Collaborative research on Parenting Support and Parental Participation in child protection and welfare services

At a time when both extensive international and national protest and criticisms are directed toward the Norwegian Child Welfare Services, it is of great interest to researchers to gain insight into the viewpoints presented in protest groups on social media. The paper aims to give insight into the ethical judgement involved in research on digital communities where it is difficult to decide whether certain material is public or not. In addition, the paper reflects on the social consequences of understanding some participants as vulnerable versus understanding them as citizens, in a social work/child protection context on social media. A considerable amount of literature focuses on ethical questions in Internet research. There is also literature on the ethical considerations connected to resistance and protest groups on social media. There is, however, less existing research about the ethical decision-making within the field of social work, child protection and client protests on the Internet. This paper analyses certain experiences from a qualitative research project regarding Facebook groups protesting Child Welfare Services in Norway. The paper concludes that in some social media research contexts, as the one presented here, taking extra care to anonymize participants in publications is sufficient to secure privacy, and covert collection of data is possible without jeopardizing ethical guidelines. Further, by developing practical ethical judgement, we can – in some social work contexts – avoid putting people into categories like “vulnerable” and instead approach the participants in public Facebook groups as citizens with socio-political opinions.

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Non-participation triggers

Protecting Children, Creating Citizens ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447355885.003.0003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 45-62

Author(s):

Katrin Križ

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

United States ◽

Support Services ◽

Child Protection ◽

The United States ◽

Mental Health Issue ◽

Emotional Impact ◽

Parenting Support ◽

Study Participants ◽

Imminent Risk

This chapter examines child protection caseworkers' views of the factors that lead to children's non-participation. It analyses the interview responses of 67 child protection caseworkers who were asked whether they thought there were situations when it would not be appropriate to involve children in child protection-related processes. Workers in both Norway and the United States perceived several reasons why children can or should not participate. These reasons, which can be called 'non-participation triggers', included: children's young age; children's severe disability or mental illness, such as speech problems or a severe mental health issue that incapacitated children; and the possibility of negative emotional impact of the involvement on children. Study participants also mentioned the possibility of retraumatizing the child if they faced an abuser in a meeting and any imminent risk to children's safety. A few workers in both countries mentioned the occurrence of a crime as a non-involvement trigger, a case focus on providing parenting support services, or the child's wish not to be involved.

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First Nations children and disparities in transfers to ongoing child welfare services in Ontario following a child protection investigation

Children and Youth Services Review ◽

10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.04.010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 101 ◽

pp. 207-216 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer Ma ◽

Barbara Fallon ◽

Ramona Alaggia ◽

Kenn Richard

Keyword(s):

Child Welfare ◽

First Nations ◽

Child Protection ◽

Child Welfare Services ◽

Welfare Services

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‘You Decide’: Relationship-Based Knowledge and Parents’ Participation in High-Risk Child Protection Crisis Interventions

The British Journal of Social Work ◽

10.1093/bjsw/bcz086 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (6) ◽

pp. 1743-1757 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Yuval Saar-Heiman ◽

Michal Krumer-Nevo

Keyword(s):

High Risk ◽

Social Worker ◽

Knowledge Production ◽

Child Protection ◽

Parental Participation ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

The Social ◽

High Risk Child ◽

Distinguishing Features ◽

Crisis Situations

Abstract In the scholarly writing on child protection, there is a broad consensus regarding the importance of parents’ participation in knowledge-production processes. However, there is limited research on the conditions required to make parental participation possible in high-risk crisis situations. In particular, there is a dearth of writing that takes into consideration the context of poverty that influences families’ lives and the power imbalances between social workers and parents that are evident in these processes. Through a case illustration of a high-risk crisis situation in the Israeli child protection system, this article examines the potential contribution of a developing critical paradigm—the Poverty-Aware Paradigm—to the promotion of parents’ participation in high-risk crisis situations. Specifically, it points to ‘relationship-based knowledge’ as an organizing axis for knowledge production, and to its derivative, ‘dialogue on power/knowledge’, as a useful practice in child protection interventions. The case analysis reveals three distinguishing features of this dialogue: (i) the social worker holds a dialectic stance regarding knowledge; (ii) the social worker and the parents negotiate their interpretations; and (iii) the social worker shares common hopes and worries with the parents.

