Multi Agency Social Work

Health and Social Care in the Community 13(2), 155–163

Multi-agency working in services for disabled children: what impact does it have
Blackwell Publishing, Ltd.

on professionals?
David Abbott LLB Hons, M.Phil, M Soc Sc, Ruth Townsley BA Hons, PhD and Debby Watson BA Hons, MSc, CQSW
Norah Fry Research Centre, University of Bristol, UK

Correspondence
David Abbott Norah Fry Research Centre University of Bristol 3 Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TX E-mail: [e-mail]

Abstract Whilst agencies in many sectors have been encouraged to work together to better meet the needs of service users, multi-agency working is now a central feature of government policy. In relation to children’s services, the National Service Framework, the English green paper, ‘Every Child Matters’ (DfES, 2003) and the Children Bill (DfES 2004) give a high priority to an integrated approach to service provision. This paper focuses on multiagency working for disabled children with complex health-care needs, a group of children who, perhaps even more than most, require the many professionals who support them and their families, to work more closely together. Drawing on the findings from a 3-year qualitative research study, this paper examines the impact of working in a multi-agency service on professionals. Interviews with 115 professionals concluded that staff were overwhelmingly positive about working as part of a multi-agency service. They reported improvements to their working lives in areas such as professional development, communication, collaboration with colleagues, and relationships with families with disabled children. However, whilst professionals felt that they were able to offer families a more efficient service, there was concern that the overall impact of multi-agency working on disabled children and their families would be limited.
Keywords: disabled children, impact on professionals, multi-agency working Accepted for publication 5 October 2004

Introduction

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