The Child Attachment Relationship Guide: Informing Child Protection and Fostering Social Work

ABSTRACT

This article presents the novel Child Attachment Relationship (CAR) Guide for social workers in child protection and fostering. The Guide was created to promote social workers’ understandings of children’s attachment relationship and to identify the means through which those understandings might be enhanced towards their practice. The research and literature highlight a deficit in practical guidance intended to orient social workers towards attachment relationships. The guide uniquely encompasses six evidence-based dimensions intended to facilitate a deeper understanding of children’s attachment relationships. It was developed using central concepts in Attachment Theory, the key theory used in social work for explaining the child–parent relationship. The guide integrates attachment theories and approaches that are accessible, necessary, and applicable to all social workers working with children and families. The Guide was introduced to social workers in a 2-day workshop. The focus of this article is first to present the CAR Guide itself, and second to outline and assess social workers’ experiences of using the CAR Guide in their practice with children and caregivers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lisa O’Reilly

Lisa O'Reilly has worked with children and families for close to two decades. Lisa is the director of Gallore Child and Family Services. Her experience and practice includes child protection social work, foster care, play therapy, training development and delivery, attachment research and parenting support. Lisa has been practicing as a Guardian ad Litem since January 2016. Her primary practice at present is representing the voices of children in the court, advocating for their rights and best interests. Lisa's practice is guided and driven by children's rights and needs to develop within the context of a secure attachment relationship. Through extensive and ongoing research Lisa's values and practice is rooted in respectful and age-appropriate communication with children, that moves beyond traditional beliefs and ways of engaging with children. Lisa is a leading specialist in the areas of the voice of the child, play-based engagement with children, emotional release, and attachment theory. Lisa is studying psychology at present and continues to engage in further research to optimise the child-caregiver relationship. Lisa remains committed to this area, given its significance in child development and positive child and adult mental wellbeing.