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Background Mothers who have children removed from their care often have complex needs. These women have poor health outcomes and are dying earlier than their peers from preventable and amenable causes. Yet there is little known about how health care services might mitigate these risks. This study aimed to listen to the voices of women who had children removed from their care to understand their experiences of health and healthcare. Methods We used a narrative approach to collect and analyse interview data with six mothers who had experienced child removal in England. Each participant was asked to reflect on their life and main health challenges. Results Three narrative subplots were developed to consolidate experiences of unmet health need: (i) 'on paper you're normal': narratives of complex need, (ii) 'in my family, everyone had issues': narratives of whole family need and (iii) 'I'm still mummy, no matter where they are': narratives of maternal identity and health. Conclusions Findings highlight limitations within current systems of support, including a culture of distrust and women falling between the gaps of services. Women's narratives illustrate opportunities for health intervention, especially immediately following child removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since all policies address problems, they necessarily include implicit or explicit constructions of these problems. This paper explores how child maltreatment has been constructed in New Zealand's child protection policies. It questions the underlying assumptions of this problem construction and seeks to shed light on what has been omitted. Utilizing a qualitative content analysis of eight key policy documents, this study reveals the construction of child maltreatment has been dominated primarily by a child-centric, risk-focused approach. This approach assigns blame and shifts responsibilities onto parents and families. In addition, the vulnerability discourse and social investment approach underpinning this perspective have allowed important structural factors, such as poverty and inequality, to remain unaddressed. This paper also highlights the one-dimensional focus on the lower social class to control future liabilities. We suggest that the harm inflicted by corporations on children's well-being is another form of child exploitation currently omitted from the problem construction. We suggest that child abuse should be defined and understood in policy as harm to children's well-being and argue that the state should prevent and mitigate harm by addressing structural forces of the problem as well as protecting children against corporate harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consequences of poorly processed reports of child abuse and neglect, along with governance challenges in child protection systems, are well-documented. Recent research, inquiries and royal commissions emphasise the need for child-centered and participatory practices that support the rights and dignity of children and their families. However, the challenges of quality case recording in child protection systems and contexts remain unclear. This paper reports on the findings from a pilot study that interviewed (n = 22) and surveyed (n = 56) social work students and social work curriculum developers from Australian Universities and practitioners currently working in the Australian child protection service system. By capturing participants' professional insights, we aim to understand the embedded barriers to transforming child-centered systems by focusing on strengths and possibilities in current practices rather than reiterating deficiencies in recordkeeping. This paper reveals insights into how professionals working in the child protection system understand and are supported in child-centered case note recording and recordkeeping practices. It also identifies the possibilities for the crucial role that interdisciplinary collaboration and alignment between social work and recordkeeping informatics can play in transforming and supporting recordkeeping approaches and practices that prioritise and uphold the rights and dignity of the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents and guardians in child protection systems are in unequal power relationships with child protection practitioners. This relationship is experienced as exclusionary or even oppressive by many parents and guardians. For families and communities in the child protection system who experience intersectional discrimination and disadvantage, such as people with intellectual disabilities and First Nations people, this unequal relationship and subsequent potential exclusion and oppression can be even more profound. A growing body of literature indicates that advocacy can assist in addressing unequal relationships in other contexts, such as involuntary mental health. This paper explores the role of representational advocacy in supporting parents in child protection settings through a case study of an advocacy service in Victoria, Australia. Using a human rights framework to guide the analysis, the paper highlights how advocacy can help support rights, but that broader structural change will be required to consistently uphold the rights of parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Annals of the 'Al. I. Cuza' University, Iasi. Sociology & Social Work / Analele Stiintifice ale Universitatii 'Al. I. Cuza' Iasi Sociologie si Asistenta Sociala is the property of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Holistic Flexibility is a conceptual lens in systems thinking that enables intellectual, emotional and tactical elasticity in systems practice. This paper will demonstrate Holistic Flexibility in practice in an NGO setting to design and implement a programme to address the widening gap between government policy and its implementation. Critical Systems Heuristics was chosen as the preferred methodology, strengthened with two methods from two other systems methodologies—CATWOE (a mnemonic for Customers, Actors, Transformation, Worldview, Owners, Environment) from Soft Systems Methodology and issues (assumption) rating method from Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing. Following a participative programme design exercise, two phases were identified. The strategy, implementation and impact of phase 1, which covered work undertaken between the period 2018 and 2020, is provided. Phase 2 was under consideration at the time of writing this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This integrative