Inter-agency conflict: an ethnographic study

Author: Scott D.¹

Source: Child & Family Social Work, Volume 2, Number 2, 1997 , pp. 73-80(8)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

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Abstract:

An ethnographic study using observation and in-depth interviewing of professionals from different organizations, intensively `shadowed' a small number of alleged child abuse cases as they moved through the service system. A high level of inter-agency conflict was observed and common sources of conflict were: gatekeeping disputes; dispositional disputes; and domain disputes. Dynamics relating to the displacement of hostility on to other agencies in cases in which all the professionals involved felt impo-tent to protect vulnerable children, were also observed. These findings provide some fresh insights and hypotheses into the com-plexity of inter-agency interaction in the field of child protection.

Keywords: child protection; collaboration; conflict; co-operation; inter-organizational

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: School of Social Work, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

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