The Graded Care Profile (GCP) Tool is a practice tool that provides an objective measure of the quality of care in terms of a parent/carer's commitment. It was developed in the UK. It is often used in cases where

child neglect A form of child abuse, child neglect is an act of caregivers (e.g., parents) that results in depriving a child of their basic needs, such as the failure to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as other physica ...

is suspected.

History

The GCP tool was developed by Dr. Srivastava, a Consultant

Paediatrician Pediatrics (American and British English differences, also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United King ...

and designated doctor for child protection. It was the subject of his research at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

which got published in 1997 (Ref:5). In 1999, the GCP tool began being used by the

Luton Borough Council Luton Borough Council (also known as LBC, or Luton Council) is the local authority of Luton, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England ...

and by Luton Health Trust professionals. Since then, its use has spread across the United Kingdom. It has been translated into Japanese and Spanish. The original GCP tool continues to be used in

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

and other areas by the author's permission but other unauthorised versions appeared elsewhere.. The First authorised update was undertaken by the NSPCC in collaboration with Srivastava in 2015. it was named 'The Graded Care Profile 2 (The GCP2)..

Evaluation

A recent qualitative evaluation of the GCP found that social workers felt the tool was useful in helping them identify the right help for children at risk of harm. It also helped them develop a good working relationship with the family because it allowed them to identify what the family was doing well, in addition to what needed to be improved.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graded Care Profile Tool Social care in the United Kingdom 5. Srivastava, OP & Polnay, L. (1997).Field trial of the Graded care Profile (GCP) Scale: A New measure of Care. Archives of Diseases of Childhood. 76: 337 - 340.