review aims to evaluate the experiences of health and social care practitioners with regard to how they exercise professional curiosity in child protection practice. Professional curiosity gained significant currency following the Munro Review of Child Protection (2010) in England, as a means of seeking clarity on what is happening within a family. However, a recurrent finding from child safeguarding practice reviews is that practitioners continue to struggle to exercise curiosity. This is evident within both the United Kingdom and international literature, although descriptors for the concept may differ. This study attempted to identify facilitators and barriers to applying professional curiosity to provide a greater understanding of this theoretical concept. Title and abstract review of 1428 articles identified from databases and 11 from other sources resulted in 52 papers for full‐text review. The quality of each article was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool for qualitative studies, the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for quantitative/mixed method studies and the Joanna Briggs framework for theoretical/opinion papers. Key findings were recorded in the Summary Table of Literature Reviewed. Data extracts were thematically analysed. Twenty‐four papers predominantly from the UK, but also from Australia, Italy, Sweden and USA formed the data set. Overarching themes that emerged from the thematic analysis included: noticing dissonance, emitting curiosity, constructing meaning, facilitators, individual professional challenges, organisational and macro‐level influences and conceptual development. This review demonstrated that professional curiosity is multifaceted and involves a whole system approach, from empowered, knowledgeable and competent frontline practitioners to creative, innovative and empathic organisations, that value staff contributions and place the child's best interests at the forefront of service development. Recommendations are made for practice and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the findings and implications of interdisciplinary exploratory research conducted by social work and recordkeeping informatics researchers in Australia and the UK. It sought to identify the practices, systems, education and technologies that can foster rights-based, child-centred recordkeeping practices in child protection contexts, exploring the transformation and advocacy work that could be achieved in child protection case note recording and recordkeeping practices and systems through interdisciplinary collaborations. Drawing from qualitative interviews, focus groups and surveys with Social Work students, Social Work educators and practice educators, and with practitioners working in children’s social care (in England) and the child protection services system (in Australia), we identify how practitioners are prepared for keeping records that reflect children’s voices and experiences, and identify emerging best practices and persistent challenges. Focusing on the intersection of child rights, archival ethics, and participatory approaches, this paper adds to the discourse on critical archival studies concerning children and calls for an interdisciplinary approach to reimagine future possibilities for participatory and child-centred practice in which children are not just passive subjects but active collaborators in the recordkeeping process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper foregrounds the experiences of mothers involved with England's children's social care system when experiencing domestic abuse. It reports on data from a survivor-led study on domestic violence and/or abuse (DVA), involving women victim-survivors and domestic abuse practitioners. It aimed to understand how dominant discourses governing child protection work with families in which there is a perpetrator of DVA, might be revised to shift a tendency to hold mothers (solely) responsible for the protection of children as well as for their partners' abuse. Methods: The study advances a discourse analysis of interview and focus group data, substantiating how children's social care practices produce the routine responsibilisation of the non-abusing parent, usually the mother, with limited focus on the abusing parent, usually the father. Results: The paper exposes the gendered discourses of mother-victim-blame and responsibility patterning children's social care responses to domestic abuse, which together intensify adult and child victim-survivor material harm and hamper child protection work. Also in evidence are the enduring traumatic consequences of the court-ordered removal of children. Conclusion: The paper has implications for policy and practice, asserting that shifting responsibility away from mothers requires the ongoing interrogation of normative understandings of gender relations and gender-role stereotypes as they manifest in families. Fathers' accountability should be constructed on a structural as well as individual level, which in the case of DVA and the family, incorporates efforts to enable perpetrators of DVA to cultivate an individual sense of responsibility and accountability, as standard practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Aboriginal children are significantly over‐represented in the out‐of‐home‐care system. Drawing on Aboriginal trauma scholarship and decolonizing methodologies, this paper situates the contemporary state removal of Aboriginal children against the backdrop of historical policies that actively sought to disrupt Aboriginal kinship and communities. The paper draws on submissions to the 2018 Australian Senate Parliamentary Inquiry into Adoption Reform from Aboriginal community controlled organizations and highlights four common themes evident throughout these submissions: (i) the role of intergenerational trauma in high rates of Aboriginal child removal; (ii) the place of children within Aboriginal culture, kinship and identity; (iii) the centrality of the principles of self‐determination and autonomy for Aboriginal communities and (iv) Aboriginal community controlled alternatives to child removal. Acknowledging the failure of both federal and state reforms to address the issues raised in these submissions, the paper reflects on the marginalization of Aboriginal voices and solutions within contemporary efforts to address the multiple crises of the child protection system and the implications for the future of Aboriginal children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Restoring children from out‐of‐home care (OOHC) to