Family Participation in Child Protection Practice - Research Paper Example

1). By initially presenting qualifying definitions of the terms family participation and family involvement in decision making processes relative to child protection, the authors further different approaches to family participation including case-conference model and the family group conferencing (FGC) approach. Through utilizing the observational method of research where 11 FGMs were conducted and evaluated within a time frame of 30 months from October 2007 to March 2010 in Queensland, Australia, the authors applied a three-stage study process involving 87 participants where the current study represented the third stage.

The data analyzed included the following elements: the meeting environment; evidence of preparation and planning; and interactions (Healy, Darlington, & Yellowlees, 2012, p. 6). . Critique of the Article The article was effectively structured and presented by the authors by incorporating all the essential elements needed for the study, such as the abstract, purpose of the study, theoretical framework, definition of relevant terms, methodology, data collection and analysis, findings and concluding remarks.

One noted, however, that the author did not provide limitations of the study and implications for current and future research. There were strengths in terms of using a language that is comprehensible to various readers. The way that the contents were clearly structured through provision of sub-headings was also helpful. Likewise, by structuring data and information in tabular form, readers get to appreciate a summary of highlights which are most useful in understanding the contentions made. The authors referred to 39 authoritative sources of information to support and validate their assertions.

However, one noted that since the publication date for the study was in 2012, the authors used some references that could be outdated. The oldest sources were published in 1988 (Department of Health and Social Security, 1988) and 1996 (Bell, 1996; Corby, Millar, & Young, 1996), where more than 24 and 16 years have transpired, respectively. Use of these sources could invalidate validity, reliability and applicability of information to current times. A total of ten sources out of 39 were more than 10 years old (26%) which could have weakened the applicability of cited information.

Otherwise, the rest of the article was commendable in terms of presenting the manner by which findings of the observation study were detailed. Further, the discussion portion evidently established relationships between the data collected and presented with