Investigating the Involvement of Disabled Children in Using In My Shoes as a Family-Finding Tool: A Pilot Project

Abstract

Working directly with children in the family-finding process presents an additional challenge to social workers where the child is disabled. In My Shoes, an interactive computer interview, has been demonstrated as an effective communication tool with children who have a wide range of special needs. Jennifer Cousins and John Simmonds report on a project exploring its use with disabled children for whom a permanent new family was being sought. Social workers observed children using In My Shoes and then a group of 16 from four local authorities were trained in its use. They were subsequently supported in its use during family-finding and feedback was gathered on their experience of doing so. A number of them reported enhanced knowledge of the children they worked with, which informed family-finding. However, identifying disabled children with permanence as a plan proved, unexpectedly, to be a significant problem. This raises important questions about whether permanence planning for disabled children follows the same trajectory as for not-disabled children. The project team also found that engaging agencies in this exploratory project was challenging. Incorporating even positive practice tools such as In My Shoes (particularly those involving technology) was often a step too far for a workforce already struggling with huge demands.