Non-participation triggers

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.

Participation triggers

This chapter assesses the case conditions that lead a child protection caseworker to take children's statements, opinions, and wishes seriously. The study participants from both Norway and the United States talked about situations involving collaboration between children and workers and child-led participation when they described the case scenarios where children's opinions counted. There were several common themes. Children's age mattered to the extent to which workers took their opinion seriously: most study participants described case examples that involved pre-teens and teens. Case context also mattered: more than one third of the participants described situations that involved a child who wanted to be removed from their home, and the workers then ended up supporting the child's wish. In many of these cases, the child's expression of their experience or opinion was one piece of the evidence that workers were considering in the case.

Protecting children, creating citizens

This chapter highlights the participatory approaches that exist in child protection practice. Citizens are people who actively participate in decisions about their lives and the communities in which they live. If child protection caseworkers promote children's participation in these decisions, they also play a role in promoting their status as citizens. Of course, children's interactions with other children and young people and other adults may contribute to children's and young people's status as citizens as well. The participation of children in child protection-related decisions is only one 'building block' of a larger historical trajectory towards children's citizenship and children's rights. Nonetheless, it is worthy of exploration because abused and neglected children are in an especially vulnerable position.

Doing participation

This chapter analyses when and how child protection caseworkers reported doing participation in their everyday practice. The term 'doing participation' refers to the range of possible participation, from minimal participation by listening to a child's opinions and reflections without taking them into consideration to promoting genuine participation in decision-making. The chapter examines to what degree the study participants facilitated genuine participation, defined as children's opinions being heard and weighed in decision-making. The study participants discussed included the removal of children from home, support services, foster care placements, and children's contact with their parent(s) while in care. There are three ways in which the study participants reported doing participation: giving information, facilitating participation, and gathering information. Almost half of the total sample reported facilitating children's genuine participation.

Youth citizens

This chapter describes how the study participants reported promoting participation when working with teens. There is strong evidence in the data of age serving as a symbolic boundary between a child's genuine participation (being consulted and empowered) and being consulted but not given power. The research participants in the study described their interactions with teenagers as providing participatory opportunities for them. The ways in which the study participants described their interactions with teens showed that they accepted their status as citizens. They reported listening to and consulting teens more so than younger children. They stated that they involved teens earlier and more directly in an investigation by speaking with them or meeting with them separately from their parents, by inviting them to meetings, and by communicating with them more honestly about the problems they saw in a case. While teens' participation level was reportedly higher than that of younger children, the way in which the participants perceived teens affected the degree to which workers let them participate.