- Email: [email protected]
Social work with service families
ChildAbuse and Neglect,Vol. 3, pp. 709 - 714. ~) P~-gsmon Press Ltd., 1979. Primed in ~-est Britain.
0145-2134/79/0901..0709 $02.00/0.
SOCIAL WORK WITH SERVICE FAMILIES
Jennie C. Guest and David Johnston Area Officers, Warwickshire Social Services Department
Our a i z i n t h i s p a p e r i s t w o f o l d . We wish t o d e s c r i b e t h e work done w i t h f a z i l i e s r e f e r r e d f o r v a r i o u s p r o b l e n s , i n c l u d i n g c h i l d a b u s e , t o one Area S o c i a l S e r v i c e s Team ( S e c t i o n 2 ) . We t h e n o f f e r ( S e c t i o n 3) some c o m p a r i s o n s t o i n d i c a t e t h e e x t a n t o f t h e p r o b l e m . The s e c o n d t a s k i n s u b s e q u e n t s e c t i o n s i s t o u s e d a t a from various sources on child abttee (Section 4), end our own infornation (Section 5) to s u g g e s t t h a t A r ~ l i f e h a s i n h e r e n t f e a t u r e 8 e x a c e r b a t i n g r i s k o f c h i l d a b u s e . We mtko v a r i o u s c o n c l u s i o n s , and p r o p o s a l s f o r improvement ( S e c t i o n 6 ) . We draw m a t e r i a l f r e e t h e A r ~ W e l f a r e I n q u i r y Committee R e p o r t , known a s t h e S p e n c e r R e p o r t . 1 We would a r g u e t h a t t h e w e l f a r e o f S e r v i c e f a m i l i e s r e q u i r e s s p e c i a l c o n c e r n .
z.
soc~
woex
ee*qTTc~
Towards t h e end o f 1974 our a r e a team b e e a l e aware o f t h e a i l a i l a r i t - y and c o m p l e x i t y o f r e f e r r a l s from two S e r v i c e E s t a b l i s h m e n t s . These were b o t h t e n m i l e s f r o m t h e n e a r e s t town on an i n a d e q u a t e b u s r o u t e , one was an a c t i v e d e p o t on which 400 families lived with some calamity facilities. The other was the housing area of a former R.A.F. Station, now used as dormitory accommodation by the army. This had scant facilities, no regular meeting place, no plsygroup and one shop (naking a loss' ) Regular clinics and surgeries by civilian G.P's are held for faniliee. The children attend local schools, and social work help is provided by the local authority. Over a t w e l v e month p e r i o d , 10% o f f a m i l i e s l i v i n g on t h e d e p o t , and ~O~ o f f a m i l i e s ! i v i u g a t t h e f o r m e r R.A.F. camp were r e f e r r e d to t h e S o c i a l ~ e r v i c e s D e p a r t m e n t , o f t e n f o r s e r i o u s c a s e s o f c h i l d a b u s e , o f m a r i t a l breakdown, o v e r d o s e s , and p e r h a p s l e s s d r a m a t i c a l l y , f o r f e e d i n g p r o b l e m , and f a i l u r e t o t h r i v e , and s l e e p i n g and behaviour disturbances in children. The f o r m e r R.A.F. S t a t i o n a c t e d a s a d o r m i t o r y f o r t h r e e main g r o u p s o f s e r v i c e m e n , most from t h e n e a r b y d e p o t f o u r m i l e s away, some (25%) f r c n two o t h e r s t a t i o n s t w e n t y - s i x m i l e s away, and a few (5%) o f ' h e a d l e s s ' f a m i l i e s from p e r s o n n e l on s h o r t t e r m p o s t i n g a , f r e q u e n t l y o v e r s e a s . A key a r e a f o r i m p r o v e n e n t was l i a i s o n between f a m i l y d o c t o r , h e a l t h v i s i t o r and s o c i a l w o r k e r . A c e n t r a l i n g r e d i e n t was s e t t i n g up a m o n t h l y m e e t i n g i n which t h e r e was a c c e p t a n c e by a l l t h a t e a c h had an e q u a l t h o u g h d i f f e r e n t r o l e t o p l a y . W i t h o u t t h e e a s e o f c o n t a c t t h e s e m e e t i n g s e s t a b l i s h e d , many c a s e s which were i d e n t i f i e d e a r l y and d e a l t w i t h would h a v e c a u s e d more m a j o r c o n c e r n l a t e r . C o n t a c t had t o be made w i t h army p e r s o n n e l , i n i t i a l l y on an i n d i v i d u a l b a s i s , b u t l a t e r on by more f o r m a l m e e t i n g s between t h e S o c i a l S e r v i c e s Department and t h e army. T h i s c a u s e d some a n x i e t y . How f a r s h o u l d one t a l k a b o u t c l i e n t s w i t h t h e i r e m p l o y e r s ? What would be made o f i n f o r m a t i o n which we gave? I t a l r e a d y a p p e a r e d t h a t a s o l d i e r whose f a m i l y was i d e n t i f i e d a s ' a t r i s k ' by c a s e c o n f e r e n c e s c o u l d s u f f e r d i m i n i s h e d c a r e e r c h a n c e s . On t h e o t h e r hand t h e army was an employer w i t h a d i f f e r e n c e , b e i n g b o s s , l a n d l o r d , o c c a s i o n a l b e n e f a c t o r , and i t s p o l i c y had a c r u c i a l e f f e c t on our c l i e n t s ' l i v e s . The army saw a d v a n t a g e s i n c o n t a c t ! tmhapuy f s u n i l y l i f e l e d t o p o o r work, and any i m p r o v m m n t s were t o be e n c o u r a g e d . 709
710
J.C.
