Contemporary Risk Assessment in Safeguarding Children

9781905541201

1905541201

"For anyone involved in the protection and safeguarding of children and young people - at any level - risk and risk assessment are key concerns and preoccupations. Yet, across and within the various concerned professional groups, there is an inadequate knowledge base to inform practice, no official guidance, and not even a shared agreement on what risk means: just the possibility of harmful outcomes; or balancing possible good and possible harm? This context reflects both the important involvement of different agencies with different imperatives, and the practical difficulty of eliminating uncertainty." "But this book's varied and illuminating perspectives can help refine the exercise of professional judgement in prospectively estimating and managing uncertainties, rather than being judged with the benefit of hindsight. They can help us to improve our conduct of risk assessments so that they are evidence-based, comprehensive and equitable; produce risk management strategies where levels of intrusion are commensurate with levels of risk; and consider the development of a common language to assist in this important task."--BOOK JACKET.