ASS069-2: Case Study & Reflective Essay on Multi-Agency Working

This assignment presents a case study of Cora Kaproska, focusing on multi-agency collaboration in addressing domestic abuse. Part 1 outlines the key problems faced by the multi-agency team, the roles of various professionals (health visitors, social workers, police officers, doctors, and financial assessment officers) and relevant legislation such as the Working Together Act 2018 and the Children's Act 1989. The report explains the professional role in the context of the case, the suitability of face-to-face meetings, and the importance of service user contribution in the decision-making process. Social care tools such as professional networks, codes of ethics, and effective communication are discussed. Part 2 includes a reflective statement. The conclusion provides recommendations for further development of multi-agency working.

EVIDENCE -BASED
REFLECTIVE CASE
STUDY ESSAY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Outlining the key problems in the case study that multi-agency team worked on......................3
Giving a brief overview of each professional role in multi-agency team and legislation that
inform their practices...................................................................................................................3
Explaining professional roles in the context of case....................................................................4
Demonstrating understanding of type of multi-agency meeting that group selected and discuss
why it was suitable to case...........................................................................................................5
Demonstrating comprehending of service user contribution in decision-making process and
rationale for social care tools.......................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................8
PART 2- REFLECTIVE STATEMENT.........................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
APPENDIX ...................................................................................................................................13
Models and theories of social care.............................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Multi-agency working is considered as one of those effective ways that drive the
attention individual person toward supporting children’s and their families as well as others who
tend to take help from those that are able to do so (Isham, Scott and Taylor, 2021). This form of
working is quite essential and useful in varied manner. As it helped to secure actual improvement
in people live and contributed to improve their living standards. With multi-agency working,
service provide taken better care of those children’s who need help and attempt to overcome the
impact of specific discriminative activity such as domestic abuse that put negative impact on
their health whether it is mental or physical. Fostering positive relation between individuals
families and professionals based on shared accountability as well as transparency, is considered
as multi-agency working philosophy. It is all about providing a continuous response to needy
people with different and complex demands that affect standard of their living. The current
assignment will be based on specific case and that is Cora Kaproska as group case study. The
report will define issues that multi-agency team face, each professional role and service use
support in decision-making. It will also define multi-agency meeting and role of legislation.
PART 1
Outlining the key problems in the case study that multi-agency team worked on
Me and my group members are working on particular case that is related to Cora
Kaproska. It is a kind of domestic abuse case where Cora as a victim facing challenges while
keeping relation with Derek. We deal with an issue and that is lack of communication with
sufferer, because the father of Sammy's were always present nearby her, which make interaction
difficult for me as well as my team members. Due to this reason, we are unable to ask any
question of Cora, to make assure that she is facing issues to survive with his partner and is her
relationship works better or not. Without getting overall information about this case, we are
unable to take any action and decision, which is actually important for us to do so on time
without making any mistake.
Giving a brief overview of each professional role in multi-agency team and legislation that
inform their practices
Multi-agency team is a group of different individuals, among which each person is
accountable to follow the key legislation and conduct their activities accordingly as it may
inform their key practices. These professionals are;

Health visitors-
A health visitor may take approach to improve well-being or health of individuals by
conducting investigation and developing plan to overcome issues (Herbert and Bromfield,
2021). They are specialized in working with families with a children aged zero to five. They may
take Child Welfare Act 1918, into consideration for purpose of serving quality and satisfactory
services.
Social worker-
In multi-agency team, social workers play vital role in term of teaching and generating
awareness among individuals about key resources and how they may use that. They may take
attempt to guide people about how to develop specific competencies such as caring discipline of
children's.
Police officer-
They may contribute to make a case investigation easier than ever in term of providing
their support to aware multi-agency team members about a person life history whether they are a
criminal history or not (Powell and Casey, 2021).
Doctor-
Their role is to protect people from being infected of any harmful disease and provide
better care in term of medical treatment.
Financial assessment officer-
The most important professional role in a multi-agency team is current one, according to
that a person may take approach to obtain and clarify financial information from individual and
offer adult social care service.
Legislation-
Working together Act 2018 is included in list of statutory guidance or legislation that
inform practices of multi-agency team in effective manner (Working Together 2018: What’s
Different, 2018). It is important for each member such as Doctors to take this guidance into their
consideration along with National Health Service Act 2006, which also driven their
concentration toward conducting ethical practices that may put positive impact on health and
well-being of children's as well as their family. All the multi-agency members follow both
legislations that allow them to perform appropriately and in ethical manner. For example, police

