She was previously a health visitor for 11 years and a child protection specialist nurse for 10 years. Hilary Owen is Assistant Executive Director of Safeguarding and Welfare, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. She was also vice chair of Sheffield's Safeguarding Children Board's Operational Executive Committee for two years. Hilary has written several articles and edited or contributed to several books, including Good Practice in Child Protection and One of the Hardest Jobs in the World: Attempting to Manage Risk in Children's Homes, both published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.