Abstract
In carrying out everyday duties, statutory social workers make sense of risk. Understandably then, the language of risk is drawn on discursively to help define, classify, and decide a course of action to protect children from danger and harm (Coppock & McGovern, 2014; Featherstone, 2013; Kemshall, 2010; Stanley, 2013; Webb, 2006). Social workers do this on behalf of the state where the rights of children to be free from harm and abuse are enshrined in law. This is a legitimate activity for statutory social workers — as their work is primarily about making sure that children are protected, as best they can be, from abuse and neglect. The work is tough, with significant decisions needing to be made about children and their families. Risk communication is central to these practice decisions — and, the subject of this chapter.
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© 2016 Tony Stanley
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Stanley, T. (2016). Working with Risk in Child Welfare Settings. In: Crichton, J., Candlin, C.N., Firkins, A.S. (eds) Communicating Risk. Communicating in Professions and Organizations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137478788_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137478788_9
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