G u e s t and D. J o h n s t o n
Several areas needed consideration. The Social Services Department had to accept military personnel as being eligible for services, for example, assistance with playgroupa. Previously, as they were on Crown property, they were not regarded as being the concern of playgroup advisors, registration, nor able to benefit from grant aid. From the army side, transport to the local towns was required and accommodation for clubs and playgroupe had to be provided. Changes in housing policy, reducing the nuzber of moves families had to make and avoiding using the former R.A.F. base for an excessive number of young families, were necessary. These areas were tackled and though total success did not happen, improvement took place. There has been much success not least in the number of referrals of individuals to the Social Services Department. In only one family out of the ten who were the subject of case conferences for Non Accidental Injury, have children been removed from home. Referrals have come earlier, social workers are known as people to be approached with problenm. More problems are being dealt with by self-help groupa, and direct contact between service families and other agencies. Much work still needs to be done, though the crises, when some 10% of families in one camp were the subject of Non Accidental Injury case conferences has passed. Not least amongst the developments has been easy contact between service personnel a n d s o c i a l w o r k e r s , who a r e s e e n t o be u s e f u l s o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n and i n f l u e n c e , either helping to deei~ playgrounds for children, or advising defending officers at court nartial8. Personal relationships between the army and social services ease conmmication. On a nmaber of occasions we found that the social worker was able to act as a catalyst and comranicator. A conBunity centre existed, hardly used during the day. A group of dissatisfied wives having nowhere to meet, were unaware that this was available. The social worker got the two together. Service wives seeued --a_-inous in the belief that social workers should be independent from the army. They believed that otherwise confidences would not be respected, and that the army should not enter their social lives, as well as their husband's working lives. When social workers have to exercise their own authority, they have to demonstrate their independence from military discipline. We would now like to examine in more detail the characteristics of families referred to us, and cempare them with prediction or evidence of 'risk', as well as to children subject to N.A.I. case conferences.
3. T ~ ~ T ~ T
OF T ~ ~O~LE~
Between January 197~ and July 1976, from these two establishments, containing a population of 1275, ten children were the subject of Non Accidental Injury case conferences. This compared in the same period with 31 children from the whole of Social Services Division surrounding it, a total population of 99,394. This high proportion was reflected in the number of other referrals to the Social Services Departnent. In the area as a whole some 4.6% of households are referred each year, compared to 12.9% of service households. It was agreed by all other professionals in the case, e.g. family doctors, health visitors and paediatricians, that this was only the 'tip of the iceberg' and they had noted a similar high referral rats to their own agencies. 4.
INDICATORS OF CHILD A ~ S E
When examining all families in general where child abuse occurs, common antecedents begin to emerge. If our aim is prevention it is important to predict in what circumstances injury to children is likely to occur. And this is concerned not only with the intrinsic psychopathology of the family, but also with the socioeconomic stresses p!ayin~ upon the famil,y from the eav~ronm~nt in wh$ch the members live and work~ As yet no really h e l ~ l check list of predictors of child abuse has been arrived at. However, a survey of various studies has shown that 'the a~e distribution of the parents of abused children tended to be extremely young. 2. Another study showed that parents were often too young for parenthood, and that the income of families was very low.3. It has also been suggested that these parents are 'frequently isolated both physically and emotionally'. 4. Often they have nobody they can trust or call on in a crisis. 'Such families have usually
Social Work withService Families
711
gathered a whole range of interlocking problems affecting every aspect of %heir lives, marriage, housing, financial matters, employment'. 5. The N.S.P.C.C. Survey 'Child Victims of Physical Abuse' identified several stress factors in their interviews with 800 families. 6. These stress factors, and the percentage of the interviewed families where some, or all of them were found to be present, are listed in table form as follows :I .Financial Problems ............................. 2.Marital Problems ............................... 3. Unemployment ................................... 4.One Parent with psychiatric history ............ 5.Either Parent battered or in care themselves ... 6.Negative feelings towards child ................ 7.Child itself with behaviour problems ........... 8.Social isolation from family or friends ........
~4.7% 32.4% ~.2~ 2~.6~ 17.2% 16.9% 15.~ 13.1%
5. FEATURgS OF AP~Y LIFE In June 1976 Warwickshire Social Services Department Strategic Planning Division undertook a social survey of the former R.A.F. Station. 7. Of 100 famille8 resident, 29 were interviewed, and it is of interest to compare these findings with the more detailed studies of the Spencer Report. The study was carried out with the full co-operation of the Army to whom the report was presented. Most of the questions were directed towards wives, as it was assumed that they would be more affected by the conditions. Three themes dominated the Report. These were inexperience, isolation end inmect~rity. Most, but not all, families could be characterized in this way. The wives, for the most part, were very young, the average age being 22.7, three quarters aged 23 or less. On average they married at 19, their husbands being 2.3 years older. The Spencer Report average was marriage at 20. This meant that there was an almost total lack of people - especially women - of the previous generation. 62% of families had children, half the children were under three. Half the families said that they did not know how long they would stay at this establishment. Wives who had lived at a previous camp bad stayed for an average of 1.6 years. It appeared the average length of time families could expect to stay in one place was I year - I 0 months. The picture given was of frequent posting8 of short duration. This was insufficient time to permit commnity initiatives to organize successful social and other facilities. The camp was ten nile8 frol the nearest large town; public transport provided was infrequent and expensive. However, some 8~% of the wives had been brought up in towns and cities, and the u n a c ~ t o m e d isolation from shopping and social facilities could prove a strain. 70% bad no local relatives. Over half the wives saw their parents less than six times a year. 72% of families did not have a car. There was also a picture of low use of facilities - re-inforcing the sense of isolation. There were frequent complaints of poor shopping and social facilities. The lack of transport prevented wives taking a job. From our experience (gained over several years of working with service families), it was clear that many of these stress factors described above were present arising from (by definition of) the kind of environment any ars~ life provides.
i)
HarriaKe at an Barl,T A~e
Most of the service families had married young. The ar~'s policy of providing a fully furnished home for a young soldier when he marries encourages this, as in 'city strset'similar couples would have to wait for a considerable time before accosmodation was available to them. The Spencer Report makes clear that between 1969 and 1974, though the size of the army fell, the proportion of married soldiers rose, and the proportion of Junior ranks (i.e. Corporals and below) married at 19 or 20 doubled. ii) Low Income ~any service families are on a low income, able to claim family means supplement or rent and rate rebate.