officers may take Care Act 2014 Section 46 into their consideration. It may enable them to take
better care of children, especially who are dealing child abuse situation.
Explaining professional roles in the context of case
In relation to the case study of Cora- domestic case, I am playing an important role and
that is financial assessment officer. I am accountable to perform my duties and fulfil
responsibilities in ethical and sustainable manner. In the context of current case, I am
accountable to conduct appropriate investigation about Derek's financial background and income
that they earn to live a normal life and fulfil the needs of his family members such as Sammy's
and Cora. I had a responsibility to provide financial statement of his father to the council and
conduct test that permit governmental bodies to take decision to decide alimony amount for
Cora, who might be taken divorce from Derek, because of her aggressive behaviour. As a health
visitor has noticed that she has bruising on her neck & arms. Some mark looks older and certain
are fresh.
Along with my responsibilities and duties, like others I am also responsible to take key
legislation into my consideration that underpinning essential practices such as case investigation
on the basis of financial stability of Derek. For example, I had developed my understanding
about Working Together Act 2018, which falls under the governmental guidances and their aim
is to provide better knowledge and direction to multi-agency working as well as teams. This
Legislation exists in order to highlight the key expectations of performing with those agencies in
local or national level, that help to keep children's safe, and prevent their life from any type of
abuse, such as domestic (Kilpatrick and et. al., 2021). Furthermore, its goal is to set aim posts for
inter-agency working and to promote well-fare of children's from all background, whether they
are poor or belong to middle class families, where many cases raise as domestic abuse that
impact their physical and mental fitness. Along with above consideration, I also need to consider
financial assistance section 17 (S17) Children's care act 1989, which enable me to perform
professional and fulfil my responsibilities appropriately (Hayes, 2017).
Demonstrating understanding of type of multi-agency meeting that group selected and discuss
why it was suitable to case.
Face to face is one of the best and most effective form of meeting that multi-agency team
take into their consideration and utilize in appropriate manner, to interact with each other for
purpose of sharing information about a case such as Cora- Domestic abuse and more. Face to

face meeting is also considered as an official conference that is appropriate to use. For example,
with this type of meeting, they may share essential data about cases clearly and continue the flow
of information sharing (Herbert and Bromfield, 2020). By using this approach, each team
member collaborative and coordinate appropriately and maintain transparency, which is quite
essential for them to do that. It can be said that multi-agency meeting is the key component of
procedure of successful working with young individual and children that has been determined as
having unmeet demand and tend help from more than on health and social care agency, who are
able to meet their needs and requirements like Cora, as she faces issue with a relationship with
Derek.
This form of meeting is tasked with creating a personalized combination of support. The
aim this process is to address determined and unmeet demand of Cora and Sammy. It makes
individual team member able to deliver service to both characters with multiple needs. With the
help of this procedure they may provide better service and contribute to enhance their living
standard (Davies, 2021). This process is convened by practitioner or multi-agency member that
may initially determine actual or unmeet demand that might be needed support from them
(Choudhury and Williams, 2020). It may contribute to support action of resolving the case from
beginning to end in appropriate and systematic manner that in turn provide desire outcome.
Demonstrating comprehending of service user contribution in decision-making process and
rationale for social care tools
It is necessary for health visitor and other professional officers of multi-agency team to
take better and right decision. In regard to this process, service user as victim may play crucial
role in term of contributing to share overall information about what happen to them, does anyone
hit or assault them or not (Stout and et.al., 2020). They have info that a service provide such as
health visitor or police officer used to deal with the issue that they are facing from longer time,
especially children's. Social care service user accountable to make a clear discussion with
helpers, which may give supports chance to take decision about how to deal to entire situation.
In the world of health & social care, there are several forms of tools accessible that has
been utilized to develop effective and useful care or action plan.
Professional network and code of ethics are the key tools that me and my multi-agency
team utilized to take action to develop appropriate care plan, which provide all members
directions about what they need to achieve and how (Onyango, 2020). It is important for me to

