STAFF LOOKING AFTER CHILDREN IN LOCAL-AUTHORITY RESIDENTIAL UNITS - THE INTERFACE WITH CHILD MENTAL-HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Seventy-two members of staff working in children's residential units i n a Local Authority were surveyed, to elicit their experiences and eva luations of working with child mental health professionals. Whilst the majority of staff held few or no formal educational qualifications, t hey emerged as an experienced group, with a level of confidence in the ir knowledge and skill base. Support was identified as coming predomin antly from within units themselves; relatively few staff had direct co ntact with child psychiatrists or psychologists, although many childre n received a service. Staff in general felt that child mental health s ervices were not helpful to them in terms of their work with young peo ple. However, the majority of staff indicated a need for greater direc t involvement across a range of child behavioural and emotional proble ms. The findings are discussed in terms of the changing population of ''looked after'' children and the recommendations of the Warner Report . (C) 1996 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescen ts