Three models of collaborative child protection: what is their influence on short stays in foster care?

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Garcia ◽  
Alan Puckett ◽  
Mark Ezell ◽  
Peter J. Pecora ◽  
Theresa Tanoury ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Vaquero ◽  
M. Àngels Balsells ◽  
Carmen Ponce ◽  
Aida Urrea ◽  
Alicia Navajas

Social support is a crucial element for families in vulnerable situations, especially for those with children in foster care processes. This support is key to the acceptance of the protection measure in the initial moments and to laying the foundations for collaboration towards reunification. However, the social support of these families is limited, and families’ use of support elements is strongly related to their attitude towards them. The aims of this article were to identify the types and characteristics of social support and to analyze what elements influence families’ attitudes towards these supports. The qualitative study research was carried out in Spain through focus groups and interviews with 135 participants: 63 professionals from child protection services, 42 parents, and 30 children and adolescents who had been in foster care measures. Results show the diversity of social support resources available to families and demonstrate that families make unequal use of such resources depending on factors such as their experiences in the process of formalization and communication of the protection measure or their predisposition to receive support, among others. The important role played by social support resources in the promotion of factors that allow for successful reception and reunification is highlighted.


2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Klease

While there has been a plethora of international and Australian research and inquiries into child protection and, to a lesser extent, foster care, there is a paucity of Australian research undertaken with the parents of children in care. While these parents are stakeholders in a system that has had a profound effect on their lives, their views are not generally canvassed. This paper discusses key findings of a community welfare Honours study which explored the experiences of six women whose children had been removed into foster care. The paper focuses on two core themes: firstly, the mothers' sense of betrayal when their pleas for help ultimately led to them losing their children, and, secondly, despite the resultant loss, grief and anger, their compulsion to do whatever it takes to have contact with, and to be reunited with, their children. The paper concludes with key messages and recommendations for practice.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Edwards

This study shows that state efforts at child protection are structured by the policy regimes in which they are enmeshed. Using administrative data on child protection, criminal justice, and social welfare interventions, I show that children are separated from their families and placed into foster care far more frequently in states with extensive and punitive criminal justice systems than in states with broad and generous welfare programs. However, large welfare bureaucracies interact with welfare program enrollment to create opportunities for the surveillance of families, suggesting that extensive and administratively complex welfare states engage in “soft” social control through the surveillance and regulation of family behavior. The article further shows that institutionalization, a particularly restrictive form of foster care placement, is least common in states with broad and generous welfare regimes and generally more common under punitive regimes. Taken together, these findings show that policy regimes influence the interaction between families and the state through their proximate effects on family structure and well-being and through institutional effects that delimit the routines and scripts through which policymakers and street-level bureaucrats intervene to protect children.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Bonfili

This article seeks to expand the conversation started in the primary article by Stephen Gay in this volume entitled ‘The Choice Between Adoption and Foster Care as Child Protection Responses’. It discusses the need for stability and permanence of care arrangements for children and young people living in out-of-home care in Part II before moving on in Part III to consider the option of widening the choice of care arrangements to better meet their needs. The importance of listening to the voices of children and young people and giving them a say in where they live and how they are cared for is also explored in Part IV.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 2-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Delgado ◽  
Vânia S. Pinto ◽  
João M. S. Carvalho

In the contexts of family neglect or maltreatment, the State intervenes by safeguarding the development and well-being of the child or young person in danger. In more severe situations, the intervention may lead to the child’s removal from the family. The Portuguese Law on the Protection of Children and Young People in Danger (Law 142/2015 of September 8th) favours the placement of the child in a family environment, especially for children up to the age of six. Despite this, in Portugal, in 2015, 8 600 children were in out-of-home care, only 3.5% of which were placed in foster care, while the remaining children were in residential care. Therefore, one of the fundamental rights of the child – living in a family environment – is compromised in practice. This study aims to understand the decision-making process of 200 higher education students in domains related to child protection, and those of 200 professionals who are responsible for providing case assessments and recommendations for intervention in the Portuguese child protection system. Using the Child Welfare Attitudes Questionnaire (Davidson-Arad & Benbenishty, 2008, 2010), the study aimed to identify the participants’ attitudes regarding removal of at-risk children from home, reunification and optimal duration of alternative care, children’s and parents’ participation in the decision-making process, and assessment of foster care and residential care, with the purpose of promoting children’s development and well-being. We concluded that both sets of participants (professionals and students) can be divided in two groups, one which is pro-removal and the other, which is less so. In comparison with students, professionals less often favour the removal of the child and more often defend reunification. There are no significant differences among participants regarding their opinion about the role of foster and residential care, and the participation of the child in the decision-making process. However, professionals tend to support parents’ participation in the decision-making process more than students do. Finally, we present some implications of our findings for the practice of child protection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-515
Author(s):  
Rankwe Reuben Masha ◽  
Petro Botha

Foster care is an important part of the child protection system; however, it seems that some foster children are not protected – they are abused and neglected. The aims of this article are to confirm on a small scale whether children in foster care are indeed being abused and neglected and to develop an understanding of factors contributing to the abuse and neglect of these foster children. A qualitative research approach was applied. Findings confirmed the occurrence of abuse and/or neglect and provided information on factors relating to foster parents and the foster care system itself contributing to this phenomenon.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Gay

Child protection systems in Australia are struggling to cope with the growing number of children requiring out-of-home care because of abuse or neglect occurring within families. Professionals and governments are grappling with the alternative care options that are available in an attempt to improve children’s health, education and emotional development. Research demonstrates that children suffer if they are exposed to multiple placements throughout childhood and this leads some to believe that the permanency of adoption would better serve the needs of children from broken families. This article considers the recent proposal by the South Australian State Coroner to expand the role of adoption as a child protection response, noting that New South Wales introduced such a model in 2014. It also examines international approaches in this area as well as the findings of studies into foster care and adoption. By drawing together the knowledge gained from different policy and practice approaches to out-of-home care, this article argues that introducing a blanket approach favouring adoption is not an appropriate option. It concludes that the only model likely to achieve the best outcomes for children is one involving individual responses to every child.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Crichton

This is a comment on the article by Stephen Gay in this volume entitled ‘The Choice Between Adoption and Foster Care as Child Protection Responses’ It aims to provide a different perspective on the relative merits of adoption and foster care. The article begins in Part I by outlining the historical and legislative context of adoption in England and Wales. Part II offers some observations on several different measures available in this jurisdiction aimed at ensuring that the interests of children are protected, including the Special Guardianship Order, which was introduced in 2005.


Author(s):  
Peter J. Pecora

The mission of child welfare is multifaceted and includes: (a) responding to the needs of children reported to public child-protection agencies as being abused, neglected, or at risk of child maltreatment; (b) providing children placed in out-of-home care with developmentally appropriate services; and (c) helping children find permanent homes in the least-restrictive living situations possible; and (d) providing “post-permanency” services to children so they do not return to foster care. This section describes the mission, scope, and selected issues of major child-welfare-program areas.


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