Strengths and problems of families in contact with child protective services during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: The study investigates the dynamics within families in contact with child protective services in reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic as perceived by social workers. Based on the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model, strengths and problems are outlined. Background: Following the first lockdown of public life in March 2020, concerns about children’s well-being have been raised. Practitioners and scientists alike worried that particularly children in families with multiple problems would suffer severe abuse and neglect. However, it remains unclear how these families have actually been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Method: Child protection caseworkers from 40 child and youth welfare authorities across Germany were interviewed twice via telephone. The first interview was conducted during summer 2020, and the second interview two months later. Caseworkers were questioned about their professional experience in their daily work since March 2020. Moreover, they provided information on the perceived effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on families in contact with child protective services. Results: The interviews were analyzed using content analyses. Six overall challenges for families were identified. Families reacted differently to these. The caseworkers reported problems in families like increased parental conflict, media use, and alcohol consumption during the first lockdown. Nevertheless in some families, the caseworkers also perceived there to be less stress and tension during the lockdown in March 2020 due to fewer school requirements. Furthermore, some families were able to establish routines, activate resources, and find solutions for problems on their own. At the time of the second interview, some families’ problems had increased, particularly regarding children’s difficulties at school due to insufficient homeschooling. Conclusion: The results show that the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on child protection families are positive and negative. Some are resourceful in the face of adversities, and others show an aggravation of problems. The results are discussed in light of findings on family dynamics during the Covid-19 pandemic in other countries.

The asylum–child welfare paradox: unaccompanied minors in Austria

Existing research shows that right-wing populist imaginaries and discourses on “bogus asylum seekers” mobilise feelings of fear and panic and serve to legitimise increasingly restrictive asylum policies in Europe. In light of this ongoing development, this paper addresses a more intrinsic and structural aspect of asylum, which requires balancing the inclusion and exclusion of persecuted third-country nationals. This paradox is most evident with unaccompanied minors who are caught between state norms and practices that are both exclusionary and repressive (asylum) and inclusive and caring (child welfare). In order to tackle this dilemma, we explore how the asylum–child welfare paradox is organised and formalised by the state and how it affects unaccompanied minors. Based on interviews with unaccompanied minors in Austria and experts who work with them, the findings show that child and youth welfare norms and practices that are formalised as part of the asylum procedure improve unaccompanied minors’ living conditions without dismantling asylum norms and practices of surveillance, conditionality, and scarcity. Judging by their simultaneous implementation, the state preserves and reinforces exclusionary and repressive asylum norms not despite but through child welfare norms and practices.

Recht für die Kindheitspädagogik

Childhood education (early childhood education and upbringing) is gaining in importance nationwide. Nevertheless, until now there has been no textbook that presents the areas of law which relate to this field in a compact form. This work is intended to rectify this shortcoming. It covers constitutional law, contract and liability law, family law, child and youth welfare law, important social benefits for children and their families, and labour law. The selection of topics the book examines is based on the needs of study and practice. Its extensive index facilitates searching for individual topics, while practical tips and examples illustrate the subject matter. The authors are judges, lawyers and mediators who teach in Esslingen and Ludwigsburg.

RESIDENTIAL CARE IN GERMANY FOR REFUGEE YOUNG PEOPLE

This article analyzes developments in the forms of social work with young refugees and the legal framing of such work in Germany from 1990 to the present. In particular, it addresses the reactions of politicians and the child and youth welfare system to the sharp rise in the number of refugees in 2015 and 2016, and the concomitant significant increase in the number of unaccompanied minor refugees. It underlines the need for an approach based on children’s rights, and the necessity for social workers, especially those involved in helping youth, to resist the policies of deterrence that are aimed at keeping refugees out of Germany.

Participation?! Educational Challenges for Young Refugees in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article focuses the educational settings in the everyday life of young refugees in the context of distance education under the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. It explores dimensions and intensifications of education-related digital inequality during this period in formal and non-formal educational settings. Based on ethnographic interviews with teachers, young refugees and social workers, different dimensions of inequality as well as interrelations between informal (leisure), non-formal (child and youth welfare) and formal (school) educational contexts for empowering the educational participation of young refugees, especially regarding online learning, are discussed. The empirical data show that during the period of distance education the specific needs of young refugees are only taken into account to a limited extent and thus increasing risks of exclusion from education emerge. Lack of technical access, media expertise, language skills and personal support turn out to be major challenges in enabling educational participation of vulnerable groups such as young refugees. Therefore, educational policy at federal and national level in Germany needs to outline a scheme on how to meet these challenges by further developing non-formal as well as formal educational support structures.

