scholarly journals The involvement of family in child protection cases in Iceland

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-49
Author(s):  
Anni Haugen ◽  
Sigrún Yrja Klörudóttir
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Main Element ◽  
Violent Behaviour ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
The Family ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Shed Light

The aim of this study is to examine the involvement of families in child protection cases in Iceland, as well as to shed light on the attitudes of child protection workers on the importance of including families while working on child protection cases. The study is part of an international comparative analysis called: Social Work with Families: Social Workers’ Constructions of Family in Professional Practice. This article only addresses the Icelandic segment of the research. In the study, qualitative methods were used and three focus groups were conducted, in which the same three-step vignette about a child protection case was presented. The findings highlighted how difficult child protection workers found it to define the family. The main element is that family are those individuals closest to the child and connected to them through emotional ties, as Icelandic child protection workers seem to strive to involve family in child protection cases. However, there are signs which show that when working with more complicated cases the definition of a family becomes narrower, and involvement is restricted mostly to parents and grandparents. The findings also show that attitudes toward fathers differ from those toward mothers. The mother is expected to support and create security for the child, while the father is judged mostly on his violent behaviour and is not automatically regarded as providing support or actively taking responsibility for his child.

One step up and two steps back? The Italian debate on secularization, heteronormativity and LGBTQ citizenship

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 591-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Bellè ◽  
Caterina Peroni ◽  
Elisa Rapetti
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Political Events ◽  
The Family ◽  
One Step ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Shed Light

The aim of this article is to furnish insights of the Italian public debate on the recognition of LGBTQ rights, which can be understood as an interesting case study of the complex relationship between (multi)secularisation processes and re/definition of citizenship models. More specifically, the article analyses two political events related to this debate that took place in Rome in June 2015. The first is the Family Day demonstration, promoted by conservative Catholic groups; the second is the LGBTQ Pride parade, promoted by various gay, lesbian and transsexual/gender associations. We analyse the official statements issued by the two organising committees of the demonstrations, adopting the framework and methods of the Critical Discourse Analysis. Above and beyond an evident political conflict between the two discourses, we try to shed light on their mutual construction on the basis of what we call ‘naturalization’ and ‘universalization’ processes.

scholarly journals The Perception of Social Workers in the N-E Area of Romania on Supervision

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 224
Author(s):  
Elena Unguru
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Control Dimension

The supervision relationship is a long-lasting evaluation, oriented towards a number of purposes: improving the professional activity of supervised persons, monitoring the quality of services provided by practitioners, and promoting professional practice in general. The aim of the research is to analyze the main axes of the social construction of the supervision of social services in public institutions for child protection in the N - E area of Romania. The research was based on the questionnaire survey and was carried out between October 2018 and January 2019 in the public social work institutions in Bacău, Botosani, Iaşi, Suceava, Neamţ, Vaslui counties. Social workers prefer the supportive side to the administrative one, while supervision managers put the focus on the control dimension, but accompanied by the formative one.

Does it feel right?—Emotional and embodied processes as a ‘shadowy epistemology’ in difficult child protection cases

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Line Søberg Bjerre ◽  
Maria Appel Nissen
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Narrative Construction ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Child Protection Services ◽  
Strong Focus ◽  
The Family ◽  
Potential Risks

Abstract Social workers in child protection services must make difficult decisions often based on fragmented knowledge and the inevitable risk of not knowing what is important to know about a child and the family. Cases of severe neglect have been subject to public attention of politicians and media in several European countries often followed by reforms with a strong focus on standardising risk assessment and documentation. This article argues and shows that emotional and embodied processes are an important source of knowledge in child protection. Such processes appear in social workers’ narratives about worries for the well-being and security of children underpinned by moments of silence and symbolic bodily utterances. These ways of communicating emotions help social workers navigate and make sense in child protection cases, where knowledge is limited. The question ‘Does it feel right?’ becomes crucial in terms of identifying and expressing potential risks. However, as a legitimate professional question that can lead to valuable knowledge it remains latent. Therefore, emotional and embodied processes constitute a ‘shadowy epistemology’ (Bruner, J. (1991) ‘The narrative construction of reality’, Critical Inquiry, 18(1), pp. 1–21). Instead of denouncing these processes, we need to develop a professional language of understanding and naming them, and the aim of this article is to contribute to this.