J.C. Guest and D. J o h n s t o n
712
iii) M%rltsl Problua The motivation of a soldier to Join the army had often stmmod from d i f f i c u l t i e s within t h e i r own f a a i l i e a and a desire to 'get away'. Menypresented as innature and n o t ready t o f a c e up t o t h e demands o f m a r r i a g e . Long p o a t i n g s away from wives and c o n s t a n t moves meant t h a t many s a r l - i a g e s n e v e r formed a s t a b l e b a s i s . All t h i s p o i n t s towards a r e c i p e f o r m a r i t a l p r o b l e m . i v ) Behaviour P r o b l e ~ from C ~ i l d r e n From d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h l o c a l s c h o o l s =any o f the c h i l d r e n from s e r v i c e f a m i l i e s had a t e n d e n c y towards b e h a v i o u r a l p r o b l e m . The m a j o r i t y had n~ved about t h e c o u n t r y f r e q u e n t l y and had n e v e r had a s e t t l e d home. Many had a t t e n d e d s e v e r a l s c h o o l s i n a s h o r t s p e c s o f t i ~ e . Also a h i g h p r o p o r t i o n o f f a m i l i e s had experienced situations whon the father was away from the hone for considerable p e r i o d s o f time. v) SocSal Isolation froi F a ~ l F and Friend8 The m a j o r i t y o f t h e f a m i l i e s had no f a m i l y or f r i e n d s nearby who could s u p p o r t them in bringing up their families and help out at crisis times. Of necessity (for security reasons) the canpe were centTed far away from any cantree of population, entertainment and shopping facilities. The bus service was poor and few families could afford a car. The nuclear family beoane all too importsnt and stress was turned inward. The typical picture from t h e Spencer Report is o f a l a r g e number o f A r ~ p e r s o n n e l l i v i n g a t soma d i s t a n c e from the c e n t r e e of population, the majority of their wives having prevlC,aaly worked in industry or c l e r i c a l work. This was borne Out by our own s t u d y on t h e f o r m e r R.A.F. Camp. Many f e l t t h a t a r ~ l i f e p r e v e n t e d f r i e n d s h i p w i t h c i v i l i a n s because o f t u r b u l e n c e , i s o l a t i o n and t h e poor image o f t h e army.
v i ) NarrQw ARe ~a,,,_m_ew i t h A " P o p u l a t i o ~ The ma~ol~lty o f t h e f a s i l t e s were young. There were no o l d e r women o r mant t o p r o v i d e t h e e x p e r i e n c e o r a d v i c e o f t e n p r e s e n t i n a normal p o p u l a t i o n . The S p e n c e r Report suggests that a large number of wives felt that they had no one to talk to. Unit families officers were not always soon as helpful - indeed, officers, wives were afraid that revealing problems would reflect badly on their husband's careers. vii) Lack of Facilities The calp8 had hardly any entertainment facilities end no playgroupe or few mothers groups initially. There was only one shop provided by the N.A.A.F.I. and prices were not c~petitive. There were poor youth facilities. The environment was o b v i o u s l y n o t conducive t o good o o m n m t t y r e l a t i o n s and g o s s i p and p e t t y s q u a b b l e s were r i f e . I n t h e Spencer Report t h e r e was e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e r e was a l a c k o f playgroupe, but it was difficult to generate leadership because of transience. Thus it can be seen that the kind of problem that life in a service environment creates co-incidea very closely with factors that have been identified by writers on the subject of child abuse as 'predicters' that may predispose families to be at risk of child abuse. 6.