Zentren für Familien: Nationale und internationale Evidenz – ein Resümee aus familienökonomischer Perspektive

Zusammenfassung Während Kindertageseinrichtungen primär auf Kinder ausgerichtet sind, haben Zentren für Familien die gesamte Familie im Blick. Im Idealfall bilden sie einen Knotenpunkt in einem nachbarschaftlich orientierten Netzwerk. In den letzten Jahren haben entsprechende Ansätze deutschlandweit an Bedeutung gewonnen. Welche empirische Evidenz gibt es für ihre Wirkungen auf Kinder, Eltern und Familien? Dieser Frage widmet sich dieser Beitrag, um der Politik Anhaltspunkte für eine Weiterentwicklung von Angeboten der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe in diese Richtung zu geben. Insbesondere auf der Basis empirischer Studien aus dem anglo-amerikanischen Raum können für Programme, welche Kinder und Eltern adressieren, tatsächlich kurz- bis langfristige Effekte auf Kinder und Eltern nachgewiesen werden. Deutsche Begleitstudien von Zentren für Familien fokussieren dagegen eher auf andere Aspekte der Implementation oder auch der Sozialraumentwicklung. Sie sollten um mehr Wirkungsstudien, welche sich mit den direkten Effekten auf die Entwicklung von Kindern und Familien befassen, ergänzt werden. Abstract: Centres For Families – National And International Evidence While day care centres for children are primarily geared towards children, centres for families focus on the whole family. Ideally, they form a hub in a neighbourhood-oriented network. In recent years, such approaches have gained in importance throughout Germany. What empirical evidence is there for their impact on children, parents and families? This article is dedicated to this question in order to provide policymakers with pointers for the further development of child and youth welfare services. Particularly on the basis of empirical studies from the Anglo-American countries, short to long-term effects on children and parents can be demonstrated when evaluating programs that address children and parents. German evaluation studies on the activities of centres for families tend to focus more on other aspects, such as implementation or social space development. They should be supplemented by studies that are related to the direct effects of these centres on the development of children and families.

Kinder- und Jugendhilferecht

Based on the stipulations in the Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB) VII, the eighth chapter of Germany’s social code, this book examines the law on child and youth welfare against the background of current societal and legal developments. It provides the readers with a sound introduction to the fundamental structures of the law on youth welfare and with the necessary legal, sociological and empirical background knowledge to fulfil tasks in the field of child and youth welfare according to professional standards and in a practically oriented way. Numerous graphs, tables, summaries and process charts are used to illustrate the explanations in the book, and there are references to the most important works for further reading and case law in each chapter. The book also incorporates the recent legislative changes and case law in this field, with the result that this new edition provides an up-to-date introduction to the law on child and youth welfare with regard to training and everyday practice. This textbook has not only been compiled to help students of social work and social pedagogy, but also allows those working for youth welfare services and voluntary organisations to have easier and reliable access to the current law in this respect, and it promotes a critical, interdisciplinary examination of both the law on and the day-to-day workings of child and youth welfare.

‘Positive recognition’ as a preventive approach in child and youth welfare services

The public welfare services provided to children and young people in Finland have proved insufficient and costly. Some concerns have also been voiced about the ways in which measures intended as supportive end up labelling their recipients as ‘problem youth’. In response, alternatives to the dominant ‘early intervention’ paradigm have been developed, with emphasis on preventive support for children and youth in general. In line with these policies, this article introduces the idea of ‘positive recognition’, developed in our recent study. Drawing from recognition theories, and in collaboration with professionals working with children and youth, we have developed a theoretically informed practical approach to fostering children and young people’s wellbeing at large, as part of everyday professional practices in institutional and non-institutional settings, and explored its potential in the prevention of social problems and marginalisation among children and youth. The paper provides a brief overview of the theoretical background of positive recognition in the context of social pedagogy, introduces how the approach can be implemented in professional practices with children and young people, and discusses the potentials of these alternative welfare practices to social pedagogy in Finland and beyond.

The family as a place of education. Between a school-centred focus on education and family needs

The results of the PISA studies over recent years have revealed the social selectivity of the scholastic education system. Based on my empirical research on families with mentally ill parents, I show how, for the children involved, social exclusion begins before they even start school; how the parents' mental illness is seen to affect the children, and what support the families in question require. This shows how important it is to take family coping situations into account in the educational discourse on the child and youth welfare services and formal education systems.