their families is the preferred outcome for all children removed by child protection services, yet little is known about how restoration processes are experienced by families and services supporting them. This paper provides important insights about Aboriginal child restoration from 40 practitioners and stakeholders at a community forum led by Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations in regional New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This is one component of larger Aboriginal‐led research, which investigates child protection experiences and pathways to successful restoration in NSW and the data source for this paper. The community forum explored the issues for families navigating family preservation, OOHC and restoration within child protection and legal systems. Findings include the need for a continuum of support for families throughout their engagement with child protection systems and crucially following the removal of their children. Barriers to effective restoration practice included a lack of access to meaningful and ongoing preservation services, insufficient cultural care planning and family finding efforts that are often too late, the pressure on services to support families without adequate capabilities or enough resourcing, the lack of transparency and the complexities in navigating the restoration process, and the lack of culturally informed support for children and their families while children are in care. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. This paper contributes to understanding practice, processes and barriers for restoration, particularly focused on the perspectives of Aboriginal families and communities, with potential insights for practice within Australia and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Data on children who grow up with parents adhering to violent extremism is scant. This makes it extremely delicate to inform policies and clinical services to protect such children from potential physical and psychological harm. Objective: This paper explores the predicament of children whose caretakers were referred to a specialized clinical team in Montreal (Canada) because of concerns about risks or actual involvement in violent extremism processes. Methods: This paper uses a mixed methods concurrent triangulation design. Quantitative data was obtained through a file review (2016–2020). Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group with the team practitioners. Results: Clinicians reported the presence of stereotypes in the health and social services network frequently representing religious extremist parents as potentially dangerous or having inappropriate parenting skills while minimizing the perception of risk for parents adhering to political extremism. Children displayed high levels of psychological distress, mainly related to family separation, parental psychopathology, and conflicts of loyalty stemming from familial or social alienation. Conclusions: Training practitioners to be aware of their own personal and institutional bias may help them to understand the predicament of extremist parents' children and implement systemic, trauma and attachment informed interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents findings from an explorative qualitative study on the experiences of students of early childhood studies and primary initial teacher training programmes in England during professional practice placements. The research examined how students' developing advocacy skills to safeguard and protect children were enabled in response to influential factors in their professional practice environments. The role of the university as the education provider is examined in view of the experiences of academic staff in supporting students in the event of a disclosure about a child protection concern. Bourdieu's concept of Habitus is considered in relation to the student's position in terms of the challenges and opportunities in developing their confidence and competency in finding their place and voice to advocate for vulnerable children. Given the critical role of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) practitioners and teachers in safeguarding children, this paper argues the need for more robust provision and integration of teaching advocacy within child protection studies for students as developing professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper has discussed the violation against education facilities in Gaza Strip from the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) perspective, explaining the challenges and the impact of armed conflict on education rights. The paper will identify those violations and will propose methodologies to improve the adoption of the IHL against them. Moreover, it will discuss the policies to decrease the impact of those violations and propose techniques to respond to the threats against children’s rights within the war duration. It will be analyzed the applied IHL in the protection of the education system in Gaza Strip from the attack which happened in 2021 by exploring the efficiency of the IHL impartially. In this research, a qualitative approach has been adopted as a primary source in exploring how educational institutions should be protected within IHL (which should be respected) during attacks. As per the descriptive study, the research will investigate the importance of protecting children’s educational institutions in armed conflict situations. The assessment of child protection was considered in the escalation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in May 2021. The main source of data has been collected using different media such as Telephone-based semi-structured interviews, E-mail correspondence, documentary review, and agencies working in child protection in Gaza Strip; in addition, other secondary sources have been considered, such as desk review, reliable journalism, and published academic research. Continuous military operations throughout Gaza Strip compose dramatic challenges to getting highly qualified education in a safe environment for children. The air strikes and rocket attacks prevented 637,195 students from being in school in a safe environment (Jeanne, 2008). Other reports addressed that Israeli airstrikes destroyed over 184 schools in 2021 and caused partial or severe damage to others. As addressed in other reports, the students and the academic staff have suffered from different cases of depression and expressed their fears of asymmetric warfare in addition to being under blockage (OCHA, May 2021). Regarding the laws