Disguised compliance: learning from case reviews
Summary of risk factors and learning for improved practice around families and disguised compliance
Disguised compliance involves parents and carers appearing to co-operate with professionals in order to allay concerns and stop professional engagement (Reder et al, 1993)1.
This can mean that social workers and other practitioners may be unaware of what is happening in a child’s life and the risks they face may be unknown to local authorities.
This briefing focuses on learning from published case reviews from 2014 onwards that involve disguised compliance.
Learning from these case reviews highlights the importance of:
- social workers and other practitioners being able to recognise disguised compliance when working with families
- being aware of what actions to take in situations where they suspect parents or carers of disguised compliance.
References
Reder, P., Duncan, S.and Gray, M. (1993) Beyond blame: child abuse tragedies revisited. London: Routledge.Browse our full series of learning from case reviews briefings
Our series of thematic briefings highlight the learning from case reviews conducted when a child dies, or is seriously harmed, as a result of abuse or neglect. Each briefing focuses on a different topic or learning for specific sectors, pulling together key risk factors and practice recommendations.
More about case reviews
We work with local safeguarding partners to ensure that learning from case reviews can be accessed and shared at a local, regional and national level.
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