scholarly journals Getting nowhere fast? Social work and its impact in the child, youth and family sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-136
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lehmann ◽  
Rachael Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
The Public ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
P 16 ◽  
First Time

I was recently challenged by a colleague to think about the sticky question of what social work, as a discipline, has achieved over the last 40–50 years. Being challenged about the efficacy of social work and the discipline's capacity for lasting impacts is hardly a new experience. Many social workers will have confronted the opinions of clients, managers, family members and the public about the contributions or otherwise that they perceive social workers to offer. I have had these experiences too, but there are particular times when such comments remain in one's memories. After the elapse of many years I do not claim to have total accuracy of recall, but perhaps the first time I was shaken by a challenge to my noble presumptions was when Dr John Paterson, Secretary of the Department of Health and Community Services, Victoria, spoke at a meeting of child protection workers around 1989–90. He declared that he thought a mature accountant could do as well in the role. As others have recalled, Dr Paterson ‘did not blush to ignore traditional codes on the role of public servants in the policy process and overtly sought to participate in normative statements about policy’ (Barraclough & Smith, 1994, p. 16). He was known for making offensive remarks. He described disability advocacy bodies as ‘piss and wind’ groups, denigrating them as people more interested in talk than getting their hands dirty delivering services (Milburn, 1993, p. 1). He precipitated great angst amongst public servants.

scholarly journals Great expectations. An analysis of child protection cases concerning immigrant children in Italy as a discursive practice

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-451
Author(s):  
Fabio Dovigo
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Immigrant Children ◽  
Discursive Practice ◽  
Youth Workers ◽  
Great Expectations ◽  
Common Definition ◽  
Cultural Inclusion ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

The paper aims to highlight the role and impact of written documents in managing child protection cases concerning immigrant children and their families in Italy. Analyzing documentation through the lens offered by Foucault’s notion of writing as a discursive rite oriented toward the reproduction of social norms, we examined, in depth, eight immigrant children’s cases that were handled by welfare services. Reports from practitioners such as social workers, youth workers, psychologists, counsellors, and legal advisors were examined to understand how the piling up of documentation, which is supposed to be neutral and unbiased, concurs to continuously redefine the boundaries between cultural inclusion and exclusion and reassert the common definition of normality. Moreover, we offer suggestions for how developing a reflexive attitude toward the use of documents could help practitioners to promote a more culturally sensitive approach to managing child protection.

scholarly journals Social work and families in child welfare in Malawi

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Memory Jayne Tembo ◽  
Siv Oltedal
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Professional Discretion ◽  
The Family

This article discusses professional discretion in relation to placing a child outside the family, as understood by Malawian social workers. The article is a product of an exploratory study covering different aspects of social work practice with children and families in Malawi. It is based on focus group discussions with practicing social workers that were conducted using a vignette. This article describes how social workers handle child protection cases, in which a child has to be placed outside the home or family. The article points out different solutions and the reasoning behind certain decisions on placing children outside their home. The study explores issues of patriarchy, intervention methods into families and the cooperation between social workers, community members and other professionals when helping families. The study found that a number of different factors affect the decision of placing a child outside the home. Social workers in this study put an emphasis on the importance of helping children within the immediate- and extended family to help cope with the lack of financial resources that would provide alternative options.

scholarly journals Different Forms of Violence – Selected Issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Mikołajczuk
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
State Violence ◽  
Violent Behaviour ◽  
The Public ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Media ◽  
Narrow Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Forms Of Violence