governing educational facilities and institutions’ protection, IHL still has some space for improvement that can be addressed and applied in the future to enhance them (Adam, 2011). It is known that numerous kid fatalities and schools suffered partial or total destruction as a result of military activities. On the same, it is documented that the levels of violence against educational organizations and schools hit unheard-of levels in the last ten years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child abuse is a common phenomenon in Africa, and Ghana is no exception. Where child abuse exists, the appropriate response is child protection. Child protection involves policies, structures and practical steps to ensure children are safeguarded. The Church of Pentecost is one of the fastest-growing Church in Ghana, with a local congregation in almost every community. Winneba, a predominantly fishing community, is affected by several forms of child abuse – child labour, child prostitution, child neglect and trafficking. The Church has 37 local congregations across the length and breadth of the Winneba municipality. In recent times, churches have been recognized as strategic partners in child protection efforts in the communities which they serve. This paper examines the child protection ministry of the Church of Pentecost in Winneba in relation to insights from biblical and practical perspectives on child protection. The findings point to insufficient child protection in the Church of Pentecost congregations in Winneba. The current situation only views children in terms of God's salvific plan that includes children (conversion and sanctification). The paper posits that something far broader is required in the light of child abuse throughout the world and in Winneba. Consequently, certain recommendations are made to enable the churches to take more concrete measures to safeguard children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Viewpoint discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Indonesian government's response, on children and young people. By adopting a geographical and socio-spatial analysis the paper discusses the extent to which the response to the crisis has aggravated the detrimental impacts of the emergency on children. We argue that the government's decision to transition to the 'new normal' was premature, endangering marginalized children who have less power, weaker voices, and a lack of access to the necessary resources to protect themselves. The paper focuses on children's vulnerability and inequality during the crisis, and demands careful consideration for the governance of emergency response and recovery policies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of IDP: Revista de Internet, Derecho y Politica is the property of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper uses a case study to critically reflect on contemporary discourses in Norway connected to ethnic minority childhoods and children's rights to education and work. Based on a narrative interview with an ethnic minority girl, Sadja (aged 16), who is in state custody and lives with a foster family, we use a decolonial lens to explore the tensions in expectations and rights in her life and education. The tensions encountered are situated along three axes. The first axis illustrates tensions related to education, work, and responsibilities, as Sadja's family responsibilities are perceived by teachers and child welfare workers as preventing her from having "a proper childhood". The second axis explores tensions connected to independence, educational choice, and "belonging to the state", where Sadja experiences that being in state custody results in being unable to "follow her dream". The third axis reflects the tensions between parental expectations of "dreaming big" versus her surrounding environment's anticipation of her simply getting a job. In sum, Sadja's experiences suggest that contemporary Western discourses—such as individualism, self-autonomy, and children as human capital—paradoxically curtail the educational rights and trajectories of ethnic minority children in foster care in Norway in unforeseen and unfortunate ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a history of critique, concentrated discussion and improved assessment processes, neglect continues to be a major challenge for child protection services. This paper draws on findings from a government‐commissioned analysis of 'serious case reviews' (SCRs) in England, arising from incidents of serious child abuse in 2017–2019. There were 235 cases, for which 166 final reports were available. Alongside a quantitative analysis of the whole cohort, we undertook an in‐depth qualitative analysis of 12 cases involving neglect. A key challenge in responding to neglect in its different forms is that it can be so widespread amongst families that practitioners no longer notice its severity or chronicity – it becomes normalised. In this paper we explore two dimensions of the 'paradox of neglect' where it seems to be everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. The first is that neglect is so closely bound up with the prevalence of poverty that little action is taken to address it. The second is that the overwhelming nature of neglect can blind practitioners to other forms of maltreatment that may also be present within a family. Practitioners, now more than ever, need to recognise the dimensions of this paradox to protect children from neglect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid evolution of technology, particularly the ubiquitous presence of the internet, has brought about significant societal changes. While technological advancements have brought numerous benefits, they have also introduced new challenges and risks. Among these challenges is the alarming rise of child grooming, a form of sexual harassment perpetrated against minors, facilitated by the online environment. In Indonesia, the incidence of child grooming is increasingly prevalent, with several reported cases highlighting its emergence as a pressing societal issue. However, the absence of specific legal frameworks addressing this crime has posed significant challenges for law enforcement authorities tasked with its prevention and prosecution. The lack of dedicated legislation targeting child grooming underscores the need for a comprehensive legal response to effectively combat this form of exploitation. Currently, law enforcement officials rely on discretion in the absence of specific legal provisions, resulting in ad-hoc approaches to addressing these