Dimensions of Trust and Tension in Discharge Proceedings

A significant body of work examines the making of care orders in England and Wales; much less is known about how care orders are discharged. Focussing on focus group and interview data with 41 professionals, including lawyers, members of the judiciary, Independent Reviewing Officers, social workers, and children’s guardians, this paper presents findings from a wider project which examined the characteristics and circumstances that lead to the discharge of care orders. This paper explores dimensions of trust and tension between the different stakeholders involved in discharge proceedings, including professionals and families, from the perspective of professionals. Five key themes are discussed: differences in thresholds of ‘good enough’ care; risk aversion; distrust in fulfilling obligations post-discharge; hierarchies of power; and avoiding the re-traumatisation of children and families. Acknowledging the difficulties reported of balancing risk aversion with safeguarding, it is argued that a lack of trust and tensions between professionals can unnecessarily delay legitimate discharges as well as cause harm to the children and families involved. This paper concludes by considering recommendations for resolving issues of trust and tension between professionals and families in discharge proceedings to ensure that timely decisions are made in the best interests of children and families.