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Parental participation in child protection practice: The experiences of parents and workers in Ghana

Qualitative Social Work ◽

10.1177/1473325017751039 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 693-709 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ebenezer Cudjoe ◽

Alhassan Abdullah

Keyword(s):

Child Protection ◽

Western World ◽

Parental Participation ◽

User Needs ◽

Service Users ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Child Protection Workers ◽

Full Participation ◽

Participatory Practices ◽

Parents Experiences

Promoting parental participation is one of the complex and delicate areas of child protection practice. Several authors argue that ensuring the participation of service users in child protection is a way to ensure a fit between service user needs and services. Studies on parental participation exist in some countries in the Western world, however, this is lacking in Ghana. This is the first study in Ghana to explore child protection workers and parents’ experiences on participatory practices. Drawing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 8 child protection workers and 19 parents, this study reports participants’ experiences of participatory practices. Workers indicated they ensured transparency and diversity while promoting participatory practices and parents reported their engagement in decision making as a prominent feature of their participation in case meetings. Barriers to participation were identified by the participants. The study findings suggested some measures to be put in place to overcome these barriers to ensure the full participation of parents during case meetings.

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Family experiences of care and protection services: the good, the bad and the hopeful

Protecting Children ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447332732.003.0004 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 67-82

Author(s):

Brid Featherstone ◽

Anna Gupta ◽

Kate Morris ◽

Sue White

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Young People ◽

Social Worker ◽

Child Protection ◽

Adoptive Parents ◽

Family Experiences ◽

Welfare Services ◽

The Social ◽

Welfare Systems

This chapter explores the experiences of families enmeshed in child welfare systems. Stories of pain, hurt, betrayal, and violence are told to professionals everyday. However, a key theme of this book is a concern that the language and theoretical and practice tools available to them are impoverished and increasingly inadequate. This is partly due to the inadequacy of a model that translates need to risk routinely, colonises a variety of sorrows and troubles within a child protection frame, and has abandoned or lost a sense of the contexts — economic and social — in which so many are living lives of quiet desperation. The chapter draws on a number of studies conducted by the authors, in particular a detailed study of families and their experiences of welfare services; and an enquiry on the role of the social worker in adoption, ethics, and human rights, which looked at the perspectives of birth families, adoptive parents, and adopted young people.

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Child protection in England: an emerging inequalities perspective

Journal of Children s Services ◽

10.1108/jcs-04-2017-0014 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (2-3) ◽

pp. 107-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paul Bywaters ◽

Tim Sparks

Keyword(s):

Child Welfare ◽

Child Protection ◽

Child Welfare Services ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Content Type ◽

Welfare Services ◽

The Past ◽

Looked After Children ◽

Policy Statements ◽

Policy Direction

Purpose In the past 40 years, both health policy and educational policy in England have adopted commitments to reducing socially created inequalities. However, an inequalities perspective has only begun to emerge in relation to child protection, and child welfare services more widely. The purpose of this paper is to chart evidence of these green shoots of a new policy direction which focusses on two aspects: equalising service provision and outcomes for looked after children. Design/methodology/approach The paper provides an analysis of trends in policies as expressed in official documents, research studies and policy statements. Findings The paper outlines the argument for a more comprehensive approach to addressing inequalities in child protection and child welfare services, and concludes by suggesting some implications for policy and practice. Originality/value The paper develops the concept of an inequalities perspective in child protection and outlines key implications.

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Child Protection Policy in Victoria Part 1

Children Australia ◽

10.1017/s0312897000017744 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 6-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Elizabeth Hiskey

Keyword(s):

Child Protection ◽

Emergency Services ◽

Comprehensive Analysis ◽

Education Department ◽

Protection Policy ◽

Child Welfare Policy ◽

Welfare Services ◽

Department Of Health ◽

The Sixties ◽

Child Protection Policy

The development of an explicit, formally enunciated, child protection policy in Victoria is only a recent occurence. This paper will trace the development of this policy from the sixties of this century until the present time. [Tierney (1963) made a comprehensive analysis of the development of child welfare policy and administration in Victoria up to the sixties.] Although historically, and currently, the Health Commission (formerly the Department of Health) has influenced the development of child protection policy, this analysis focuses particularly on the policies and practices of the Community Welfare Services Department as well as the relevant legislation. No attempt is made to analyse the policies and legislation administered by other relevant departments such as the Health Commission, Education Department, Law Department and the Police and Emergency Services Department. The policies of the Community Welfare Services Department are considered to be of greater relevance because of its role in administering the relevant welfare legislation, and the increasingly important role it has assumed in the supervision and co-ordination of various agencies involved in child protection.

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