All public sector workers in contact with children and families, both in health care and allied services, need access to clearly written information about what to do if they are concerned about the safety and welfare of a child. Ensuring the safety of children who are at risk of harm is not an easy undertaking. It is sometimes difficult to assess the significance of information about a child, to gauge its seriousness or decide what to do next. This handbook will help health service workers negotiate the complexities of child protection practice, with the aim of preventing abuse and neglect and protecting children from further harm once it has occurred.

The text explains how the child protection process works. It covers all the key areas of child protection practice, including:

• risk assessment
• physical, sexual and emotional abuse
• neglect
• the child protection conference
• key changes in the legal framework and their application in practice.

Clarifying a complex area of work, The Child in Mind provides sound advice aimed at improving individual practice. It is unique in that although it is directed to all health care workers, it can be used as part of in-service training, as a handy reference for students and indeed by anyone who works with children.