Excellence Not Excuses Inspection of Services for Ethnic Minority Children and Families

Excellence Not Excuses
Inspection of Services for Ethnic Minority Children and Families

Description:

" 1.1 Ethnic minority families face many issues, which have little or no significance to the white population. These include personal and institutional racism and the impact of immigration, nationality laws and separated families. These issues compound other problems of parenting, such as discipline and inter-generational conflict.

1.2 In the wake of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry there is an expectation that councils will be aware of these issues. Sir William Macpherson reminded us that `Racism, institutional or otherwise, is not the prerogative of the police service. It is clear that other agencies... also suffer from the same disease.'

1.3 However, a recent SSI inspection of social services for ethnic minority children and families showed that most councils did not have strategies in place to deliver appropriate services to ethnic minorities and that families were often offered services that were not appropriate or sensitive to their needs. This report is based on inspections of services to ethnic minority children and families in eight authorities. It follows an earlier inspection of services to black elders. It complements the work being undertaken under the Quality Protects initiative.

1.4 The report provides an overview of the quality of social services provided to ethnic minority groups and the extent to which they were involved in planning and decision making. It does so in the context of statutory requirements and the recommendations of the Macpherson report. It also provides key questions for councillors, managers and practitioners and includes examples of good practice. This report has therefore been designed to help you improve services to ethnic minority children and families. "

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