Exploring how “risk” can be conceptualised and addressed to overcome barriers to implementing family-led innovations in child protection social work

Stabler, Lorna ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0742-4271, Sampson, Mthoko Ngobese, Bernheim, Bekkah, Day, Jo and O'Rourke, Sarah 2026. Exploring how “risk” can be conceptualised and addressed to overcome barriers to implementing family-led innovations in child protection social work. Journal of Children's Services 21 (3) , pp. 57-71. 10.1108/jcs-05-2025-0025

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Abstract

Purpose The impact of risk-aversion and professional anxiety in child protection social work in the UK has been the subject of research and practice reviews for the past two decades. However, the way in which this impacts efforts to improve child protection practice, and for social workers to practice in a more strengths-based way is under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to explore how risk and professional anxiety impact on implementation of family-led approaches. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the findings of a realist synthesis of data from an implementation evaluation. The evaluation focused on the introduction of a family-led way of carrying out child protection decision-making based on Family Group Conferences in seven English local authorities (LAs). Findings Using the example of this innovation, the paper highlights how concepts of “risk” and the related anxiety about risk within child protection can be a barrier to implementation, and how strategies used by implementation leaders to manage feelings about risk can help to support effective implementation. Practical implications Without explicitly naming and responding to perceptions of risk and feelings of professional anxiety within child protection work, it is likely that attempts to introduce more family-led ways of working will experience resistance and delays to implementation. It is therefore essential that implementation leaders within LA settings have active strategies to address these factors at the outset of implementation. Originality/value Implementation research in children’s social care has not systematically explored how a risk-averse culture and linked professional anxiety can impact on efforts to change practice. The use of realist synthesis helped to highlight the strategies taken by key implementation leaders to overcome these barriers, and provide useful insights for future implementation efforts.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Research Institutes & Centres > Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE)
Publisher:	Emerald
ISSN:	1746-6660
Date of Acceptance:	9 May 2026
Last Modified:	03 Nov 2026 10:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/188264

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