cases. This paper employs a normative juridical approach, utilizing The Statute Approach, to examine the legal landscape surrounding child grooming in Indonesia. By synthesizing existing literature and statutory regulations, this study aims to shed light on the legal complexities inherent in combating this emerging crime. In conclusion, while child grooming remains a relatively new phenomenon in Indonesia, its detrimental impact on minors necessitates urgent legislative action. By enacting dedicated laws and policies, the Indonesian government can provide law enforcement agencies with the necessary tools to effectively address and mitigate the prevalence of child grooming, ensuring the protection and well-being of the nation’s youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns parenting assessments which are integral to child-safeguarding professional processes in England, and which involve Deaf parents whose primary language is British Sign Language (BSL). In an under-researched area of social work, the research aim was to contribute to the existing literature by eliciting the practice wisdom of specialist professionals. Specifically, it draws upon their linguistic and cultural knowledge of the Deaf community when they are involved in parenting assessments with Deaf parents who are subject to safeguarding concerns. Data about these professionals' actual experiences of navigating Deaf cultural-competency in contemporary child protection practices were collected through seven video-recorded, semi-structured interviews conducted in BSL. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, data were analysed in their source language (BSL). This article focusses on one key theme, termed 'Professional Recognition', which incorporates a) the identification of specialist roles and b) the impact of referral processes and protocols on assessment outcomes. The findings highlight participants' perspectives on the benefits and disadvantages of their specialist role in this context. Although their brokerage skills, cultural competence, linguistic fluency and specialist knowledge of the Deaf community are highly regarded and valued by some colleagues, there is insufficient recognition of their existence by the majority. Secondly, participants are concerned by the inefficiency and inconsistency of the referral processes and protocols which they consider have adverse effects on assessment outcomes, and consequently the parents involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child marriage is a global crisis underpinned by gender inequality and discrimination against girls. A small evidence base suggests that food insecurity crises can be both a driver and a consequence of child marriage. However, these linkages are still ambiguous. This paper aims to understand how food insecurity influences child marriage practices in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. Methods: Mixed methods, including participant-led storytelling via SenseMaker® and key informant interviews, were employed to examine the relationship between food insecurity and child marriage within a broader context of gender and socio-economic inequality. We explored the extent to which food insecurity elevates adolescent girls' risk of child marriage; and how food insecurity influences child marriage decision-making among caregivers and adolescents. Key patterns that were generated by SenseMaker participants' interpretations of their own stories were visually identified in the meta-data, and then further analyzed. Semi-structured guides were used to facilitate key informant interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, and transcribed and translated to English, then imported into NVivo for coding and thematic analysis. Results: A total of 1,668 community members participated in SenseMaker data collection, while 22 staff participated in interviews. Overall, we found that food insecurity was a primary concern among community members. Food insecurity was found to be among the contextual factors of deprivation that influenced parents' and adolescent girls' decision making around child marriage. Parents often forced their daughters into marriage to relieve the household economic burden. At the same time, adolescents are initiating their own marriages due to limited alternative survival opportunities and within the restraints imposed by food insecurity, poverty, abuse in the home, and parental migration. COVID-19 and climate hazards exacerbated food insecurity and child marriage, while education may act as a modifier that reduces girls' risk of marriage. Conclusions: Our exploration of the associations between food insecurity and child marriage suggest that child marriage programming in humanitarian settings should be community-led and gender transformative to address the gender inequality that underpins child marriage and address the needs and priorities of adolescent girls. Further, programming must be responsive to the diverse risks and realities that adolescents face to address the intersecting levels of deprivation and elevate the capacities of adolescent girls, their families, and communities to prevent child marriage in food insecure settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to inform a critical analysis of how the media portray family support in Ireland. Findings of a content analysis carried out on national and regional Irish newspapers between 2014 and 2017 are presented which describe communication about family support services provided by Tusla—Child and Family Agency. Results show that even though child protection was not used as a specific search term, news items on the Child and Family Agency and family support were usually focused on child protection and children in care. Results also show that family support activities are reported more positively in local papers compared to national papers. In the discussion, we argue that these findings are important as the media plays an important role in how the public understand, view, and engage with integrated child protection and welfare systems. We consider the implications of the research and advocate working with the media to inform their interpretation and understanding of family support. We suggest this is important as the manner in which the media communicate and frame family support as part of the overall child protection and welfare system is one of the main influences on public understandings and awareness of preventative family support and child welfare services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship-based practice has become an influential