinson et al, 2002, p.183: Mordaunt, 1999). When agencies collaborate they tend to be more exploitative than understanding the families current situation.

Furthermore interagency work has benefits which can get rid of barriers between professionals. This can be done when knowing the importance each profession has to offer to the case study. It makes it a lot easier to identify the needs when skill and knowledge from all professionals are known in depth, this can lead to earlier and more effective intervention. Also a care plan which is focused on the individual that is put in to action with a sooner deliver time should result in better outcomes. Moreover, Tirrito et al (1996:31) examines the benefits; "The client benefits from the collective wisdom, professionals benefit from the support of colleagues and society benefits from the elimination of duplicate services". This shows that everyone benefits from something therefore working together and co-operating can lead to better outcomes for the service users.

However there are difficulties when working with other professionals.
There are some challenges in personal resistance to change. This can be tough for professionals who have embedded attitudes which they don’t wish to even through inter-professional education. Therefore, professionals sometimes have different opinions about the causes of and the solutions to the problems, they may have dissimilar ideas due to not having the same paradigms (Pierson & M, 2010). Likewise, there are some concerns for social workers. These are not knowing which assessments are right to use or which assessments to use, not being taken seriously or listened by the professionals in the team, not having enough time to discuss important matters, working differently from others in the team and not having enough resources due to budget restraints, (Warren,
2007).

The main reasoning behind these barriers; when combined working comes from being unenthusiastic. The issue of position and authority comes in the way as well as feelings of unfairness and conflict between agencies. Also further issue comes from identity and territory. These feelings are strong because of the diverse arrangements of responsibility and decision making between professional. (Hudson, 2002).

Thompson (2009) has suggested that social workers have been viewed as experts when they are not.
He stated everyone turns to them for answers to problems however, instead they should step back and look at what other professionals have in line to offer. Collaborative working offers options in which social workers can work with the children, young people and families and also involve voluntary workers and other professional staff to maximise the resources. This would give an opportunity for making progress and affording the service user the best possible care which could lead to better outcomes due to the different professional ideas that are
given.

It is essential to have commitment when working together to safeguard children, young people and families. When training on safeguarding the service users should be surrounded inside an inclusive structure of assurance to inter and multi-agency working at a strategic and effective level, strengthened by shared goals. They should also have preparation for developments and morals. The children’s Act 1989, recognised that the identification and investigation of child abuse, together with the support of victims and their families, requires multi agency collaboration. It is important to have a clear understanding by each agency when working together by knowing the responsibilities and power each professional has so the collaboration is effective and with who collaboration should be secured, Caring for people (DH, 1989). This would help lead to better outcomes as the professionals would share out the work and make it visible to the children, young people and families that there is support available to them, to be able to secure through their difficult times and also by showing them who is responsible and in charge therefore they know which professional to turn to for certain help.

Although there are good outcomes from interagency working there is also evidence of it being un effective. The children’s Act 2004 and government guidance, introduced public inquiry in to the death