CONCLUSION AND R E C O ~ A T I O N S
Army life seems to be a curious dichotomy. On the one hand there is considerable material well-being. By definition almost all the men are in employment. Housing is generally good, frequently better than families in similar circumstances could expect in civilian life. Opportunities for social life, recreation, travel and job variety are certainly better than in many civilian Jobs. On the other hand, many of the features which attract men into the army militate against a satisfactory family life. Paradoxically a 'good' policy of aiming to provide all married soldiers with a house has the unforeseen consequence of encouraging marriage at an early age. Frequent separation, demands of security, the pressures on a soldier to take part in social activity may make wives resentful that they have joined up too. In the forces a commitment exists on both sides 24 hours out of 24 8. 72 hours notice of postings overseas troubled areas, rapid transit of a family when evacuation is required, the physical danger soldiers are exposed to in some postings, and activities cause strain for military wives as well as children. Wives are subject
Social Work with Service Families
713
to military discipline, p a s s e s may be r e q u i r e d f o r t h e m s e l v e s and t h e i r g u e s t s . They may e n t e r t h e i r h o u s i n g a r e a t h r o u g h a c o n t r o l l e d g a t e . When h u s b a n d a n d w i f e do n o t s h a r e t h e c o - - , i t m e n t t o a n army way o f l i f e , t h e t e n s i o n s h o w s , I t s e e m s t o u s t h a t f o r t h e r e t o be s i g n i f i c a n t improvement in the social c o n d i t i o n s f o r army f a m i l i e s we n e e d t o f u n d a m e n t a l l y c h a n g e t h e way we a l l e x p e c t t h e Army t o p e r f o r m . Two m a j o r a r e a s a r e i n c l u d e d i n t h e S p e n c e r R e p o r t ' s d e s c r i p t i o n o f t u r b u l e n c e , movement o f f a m i l i e s f r o m one p o s t i n g t o a n o t h e r , a n d separation of the head of the household from the family. We w o u l d n o t f e e l q u a l i f i e d t o make a n y s p e c i f i c r e o o z - , s n d a t i o n s t o r e d u c e p e r s o n n e l m o v e m e n t s . Howeverp i n o u r v i e w , t u r b u l e n c e n o t o n l y c a u s e s s t r a i n on a n i n d i v i d u a l l e v e l , but also ha,,pera the development of informal neighbourhood support. The e s t a b l i s h e d f a m i l y i s l o v e d on a t t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h i t would be m o s t u s e f u l i n assisting newcomers. It seems to us that these features are necessarily produced by the work of the Army. The A r ~ provides a 'Young Man's Life'. Young men have young wives and young children. If we want an Army which is able to respond quickly and effectively to any request we m , ~ of it, we have to pay the price. Part of that price is to recognise his and his fa~/ly's 'human' needs and fulfil them. We would lime to make a number of proposals to improve facilities for families. It may superficially appear that we have criticised the army in this paper. Many of our criticisms, o r a s we w o u l d p r e f e r them t o be r e g a r d e d , o f o u r s u g g e s t i o n s a r e directed towards Social Services Departments. We have had the benefit of considerable assistance from army personnel in the work we have done, and we find A r ~ Housing Authorities very willing to see the 'human' effect of housing policy. The army appears to recognise the relationship between a soldier's home life and his ability to perform hie Job much more clearly than, in our experience, does a civilian Housing Authority. We would advocate attention being given to six areas. We believe that bone of these areas involve considerable additional expense. They require, however, the relevant authorities to recognise the needs of any families. Local Social Service and Health Authorities must recognise the high risk of army families and should be actively involved with housing and welfare staff of service establishments in designing and providing services. Our first, and primary recommendation is indeed for the formation of close links between Service authorities, health and social service personnel, initially on a formal basis, representation being of offices of sufficient status to at least recommend operational decisions within their respective agencies. In our experience formal links very quickly permit informal 14-k, to be made to allow confidence and ease of communication between what are essentially agencies with very different functions. We should say that in our view the problem of communications between health and social services agencies is not confined solely to the military setting. The next three proposals should benefit army families as a whole. We would urge each establishment to set up a system whereby newly arrived families at a posting are welcomed with a few days at most, and introduced to other families living nearby. This should be done ideally by one of the families, so that they can be introduced to local facilities, and befriended. We do not believe this ought to be linked with a formal administrative procedure. In time this ~elcoming' can grow into a neighbourhood support scheme. We feel that this sort of scheme will combat the worst effects of 'turbulence', and reduce the loneliness, felt by families at times of separation. Playgroups, and mother and toddler groups are essential facilities, firstly to encourage children's learning, but also to act as a focus for parents to meet. Parents should be involved in the management of groups, fund raising and assisting at play sessions. We believe that salaried play leaders may be required to provide continuity. Social Services Departments must be willing to provide grant aid, and subsidize attendance for some children in need. Families will also benefit from the provision of 'Citizens Advice' especially in
714
J.C.
Guest and D. J o h n s t o n
financial matters. We are not sure how far financial problems are the product of lov pay or poor management. We suspect both. Improved pay could i~prove the former, but exacerbate the latter. The effective provision of this service has to be the subject of decision between the army and welfare authorities. Improved child care practise, essential in a number of families, can be by provision of 'family aide' or ,home-maker, services. Very young, or or unskilled mothers and housekeepers can be helped in an unthreatening way. 'Family aides' work can go way beyond practical help, and move on befriending families.
obtained inadequate, practical to
Lastly the front line worker, the doctor, health visitor, social worker, housing or family officer, needs ready access to specialist paediatric, psychiatric and psychological advice. One of the bi-products of movement of families is that time i8 taken up whilst a families needs are recognised and assessed, and the anoun% available to deal with these needs is limited. We fear that occasionally it is more practical not to refer families for specialist attention as they are likely to move before they na~ benefit. This sort of situation can be averted by adequate consultation with service authorities, but, again, service families and their needs have to be recog~ised and acknowledged. Even in these days of scarce resources, we see no excuse, given goodwill for at least the first and second of our proposals being implemented. We suspect the renainder would follow naturally and painlessly from them. We fear that all too often the needs of service families are lost in debates about the relative responsibilities of different authorities, civilian, and military. We hope we have shorn how effective simple inprovanents can be.
RE~C~S
:
I.
Report of A r ~ Welfare Inquiry Committee
2.
D. Gill Violence Against Children in Dreitsel H.P. Children and Soclalisation MacMillan ( i ~ ) .
H.M.S.0. (1976).
3.
Salth.
4.
Schneider Interviewing the parents in Kempa C.H. & Heifer R.E. Helping the battered child and his family. Li~iacott, T o r o n t o . (1972).
H.S.P.C.C. (1975).
5.
Lynch C h i l d Abuse - t h e c r i t i c a l p a t h . J o u r n a l of Haternal & Child Health. (1976).
6.
J . C . C r i g h t o n & P. Outram
7.
See Health and Social Service Journal, 24.6.77. for a fuller report.
8.