theory through which social work practice is understood. However, much more critical attention needs to be given to the kinds of relationships involved. This paper is based on an ethnographic study of long-term social work that spent 15 months observing practice with service users and organisational life to find out how social workers establish and sustain long-term relationships with children and parents in child protection cases, or don't. The paper introduces into the literature the concept of a 'holding relationship', which was present in several of the cases we studied, especially where therapeutic change occurred. The aims of the paper are to document the nature of a holding relationship and to develop it as a concept. A 'holding relationship' involved social workers being reliable, immersing themselves in the service user's day-to-day existence and developing their life-skills, getting physically and emotionally close to them, and practicing critically by taking account of power and inequalities. The concept of a 'holding relationship' draws on psycho-dynamic and sociological theory to provide new ways of thinking that can help make sense of the practical and emotional relating involved in social work and promote the development of such helpful relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines out-of-home placements from the perspective of children who have been exposed to domestic violence and have experienced child protection system interventions. Drawing on focus group discussions with children placed in residential care, family foster care and children crisis shelters, the paper analyses the ways in which the inclusion of children's opinions in child protection decision-making is facilitated or limited. The analysis shows that the children valued being consulted and welcomed any opportunities to work together with child protective service professionals in defining their placements. Based on the findings of this study, the experiences of the children in this study demonstrate that involving children in decision-making about their placements is generally to be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For this inquiry, papers from international journals that are indexed by SCOPUS are accessed using the VosViewer 1.6.17 software. Nonetheless, 533 articles from the years 1975 to 2021 were picked with the keywords "CHILD PROTECTION, CHID ABUSE, AND CHILD POLICY." Scholarly interest in this subject increased significantly between the years 2017 and 2021; the highest year was 2018 when 50 publications on the subject of child protection were published. In general, the findings of bibliometric study on "CHILD PROTECTION, CHILD ABUSE, AND CHILD POLICY," especially forms of violence and the causes of violence against children, are currently being researched in the field of psychology. Child safety and public policy are still hotly debated subjects. So far, there are just 18 articles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Munro Review of Child Protection asserted that the English child protection system had become overly 'defensive', 'bureaucratised' and 'standardised', meaning that social workers were not employing their discretion in the interests of the individual child. This paper reports on the results of an ethnographic case study of one of England's statutory child protection teams. The research sought to explore the extent of social worker discretion relative to Munro's call for 'radical reform' and a move towards a more 'child-centred' system. Employing an iterative mixed methods design – encompassing documentary analysis, observation, focus group, questionnaire, interview and 'Critical Realist Grounded Theory' – the study positioned the UK Government's prolonged policy of 'austerity' as a barrier to social worker discretion. This was because the policy was seen to be contributing to an increased demand for child protection services; and a related sense amongst practitioners that they were afforded insufficient time with the child to garner the requisite knowledge, necessary for discretionary behaviour. Ultimately, despite evidence of progress relative to assertions that social worker discretion had been eroded, the paper concludes that there may still be 'more to do' if we are to achieve the 'child-centred' and 'effective' system that Munro advocated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the England part of a research project exploring judicial decision making in eight jurisdictions with respect to care applications in respect of new-born infants. Descriptive data are provided on a total cohort of 278 care applications made to three English family court care centres in 2016. Attention is paid to final orders made and findings are reported on differences between the three care centres with respect to the proportions of orders made (mainly placement orders; but also care orders and Special Guardianship Orders). A particular focus of the paper is on the 'transparency' of court processes as evidenced by the availability of transcripts of judgements. To add to the small proportion of cases (11%) where a transcript was available, 30 English judgements on new-borns reported to the BAILII data base in 2016 were also analysed. Differences were found between proportions of orders made when a judgement transcript was or was not available. It is argued that these results add to the call for greater transparency in the family courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents in out-of-home care generally have poor prospects for reunification with their birth families. However, for some adolescents in care, with deliberate support and intervention, there may opportunities for successful reunification. The Adolescent Reunification Program (ARP) is an Australian program designed to assist young people aged 12–17 years return home to their families. The program focuses on supporting families, mentoring young people so as to meet their developmental and educational needs, and providing a safe home environment. It also included an innovative therapeutic component which focused on addressing the consequences of intergenerational trauma in order to help repair relationships between parents and children. The purpose of this paper is to describe the therapeutic component of the program and to examine the potential value of therapy in a family reunification context with a particular focus on client receptivity and preliminary evidence on outcomes. Using case illustrations, this paper describes the therapeutic component of the ARP and provides a preliminary evaluation of