use my wide network among which each member is able to perform their role without making
any mistake and dealing with major risk. Effective communication is also included in same list
of resources, because it may give individual opportunity to develop plan based on actual or fact
data. It is fact that without proper interaction with service user, social care services providers are
unable to provide satisfactory support which they tend to do it. Digital cameras in the recent
time is the most effective and excellent tool that social care workers used to solve case and
obtain positive outcome on time (Bakar and et.al., 2020). They may contribute to improve health
of children's by taking laws, regulations into consideration such as Children's care act 1989. It
may drive their attention toward taking care of child who are facing issues such as Domestic
Abuse.
CONCLUSION
From above analysis, it has been concluded that by following legal terms and policies in
effective and appropriate manner, financial assessment officer and their team members
successfully overcome the impact of each challenge that they have determined from a case. By
considering the needs and understanding the situation of Cora as well as Sammy, multi-agency
team has taken right decision which enabled them to save their lives that is not easy without
having proper information about overall situation that they are facing.
Recommendation-
 Multi-Agency teams or groups of individuals can take approach to build in flexibility for
those children’s who need their attention and focus to overcome a challenge that impact
on their mental & physical well-being (Multi-agency working, 2021).
 Along with above suggestion they can drive attention toward next for purpose of further
development of multi-agency working. They can take action to develop a clear language
around major risks and vulnerability forces. They can make assure to utilize better way to
communicate with others. It will help to make a trustworthy relation between both parties
and allow understanding what data they might be shared or needed and why.

REFERENCES
Book and Journals
Bakar, K. A. and et.al., 2020. Addition concept through the lenses of young children: Creating
visual representation with digital cameras. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and
Technology Education. 16(6). p.em1854.
Choudhury, D. and Williams, H., 2020. Strengthening the educational inclusion of young carers
with additional needs: an eco-systemic understanding. Educational Psychology in
Practice. 36(3). pp.241-256.
Davies, P., 2021. Practicing co-produced research: tackling domestic abuse through innovative
multi-agency partnership working. Crime Prevention and Community Safety. pp.1-19.
Hayes, L.J.B., 2017. Care and Control: Are the National Minimum Wage Entitlements of
Homecare Workers at Risk under the Care Act 2014?. Industrial Law Journal. 44(4).
pp.492-521.
Herbert, J. L. and Bromfield, L. M., 2021. A quasi-experimental study of the Multi-Agency
Investigation & Support Team (MIST): a collaborative response to child sexual abuse.
Child Abuse & Neglect. 111. p.104827.
Herbert, J. L. and Bromfield, L., 2020. Worker perceptions of the Multi-Agency Investigation &
Support Team (MIST): a process evaluation of a cross-agency response to severe child
abuse. Journal of child sexual abuse. 29(6). pp.638-658.
Isham, L., Scott, J. and Taylor, J., 2021. Feasibility and acceptability of the “Never Events”
method in the context of multi-agency child protection: findings from an exploratory
study. Journal of Interprofessional Care. pp.1-5.
Kilpatrick, S and et. al., 2021. Social enterprises and regional cities: working together for mutual
benefit. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development. pp.1-17.
Onyango, G., 2020. Inter-institutional trust and multi-agency networks in anti-corruption efforts
in public Administration in Kenya. African Studies Quarterly. 19(2). pp.17-36.
Powell, M. B. and Casey, S., 2021. Professionals’ perceptions of a multi-agency computerised
data sharing system. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. pp.1-11.
Stout, B. and et.al., 2020. Researching Social Work Practice Ethically and Developing Ethical
Researchers. Ethics and Social Welfare. 14(2). pp.172-186.
Online
6 Important Theories in Social Work. 2021. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.onlinemswprograms.com/social-work/theories/>
Multi-agency working. 2021. [Online]. Available Through: <https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-
protection-system/multi-agency-working-child-protection#article-top>
Working Together 2018: What’s Different. 2018. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.childprotectioncompany.com/CPC/news/general/working-together-2018-
whats-different/>