The Chief of Personnel and Logistics at Ministry of Defencs. The Times 18.5.70.
N.S.P.C.C. (1977).
0145-2134/79/0901..0709 $02.00/0.
SOCIAL WORK WITH SERVICE FAMILIES
Jennie C. Guest and David Johnston Area Officers, Warwickshire Social Services Department
Our a i z i n t h i s p a p e r i s t w o f o l d . We wish t o d e s c r i b e t h e work done w i t h f a z i l i e s r e f e r r e d f o r v a r i o u s p r o b l e n s , i n c l u d i n g c h i l d a b u s e , t o one Area S o c i a l S e r v i c e s Team ( S e c t i o n 2 ) . We t h e n o f f e r ( S e c t i o n 3) some c o m p a r i s o n s t o i n d i c a t e t h e e x t a n t o f t h e p r o b l e m . The s e c o n d t a s k i n s u b s e q u e n t s e c t i o n s i s t o u s e d a t a from various sources on child abttee (Section 4), end our own infornation (Section 5) to s u g g e s t t h a t A r ~ l i f e h a s i n h e r e n t f e a t u r e 8 e x a c e r b a t i n g r i s k o f c h i l d a b u s e . We mtko v a r i o u s c o n c l u s i o n s , and p r o p o s a l s f o r improvement ( S e c t i o n 6 ) . We draw m a t e r i a l f r e e t h e A r ~ W e l f a r e I n q u i r y Committee R e p o r t , known a s t h e S p e n c e r R e p o r t . 1 We would a r g u e t h a t t h e w e l f a r e o f S e r v i c e f a m i l i e s r e q u i r e s s p e c i a l c o n c e r n .
z.
soc~
woex
ee*qTTc~
Towards t h e end o f 1974 our a r e a team b e e a l e aware o f t h e a i l a i l a r i t - y and c o m p l e x i t y o f r e f e r r a l s from two S e r v i c e E s t a b l i s h m e n t s . These were b o t h t e n m i l e s f r o m t h e n e a r e s t town on an i n a d e q u a t e b u s r o u t e , one was an a c t i v e d e p o t on which 400 families lived with some calamity facilities. The other was the housing area of a former R.A.F. Station, now used as dormitory accommodation by the army. This had scant facilities, no regular meeting place, no plsygroup and one shop (naking a loss' ) Regular clinics and surgeries by civilian G.P's are held for faniliee. The children attend local schools, and social work help is provided by the local authority. Over a t w e l v e month p e r i o d , 10% o f f a m i l i e s l i v i n g on t h e d e p o t , and ~O~ o f f a m i l i e s ! i v i u g a t t h e f o r m e r R.A.F. camp were r e f e r r e d to t h e S o c i a l ~ e r v i c e s D e p a r t m e n t , o f t e n f o r s e r i o u s c a s e s o f c h i l d a b u s e , o f m a r i t a l breakdown, o v e r d o s e s , and p e r h a p s l e s s d r a m a t i c a l l y , f o r f e e d i n g p r o b l e m , and f a i l u r e t o t h r i v e , and s l e e p i n g and behaviour disturbances in children. The f o r m e r R.A.F. S t a t i o n a c t e d a s a d o r m i t o r y f o r t h r e e main g r o u p s o f s e r v i c e m e n , most from t h e n e a r b y d e p o t f o u r m i l e s away, some (25%) f r c n two o t h e r s t a t i o n s t w e n t y - s i x m i l e s away, and a few (5%) o f ' h e a d l e s s ' f a m i l i e s from p e r s o n n e l on s h o r t t e r m p o s t i n g a , f r e q u e n t l y o v e r s e a s . A key a r e a f o r i m p r o v e n e n t was l i a i s o n between f a m i l y d o c t o r , h e a l t h v i s i t o r and s o c i a l w o r k e r . A c e n t r a l i n g r e d i e n t was s e t t i n g up a m o n t h l y m e e t i n g i n which t h e r e was a c c e p t a n c e by a l l t h a t e a c h had an e q u a l t h o u g h d i f f e r e n t r o l e t o p l a y . W i t h o u t t h e e a s e o f c o n t a c t t h e s e m e e t i n g s e s t a b l i s h e d , many c a s e s which were i d e n t i f i e d e a r l y and d e a l t w i t h would h a v e c a u s e d more m a j o r c o n c e r n l a t e r . C o n t a c t had t o be made w i t h army p e r s o n n e l , i n i t i a l l y on an i n d i v i d u a l b a s i s , b u t l a t e r on by more f o r m a l m e e t i n g s between t h e S o c i a l S e r v i c e s Department and t h e army. T h i s c a u s e d some a n x i e t y . How f a r s h o u l d one t a l k a b o u t c l i e n t s w i t h t h e i r e m p l o y e r s ? What would be made o f i n f o r m a t i o n which we gave? I t a l r e a d y a p p e a r e d t h a t a s o l d i e r whose f a m i l y was i d e n t i f i e d a s ' a t r i s k ' by c a s e c o n f e r e n c e s c o u l d s u f f e r d i m i n i s h e d c a r e e r c h a n c e s . On t h e o t h e r hand t h e army was an employer w i t h a d i f f e r e n c e , b e i n g b o s s , l a n d l o r d , o c c a s i o n a l b e n e f a c t o r , and i t s p o l i c y had a c r u c i a l e f f e c t on our c l i e n t s ' l i v e s . The army saw a d v a n t a g e s i n c o n t a c t ! tmhapuy f s u n i l y l i f e l e d t o p o o r work, and any i m p r o v m m n t s were t o be e n c o u r a g e d . 709
710
J.C.