these components using a mixed methods approach, including standardised psychological assessments, qualitative interviews with parents and young people, and reflections from the program workers. The therapeutic component of the ARP may have helped to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma by bringing focus to the interrelationships between how people feel and how they act. This was done through the work of therapists attempting to combine non-judgmental exploration and positive therapeutic framing with practical support within the context of the environment where the family reunification occurred. Therapy in conjunction with practical supports within a multidisciplinary collaborative approach may help to facilitate better outcomes for reunification when working with complex families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social and child protection is a set of policies and programs designed to reduce and prevent poverty, vulnerability, and social exclusion throughout the life cycle. Early childhood interventions provide an exceptional opportunity to invest in something that is both cost-effective and reasonable, cost-effective in the sense that there is an opportunity to obtain a skilled and capable workforce in the future, and fair in the sense that this intervention gives the best results for children who live in unfavourable conditions and lack adequate stimulation. The paper aims to analysethe perception of the professionals and beneficiaries regarding needs forenhancementof the child protection system in North Macedonia. The practical goal of this study is for the results to serve as guidelines for evidence-based policy making, as well as the introduction of new programs or the improvement of existing ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The independent review of children's social care (2022) has proposed a radical reset of England's children's services, shifting a remote, assessment heavy system towards one that works alongside communities to help prevent statutory interventions. However, notions around the harnessing of community resources to deliver Early Help are often underpinned by assumptions regarding the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector and the ease with which such organizations can be integrated into preventative strategies. This paper reports findings from embedded research within a unitary authority in Southwest England during remodelling of its Early Help service to work more collaboratively with local VCSE organizations. The study generated data from ethnographic observations, semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with 95 participants, including local parents, service providers, VCSE organizations and Council leaders. The findings illustrate that families value the compassionate, responsive and flexible support available within many VCSE settings. However, differences in practice cultures, regulatory pressures on statutory providers, the need to (re)build trust in communities and sensitivities around power‐sharing and resourcing meant negotiating VCSE sector integration was fraught with complexities. Few studies have gained such privileged access to a Local Authority's remodelling of Early Help services, and this paper has significant insights for the debates surrounding the independent review of children's social care (2022) and its recommendation to bring services 'closer to communities'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through exploration of Black Caribbean youths' feelings of unbelonging and exclusion in Ontario schools, this paper argues that how Whiteness is systemically engrained in the education system negatively affects the learning experiences of Black youth due to predetermined measures of belonging. The present article draws on data from 32 qualitative interviews and four focus groups with 23 Black Caribbean youth. Findings reveal challenges youth commonly face when navigating relationships with peers and educators that hinder their academic success. These challenges are exacerbated for youth who are also involved in the state's child protection system. Participants described feeling disadvantaged in the education system due to perceptions that they are academically unprepared and thus unable to excel. Through a Critical Race Theory and Anti-Black Racism analytical framework, the findings illustrate how systemic barriers coupled with the normalization of low expectations impact the educational success and opportunities of Black Caribbean youth in Ontario schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Metszetek is the property of University of Debrecen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper intends to present the possible fields of application of Nonviolent (or Empathic/Collaborative/Compassionate) Communication (NVC) to Social Work, and its benefits for the wellbeing of service users, practitioners, the professional environment, and organisations. This presentation will be supported by an overview of relevant literature and research. A particular focus will be on the helping relationship, highlighting the essential role that Nonviolent Communication can play especially in the interview, but also throughout the whole helping process. NVC values -- as empathic listening, mutuality and reciprocity, authenticity, empowerment, consideration of the other's feelings and needs -- applied to Social Work fundamentally coincide with the approach promoted by Relational Social Work. Moreover, NVC provides social workers also with valuable tools enabling them to build the necessary self-awareness and inner availability to engage in a truly helping relationship. This self-awareness about the own needs is also crucial to engage in healthy and constructive professional relations with colleagues and the organization, and to prevent burnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Retos: Nuevas Perspectivas de Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación is the property of Federacion Espanola de Asociaciones de Docentes de Educacion Fisica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper reports part of a wider systematic review commissioned by the English National Safeguarding Panel on Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI). The wider review covered three areas: interventions to improve safer sleep practices in high‐risk families, interventions to improve engagement with services and decision making by parents at high risk of SUDI about infant sleep environments. Here, we report the qualitative and quantitative studies reviewed under