Violence has been part of the human history since its very beginning. As some believe, it is “Cain’s sin” that determines violent human behaviour. Though this belief is obviously simplified, it reflects the nature of man. We are eager to seek evil in others, in individuals and in social structures. It is not just the family that is oppressive. Violence is ubiquitous; it is inflicted by peer groups, social classes, organisations, and by the state. Violence is commonly defined as social behaviour against someone or something, the aggressor being on one side and the victim on the other. Usually, a narrow definition of violence is used; i.e., violence is understood as the use of force to obtain from others what they are not willing to give or what they do not want to do. However, violence is a more complex phenomenon. Some forms of violence are sophisticated and difficult to discern, not only in the behaviour of others but also in our own actions. Violence occurs on a micro-scale in the form of pressure, extortion, inducement, or restrictions, and on a macro-scale – as wars, crises, terroristic acts, or revolutions. Violence is not only physical and psychological; it may also be personal, structural, hidden, explicit, emotional, and rational. What follows, it takes place in a wide array of spaces: in culture, sport, politics, the media, in the public space and at home. Therefore, the narrow definition of violence fails to include many of its aspects, and as such it is not practical. Using such a definition, we are left with extreme cases, so in fact we define pathologies. A serious difficulty in defining violence is connected with defining human rights in a unified way. These vary from culture to culture and have been evolving throughout history. Violation of these rights constitutes the essence of what is referred to as violent behaviour. Each society defines and attempts to prevent violence differently, and also in its own way indicates those who judge the perpetrators of prohibited acts.

A social model: experiences in practice

2018 ◽  
pp. 107-124
Author(s):  
Brid Featherstone ◽  
Anna Gupta ◽  
Kate Morris ◽  
Sue White
Keyword(s):  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Individual Change ◽  
Assessment Report ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Case Work ◽  
The Impact

This chapter suggests some approaches to practice and offers examples of alternative models for child protection. Within a social model for protecting children, a multi-dimensional and contextualised understanding of social problems is required, as are services and professional practice which address the lack of material, social, and symbolic capital that cause harm to children and their families. For individual social workers working with individual families, as a start this means assessments, reports, and plans recognise and highlight the structural underpinnings of families' hardships, making them visible to professionals and to the families who are the subject of the assessment/report. There can be a recognition that solutions to problems are not only about individual change, but also reflect the impact of social and economic environments on individuals and families. However, all these developments are difficult in risk-focused case work approaches. The recent turn towards strengths-based case work may open up possibilities.

scholarly journals Manifestations of Institutional Aggression in the Practice of Child Protection Workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laimutė Žalimienė ◽  
Violeta Gevorgianienė ◽  
Donata Petružytė ◽  
Eglė Šumskienė ◽  
Miroslavas Seniutis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Public Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Workplace Aggression ◽  
The State ◽  
Child Rights ◽  
Child Protection Workers ◽  
The Family ◽  
Institutional Aggression ◽  
Professional Fields

Studies show that practice in some professional fields may be socially and morally unattractive: employees working with stigmatized groups have to use methods, related to aggression and confrontation, which leads to stress and reduces their professional well-being. This applies to child rights and protection institutions which have a responsibility to take a child out of the family in the case of a threat to their safety. Problems related to workplace quality lead to a lack of qualified employees in this sector, and this problem is emphasized not only in Lithuania. Institutional aggression is typical of institutions to which the state attributes certain functions of abuse (e.g. public safety). Employee’s intervention into the family can also be regarded as aggression performed by institutions, and the nature of work in these institutions may be associated with the problem of workplace aggression. However, in the research on workplace quality among the indicators of workplace aggression we do not find the indicator of employees’ aggression against clients. We presume that an employee’s function to take a child from a family (the use of coercion) can affect their well-being. So, in the context of workplace quality, the concept of workplace aggression has to be re-conceptualized by including institutional aggression enforced by an employee.

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