G u e s t and D. J o h n s t o n
Several areas needed consideration. The Social Services Department had to accept military personnel as being eligible for services, for example, assistance with playgroupa. Previously, as they were on Crown property, they were not regarded as being the concern of playgroup advisors, registration, nor able to benefit from grant aid. From the army side, transport to the local towns was required and accommodation for clubs and playgroupe had to be provided. Changes in housing policy, reducing the nuzber of moves families had to make and avoiding using the former R.A.F. base for an excessive number of young families, were necessary. These areas were tackled and though total success did not happen, improvement took place. There has been much success not least in the number of referrals of individuals to the Social Services Department. In only one family out of the ten who were the subject of case conferences for Non Accidental Injury, have children been removed from home. Referrals have come earlier, social workers are known as people to be approached with problenm. More problems are being dealt with by self-help groupa, and direct contact between service families and other agencies. Much work still needs to be done, though the crises, when some 10% of families in one camp were the subject of Non Accidental Injury case conferences has passed. Not least amongst the developments has been easy contact between service personnel a n d s o c i a l w o r k e r s , who a r e s e e n t o be u s e f u l s o u r c e s o f i n f o r m a t i o n and i n f l u e n c e , either helping to deei~ playgrounds for children, or advising defending officers at court nartial8. Personal relationships between the army and social services ease conmmication. On a nmaber of occasions we found that the social worker was able to act as a catalyst and comranicator. A conBunity centre existed, hardly used during the day. A group of dissatisfied wives having nowhere to meet, were unaware that this was available. The social worker got the two together. Service wives seeued --a_-inous in the belief that social workers should be independent from the army. They believed that otherwise confidences would not be respected, and that the army should not enter their social lives, as well as their husband's working lives. When social workers have to exercise their own authority, they have to demonstrate their independence from military discipline. We would now like to examine in more detail the characteristics of families referred to us, and cempare them with prediction or evidence of 'risk', as well as to children subject to N.A.I. case conferences.
3. T ~ ~ T ~ T
OF T ~ ~O~LE~
Between January 197~ and July 1976, from these two establishments, containing a population of 1275, ten children were the subject of Non Accidental Injury case conferences. This compared in the same period with 31 children from the whole of Social Services Division surrounding it, a total population of 99,394. This high proportion was reflected in the number of other referrals to the Social Services Departnent. In the area as a whole some 4.6% of households are referred each year, compared to 12.9% of service households. It was agreed by all other professionals in the case, e.g. family doctors, health visitors and paediatricians, that this was only the 'tip of the iceberg' and they had noted a similar high referral rats to their own agencies. 4.
INDICATORS OF CHILD A ~ S E
When examining all families in general where child abuse occurs, common antecedents begin to emerge. If our aim is prevention it is important to predict in what circumstances injury to children is likely to occur. And this is concerned not only with the intrinsic psychopathology of the family, but also with the socioeconomic stresses p!ayin~ upon the famil,y from the eav~ronm~nt in wh$ch the members live and work~ As yet no really h e l ~ l check list of predictors of child abuse has been arrived at. However, a survey of various studies has shown that 'the a~e distribution of the parents of abused children tended to be extremely young. 2. Another study showed that parents were often too young for parenthood, and that the income of families was very low.3. It has also been suggested that these parents are 'frequently isolated both physically and emotionally'. 4. Often they have nobody they can trust or call on in a crisis. 'Such families have usually
Social Work withService Families
711
gathered a whole range of interlocking problems affecting every aspect of %heir lives, marriage, housing, financial matters, employment'. 5. The N.S.P.C.C. Survey 'Child Victims of Physical Abuse' identified several stress factors in their interviews with 800 families. 6. These stress factors, and the percentage of the interviewed families where some, or all of them were found to be present, are listed in table form as follows :I .Financial Problems ............................. 2.Marital Problems ............................... 3. Unemployment ................................... 4.One Parent with psychiatric history ............ 5.Either Parent battered or in care themselves ... 6.Negative feelings towards child ................ 7.Child itself with behaviour problems ........... 8.Social isolation from family or friends ........
~4.7% 32.4% ~.2~ 2~.6~ 17.2% 16.9% 15.~ 13.1%
5. FEATURgS OF AP~Y LIFE In June 1976 Warwickshire Social Services Department Strategic Planning Division undertook a social survey of the former R.A.F. Station. 7. Of 100 famille8 resident, 29 were interviewed, and it is of interest to compare these findings with the more detailed studies of the Spencer Report. The study was carried out with the full co-operation of the Army to whom the report was presented. Most of the questions were directed towards wives, as it was assumed that they would be more affected by the conditions. Three themes dominated the Report. These were inexperience, isolation end inmect~rity. Most, but not all, families could be characterized in this way. The wives, for the most part, were very young, the average age being 22.7, three quarters aged 23 or less. On average they married at 19, their husbands being 2.3 years older. The Spencer Report average was marriage at 20. This meant that there was an almost total lack of people - especially women - of the previous generation. 62% of families had children, half the children were under three. Half the families said that they did not know how long they would stay at this establishment. Wives who had lived at a previous camp bad stayed for an average of 1.6 years. It appeared the average length of time families could expect to stay in one place was I year - I 0 months. The picture given was of frequent posting8 of short duration. This was insufficient time to permit commnity initiatives to organize successful social and other facilities. The camp was ten nile8 frol the nearest large town; public transport provided was infrequent and expensive. However, some 8~% of the wives had been brought up in towns and cities, and the u n a c ~ t o m e d isolation from shopping and social facilities could prove a strain. 70% bad no local relatives. Over half the wives saw their parents less than six times a year. 72% of families did not have a car. There was also a picture of low use of facilities - re-inforcing the sense of isolation. There were frequent complaints of poor shopping and social facilities. The lack of transport prevented wives taking a job. From our experience (gained over several years of working with service families), it was clear that many of these stress factors described above were present arising from (by definition of) the kind of environment any ars~ life provides.
i)
HarriaKe at an Barl,T A~e
Most of the service families had married young. The ar~'s policy of providing a fully furnished home for a young soldier when he marries encourages this, as in 'city strset'similar couples would have to wait for a considerable time before accosmodation was available to them. The Spencer Report makes clear that between 1969 and 1974, though the size of the army fell, the proportion of married soldiers rose, and the proportion of Junior ranks (i.e. Corporals and below) married at 19 or 20 doubled. ii) Low Income ~any service families are on a low income, able to claim family means supplement or rent and rate rebate.