PART 2- REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
By referring to David Boud reflective model, I want to share my personal experience
about learning myself. I have developed understanding about my behaviour that put direct impact
on my team members who are working with me and whom I perform different tasks such as
multi-agency working. While making a discussion with others, I prefer to encourage everyone to
share their points of views about a case, related to that we all are working on. This kind of
behaviour affect my performance as well as others in positive manner. It makes me capable to
gain desire results in term of decision and action plan formation about social care service, that
multi-agency team responsible to provide. By using the same reflective concept, I had identified
my weakness and that is lack of communication. I want to improve that, because it is necessary
for a person to interact with all candidates that are working with them for current and future
cases. It impacts in negative manner upon service user behaviour and situation, which is not
acceptable by me at any cost. I have to take right decision that fulfil victim and their family
members needs, that are dealing to the worst circumstances.
As a part or member of multi-agency team, I have gained different types of knowledge
about multiple concepts. For example, I have obtained understanding about key legislation that
put positive impact on working practices of social care and service provider such as financial
assessment officer, health visitors and more. With this type of comprehending, I will work even
better in the future than now. I have gained learning about practice guidance that improve my
performance and behaviour in effective manner. All these things are quite applicable to multi-
agency working, in term of enhancing performance and improving decision-making process.
By referring of Belbin team development theory, I want to share information about my
role within meeting and that is plant. According to this specific duty, I am accountable to
develop effective plans and strategies about multi-agency meeting, which drive the performance
and actions of others in appropriate and systematic manner. As a plant or planner, I had taken
initiatives to create the better and best solutions to resolve the issues of service user as well as
team members. I had always taken approaches to be creative and innovative all the time, because
it put direct impact on my profession and career. I want to be creative for those who seek to
utilize those social care services that resolve their personal issues such as domestic abuse. By
playing this role I felt quite effective in form of meeting unmeet needs of children's and their
family members that are dealing to the worst situations and tend to take help of social agencies

that are accessible in bulk. It can be said that plants are creative members of groups as they are
able to come up with useful and applicable approaches that in turn provide desire results. I had
always developed those ideas that aid my team members to solve issues of child and their family
and allow overcoming with specific difficult situation that put adverse impact on their well-
being. I am introverts in behaviour and posed innovative skills. I like to share more information
about myself as plant and that is my weaknesses. As I am not posing better understanding about
effective communication skills that play crucial role in success and growth of a team.
Furthermore, I do not have collaborative skill as well because a plant always prefer to work
alone, instead of working with multi-agency members, which might be impacted negatively.
I want to share my experience that I have gained while working as a part of multi-agency
team members. For example, I had faced challenge to collaborative and interact with others,
because of not posing better comprehending about communication skill, which is quite essential
for me to have so. It can be said that without proper interaction, no one will gain desire outcome
and provide or delivery satisfactory service to others whether they are customers or social care
service users (TUCKMAN'S STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT, 2020). Without having and
using communication competence, I am feeling quite nervous and stressed, which affect
negatively upon my performance and others work as well. Due to this challenge, in the future I
will face more issues and because of this reason I have to take strategic action and decision.
Furthermore, my experience gets worst when I realize that I am dealing to other challenge due to
lack of collaborative skill, that impact on my performance while working as important team
member. In order to overcome the two challenges, I need to take right decision in term of using
specific model or theory that encompasses key solutions that I will use appropriately. For
example, I had taken Tuckman stages of group formation, which bring a lot of benefits to me.
According to chosen concept, I were managed both issues in term of forming, storming,
norming, performing and adjourning. I had taken approaches to orient with other personality,
attempts to define tasks and interact with others to enhance my communicative skills better than
the others. According second phase, I had taken benefit in term of making discussion with others
and clarifying roles, it enhances my collaborative skills perfectly and give me a chance to work
even better than other candidates as multi-agency teams. By considering further stages I had
obtained desire outcomes.

While working as a part of group, I had gained excellent and unforgeable experience that
affect on my personal and professional growth. I had developed understanding about team
working, effective collaboration and communication. I had gained experience of being a team
member, who is accountable to support others and consider their opinions while working in a
group. I had developed my knowledge as well as experience of working a part of team by using
and developing skills as discussed above that in turn provide varied benefits to me.

REFERENCES
Online
Boud Reflection Model. 2021. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.toolshero.com/personal-development/boud-reflection-model/>
TUCKMAN'S STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT. 2020. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.wcupa.edu/coral/tuckmanStagesGroupDelvelopment.aspx#:~:text=These
%20stages%20are%20commonly%20known,more%20collaborative%20or%20shared
%20leadership.>

APPENDIX
Models and theories of social care
Cognitive behavioural therapy and task centered practice are included in category of
models that are related to social work. Psychosocial development and psychodynamic are
included in list of theories that also cover under same concept in which chosen frameworks are
(6 Important Theories in Social Work, 2021).