the engagement strand. Parental engagement is understood to be a multidimensional task for health and social care professionals comprising attitudinal, relational and behavioural components. Following a PROSPERO registered systematic review synthesizing the three strands outlined, 28 papers were found to be relevant in the review of interventions to improve engagement with services in families with children at risk of significant harm through abuse or neglect. No studies were found that specifically focused on engagement of families at high risk for SUDI, so these wider engagement studies were included. The different types of intervention reported in the included studies are described under two broad themes: Enablers (including parental motivation and working with families) and Barriers. Given the focus in the studies on interventions that support parental engagement, the Enablers theme is more extensive than the Barriers reported although all studies noted well‐understood barriers. The evidence underpinning these interventions and approaches are reviewed in this paper. We conclude that effective engagement is facilitated by experienced professionals given time to develop supportive non‐judgemental relationships with families in their homes, working long‐term, linking with communities and other services. While these conclusions have been drawn from wider studies aimed at reducing child maltreatment, we emphasize lessons to be drawn for SUDI prevention work with families with children at risk of significant harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of participant validation in qualitative research, and illustrates that the process of validation can be something more than validation. It can also generate new data and provide the participants with empowering experiences. The paper is based on an action research project involving birth parents in the development of new types of services for parents who involuntary have had a child placed in care. In addition to discussing the challenges of participant validation, this paper also highlights the methodological, ethical, and empowering effects of this type of validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work case files hold rich detail about the lives and needs of vulnerable groups. Traditional case-reading studies to gain generalisable knowledge are resource-intensive, however, and sample sizes thereby limited. The advent of 'big data' technology, and vast repositories of centrally stored electronic records offer social work researchers novel alternatives, including data linkage and predictive risk modelling using administrative data. Free-text documents, however – including assessments, reports, and case chronologies – remain a largely untapped resource. This paper describes how 5000 social work court statements held by the Child and Family Court Advisory Support Service in England (Cafcass) were analysed using natural language processing (NLP) based on simple rules and mathematical principles. Thirteen factors relating to harm and risk to children involved in care proceedings in England were identified by automated computer techniques, and almost 90% agreement with professional readers achieved when the factors were clear-cut. The study represents an innovative approach for social work research on complex social problems. In conclusion, the paper discusses learning points; practical implications; future research avenues; and the technical and ethical challenges of NLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Canada and elsewhere, efforts have been made to regulate the use of secure care on welfare grounds. Yet, studies raise questions about its usefulness as a psychosocial intervention since it appears to be mostly experienced as a punishment. The main objective of the current study was therefore to explore adolescents' experiences of secure care. We conducted qualitative interviews with 25 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years old while they were placed in secure care units in the province of Quebec, Canada. Uncertainty regarding how to exit secure care was the most important theme that emerged. Participants did not always understand the words used by practitioners to frame their expectations. Adolescents were also uncertain about how to prove they no longer presented a risk to others or themselves while being in locked settings. This uncertainty generated a lot of anger and distress. To get some control back, adolescents chose to just comply and pretend to agree with practitioners. The present paper questions the utility and even legitimacy of secure care as it is currently used. However, we argue that if an ethic of care predominated our conceptualisation of secure care, rather than an ethic of justice, adolescents could feel both secure and cared for.Key Practitioner Messages: Adolescents do not perceive they are being cared for while in secure care, so they only wish to get out as soon as possible;The fact that adolescents do not understand the objectives they must attain and how they can reach these goals in locked settings causes anxiety and distress;Adolescents only focus on how they can convince practitioners that they ‘deserve’ to get out and not on why they were placed in secure care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a statutory duty for all practitioners to record information in child protection work in England. Case recording is a daily task for practitioners, yet an under-researched area of practice. This continuing professional development (CPD) paper will consider the context in which case recording takes place and highlight messages from child protection reviews and enquiries before exploring learning from contemporary research. The complexities of case recording will be considered and how practitioners can reflect upon and improve their daily case recording skills. Practitioners are encouraged to keep the child's views and experiences central and consider the long-term impact of case recording on adults who have experienced abuse and neglect in childhood. Key Practitioner Messages • Case recording is a complex and nuanced task, often missing the multiple perspectives inherent in a child's narrative. • The views, experiences and identity of individual children and young people can be lost in case recording, especially for very young children, older children and those in sibling groups. • Case recording has a support function for care experienced adults to understand their childhood histories, aiding recovery from abuse and neglect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]