J.C. Guest and D. J o h n s t o n
712
iii) M%rltsl Problua The motivation of a soldier to Join the army had often stmmod from d i f f i c u l t i e s within t h e i r own f a a i l i e a and a desire to 'get away'. Menypresented as innature and n o t ready t o f a c e up t o t h e demands o f m a r r i a g e . Long p o a t i n g s away from wives and c o n s t a n t moves meant t h a t many s a r l - i a g e s n e v e r formed a s t a b l e b a s i s . All t h i s p o i n t s towards a r e c i p e f o r m a r i t a l p r o b l e m . i v ) Behaviour P r o b l e ~ from C ~ i l d r e n From d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h l o c a l s c h o o l s =any o f the c h i l d r e n from s e r v i c e f a m i l i e s had a t e n d e n c y towards b e h a v i o u r a l p r o b l e m . The m a j o r i t y had n~ved about t h e c o u n t r y f r e q u e n t l y and had n e v e r had a s e t t l e d home. Many had a t t e n d e d s e v e r a l s c h o o l s i n a s h o r t s p e c s o f t i ~ e . Also a h i g h p r o p o r t i o n o f f a m i l i e s had experienced situations whon the father was away from the hone for considerable p e r i o d s o f time. v) SocSal Isolation froi F a ~ l F and Friend8 The m a j o r i t y o f t h e f a m i l i e s had no f a m i l y or f r i e n d s nearby who could s u p p o r t them in bringing up their families and help out at crisis times. Of necessity (for security reasons) the canpe were centTed far away from any cantree of population, entertainment and shopping facilities. The bus service was poor and few families could afford a car. The nuclear family beoane all too importsnt and stress was turned inward. The typical picture from t h e Spencer Report is o f a l a r g e number o f A r ~ p e r s o n n e l l i v i n g a t soma d i s t a n c e from the c e n t r e e of population, the majority of their wives having prevlC,aaly worked in industry or c l e r i c a l work. This was borne Out by our own s t u d y on t h e f o r m e r R.A.F. Camp. Many f e l t t h a t a r ~ l i f e p r e v e n t e d f r i e n d s h i p w i t h c i v i l i a n s because o f t u r b u l e n c e , i s o l a t i o n and t h e poor image o f t h e army.
v i ) NarrQw ARe ~a,,,_m_ew i t h A " P o p u l a t i o ~ The ma~ol~lty o f t h e f a s i l t e s were young. There were no o l d e r women o r mant t o p r o v i d e t h e e x p e r i e n c e o r a d v i c e o f t e n p r e s e n t i n a normal p o p u l a t i o n . The S p e n c e r Report suggests that a large number of wives felt that they had no one to talk to. Unit families officers were not always soon as helpful - indeed, officers, wives were afraid that revealing problems would reflect badly on their husband's careers. vii) Lack of Facilities The calp8 had hardly any entertainment facilities end no playgroupe or few mothers groups initially. There was only one shop provided by the N.A.A.F.I. and prices were not c~petitive. There were poor youth facilities. The environment was o b v i o u s l y n o t conducive t o good o o m n m t t y r e l a t i o n s and g o s s i p and p e t t y s q u a b b l e s were r i f e . I n t h e Spencer Report t h e r e was e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e r e was a l a c k o f playgroupe, but it was difficult to generate leadership because of transience. Thus it can be seen that the kind of problem that life in a service environment creates co-incidea very closely with factors that have been identified by writers on the subject of child abuse as 'predicters' that may predispose families to be at risk of child abuse. 6.
CONCLUSION AND R E C O ~ A T I O N S
Army life seems to be a curious dichotomy. On the one hand there is considerable material well-being. By definition almost all the men are in employment. Housing is generally good, frequently better than families in similar circumstances could expect in civilian life. Opportunities for social life, recreation, travel and job variety are certainly better than in many civilian Jobs. On the other hand, many of the features which attract men into the army militate against a satisfactory family life. Paradoxically a 'good' policy of aiming to provide all married soldiers with a house has the unforeseen consequence of encouraging marriage at an early age. Frequent separation, demands of security, the pressures on a soldier to take part in social activity may make wives resentful that they have joined up too. In the forces a commitment exists on both sides 24 hours out of 24 8. 72 hours notice of postings overseas troubled areas, rapid transit of a family when evacuation is required, the physical danger soldiers are exposed to in some postings, and activities cause strain for military wives as well as children. Wives are subject
Social Work with Service Families
713
to military discipline, p a s s e s may be r e q u i r e d f o r t h e m s e l v e s and t h e i r g u e s t s . They may e n t e r t h e i r h o u s i n g a r e a t h r o u g h a c o n t r o l l e d g a t e . When h u s b a n d a n d w i f e do n o t s h a r e t h e c o - - , i t m e n t t o a n army way o f l i f e , t h e t e n s i o n s h o w s , I t s e e m s t o u s t h a t f o r t h e r e t o be s i g n i f i c a n t improvement in the social c o n d i t i o n s f o r army f a m i l i e s we n e e d t o f u n d a m e n t a l l y c h a n g e t h e way we a l l e x p e c t t h e Army t o p e r f o r m . Two m a j o r a r e a s a r e i n c l u d e d i n t h e S p e n c e r R e p o r t ' s d e s c r i p t i o n o f t u r b u l e n c e , movement o f f a m i l i e s f r o m one p o s t i n g t o a n o t h e r , a n d separation of the head of the household from the family. We w o u l d n o t f e e l q u a l i f i e d t o make a n y s p e c i f i c r e o o z - , s n d a t i o n s t o r e d u c e p e r s o n n e l m o v e m e n t s . Howeverp i n o u r v i e w , t u r b u l e n c e n o t o n l y c a u s e s s t r a i n on a n i n d i v i d u a l l e v e l , but also ha,,pera the development of informal neighbourhood support. The e s t a b l i s h e d f a m i l y i s l o v e d on a t t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h i t would be m o s t u s e f u l i n assisting newcomers. It seems to us that these features are necessarily produced by the work of the Army. The A r ~ provides a 'Young Man's Life'. Young men have young wives and young children. If we want an Army which is able to respond quickly and effectively to any request we m , ~ of it, we have to pay the price. Part of that price is to recognise his and his fa~/ly's 'human' needs and fulfil them. We would lime to make a number of proposals to improve facilities for families. It may superficially appear that we have criticised the army in this paper. Many of our criticisms, o r a s we w o u l d p r e f e r them t o be r e g a r d e d , o f o u r s u g g e s t i o n s a r e directed towards Social Services Departments. We have had the benefit of considerable assistance from army personnel in the work we have done, and we find A r ~ Housing Authorities very willing to see the 'human' effect of housing policy. The army appears to recognise the relationship between a soldier's home life and his ability to perform hie Job much more clearly than, in our experience, does a civilian Housing Authority. We would advocate attention being given to six areas. We believe that bone of these areas involve considerable additional expense. They require, however, the relevant authorities to recognise the needs of any families. Local Social Service and Health Authorities must recognise the high risk of army families and should be actively involved with housing and welfare staff of service establishments in designing and providing services. Our first, and primary recommendation is indeed for the formation of close links between Service authorities, health and social service personnel, initially on a formal basis, representation being of offices of sufficient status to at least recommend operational decisions within their respective agencies. In our experience formal links very quickly permit informal 14-k, to be made to allow confidence and ease of communication between what are essentially agencies with very different functions. We should say that in our view the problem of communications between health and social services agencies is not confined solely to the military setting. The next three proposals should benefit army families as a whole. We would urge each establishment to set up a system whereby newly arrived families at a posting are welcomed with a few days at most, and introduced to other families living nearby. This should be done ideally by one of the families, so that they can be introduced to local facilities, and befriended. We do not believe this ought to be linked with a formal administrative procedure. In time this ~elcoming' can grow into a neighbourhood support scheme. We feel that this sort of scheme will combat the worst effects of 'turbulence', and reduce the loneliness, felt by families at times of separation. Playgroups, and mother and toddler groups are essential facilities, firstly to encourage children's learning, but also to act as a focus for parents to meet. Parents should be involved in the management of groups, fund raising and assisting at play sessions. We believe that salaried play leaders may be required to provide continuity. Social Services Departments must be willing to provide grant aid, and subsidize attendance for some children in need. Families will also benefit from the provision of 'Citizens Advice' especially in
714
J.C.
Guest and D. J o h n s t o n
financial matters. We are not sure how far financial problems are the product of lov pay or poor management. We suspect both. Improved pay could i~prove the former, but exacerbate the latter. The effective provision of this service has to be the subject of decision between the army and welfare authorities. Improved child care practise, essential in a number of families, can be by provision of 'family aide' or ,home-maker, services. Very young, or or unskilled mothers and housekeepers can be helped in an unthreatening way. 'Family aides' work can go way beyond practical help, and move on befriending families.
obtained inadequate, practical to
Lastly the front line worker, the doctor, health visitor, social worker, housing or family officer, needs ready access to specialist paediatric, psychiatric and psychological advice. One of the bi-products of movement of families is that time i8 taken up whilst a families needs are recognised and assessed, and the anoun% available to deal with these needs is limited. We fear that occasionally it is more practical not to refer families for specialist attention as they are likely to move before they na~ benefit. This sort of situation can be averted by adequate consultation with service authorities, but, again, service families and their needs have to be recog~ised and acknowledged. Even in these days of scarce resources, we see no excuse, given goodwill for at least the first and second of our proposals being implemented. We suspect the renainder would follow naturally and painlessly from them. We fear that all too often the needs of service families are lost in debates about the relative responsibilities of different authorities, civilian, and military. We hope we have shorn how effective simple inprovanents can be.
RE~C~S
:
I.
Report of A r ~ Welfare Inquiry Committee
2.
D. Gill Violence Against Children in Dreitsel H.P. Children and Soclalisation MacMillan ( i ~ ) .
H.M.S.0. (1976).
3.
Salth.
4.
Schneider Interviewing the parents in Kempa C.H. & Heifer R.E. Helping the battered child and his family. Li~iacott, T o r o n t o . (1972).
H.S.P.C.C. (1975).
5.
Lynch C h i l d Abuse - t h e c r i t i c a l p a t h . J o u r n a l of Haternal & Child Health. (1976).
6.
J . C . C r i g h t o n & P. Outram
7.
See Health and Social Service Journal, 24.6.77. for a fuller report.
8.
The Chief of Personnel and Logistics at Ministry of Defencs. The Times 18.5.70.
N.S.P.C.C. (1977).