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Social workers carry much of the frontline authority to define risk to children and discuss it with families. Assessment reports and other institutional documents record professional views about family information, and also have the potential to convey the 'voice' of the family to institutions. Social workers have responsibility for sharing these documents with families, yet little is known about how they do this. This paper focuses on episodes when social workers introduce institutional documents in home visits, and on the family responses elicited. These are high-stakes encounters which, when they go seriously wrong, emerge in the press as tragedies and scandals. For families, these documents carry an emotional depth-charge as intimate, potentially shaming and sometimes inaccurate details of their lives are inscribed in them by and for others. Latour's (1996) concept of interobjectivity sheds light on the use of documents, while concepts of epistemic authority (Heritage and Raymond, 2005) and epistemic injustice (Fricker, 2007) are employed to examine how social workers respond to parental testimony about themselves and their children. Learning how to present institutional documentation in ways that reduce the risk of emotional reactivity and treating family perspectives with epistemic justice may enhance social work practice. At a policy level, the design of documents warrants review, so that they facilitate rather than obstruct social workers' efforts to build what are already fragile relationships with families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of multiple bleeding symptoms and/or severe bleeding symptom(s) contribute to a higher score and therefore a greater chance of a bleeding disorder diagnosis. There is bleeding at a critical site (e.g., ICH, retinal haemorrhage, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, intraspinal haemorrhage, haemarthrosis) with no correlating history of trauma or other explanation that adequately accounts for the bleeding. ISTH/SSC bleeding assessment tool: a standardized questionnaire and a proposal for a new bleeding score for inherited bleeding disorders. A standardised bleeding assessment tool, e.g., the International Society for Haemostasis and Thrombosis Bleeding Assessment Tool (ISTH-BAT), can be used to quantitate bleeding symptoms in order to generate a bleeding score. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of the article is to examine the role of international agencies in education for development from the perspective of children's rights. We consider the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 as one of the main milestones and child welfare as a cornerstone to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The successful experience of the UNICEF Child Friendly Cities Initiative of the Spanish Committee and the impact of the Master's Degree in Municipal Rights and Policies for Children are described. The results show that training improves job stability, professional skills and the development of comprehensive childhood initiatives, but does not have such a positive effect on organizations' recognition of professionals. It is concluded that education is a powerful tool for the transformation of socioeducational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies are largely optimistic about the ability of standardized procedures to constrain decision-makers' biases and produce more equitable results across fields. However, work that embraces standardization as an equalizing force stands in contrast to research on standardization and street-level bureaucrats, which asserts that standardized procedures are not self-actuating and cannot be understood apart from the environments in which they are used. I examine how frontline workers vary in their approach to an actuarial-based tool intended to standardize judgments. In a highly controlled decision-making environment, child welfare workers whose racial and sex characteristics afford them higher status report subverting the tool; conversely, workers in the same position whose ascriptive characteristics yield them lower status in terms of race and sex describe following the rules. In an environment where the same tool is adopted only ceremonially, all workers experience decision-making as unconstrained, regardless of their ascriptive characteristics. This work fills gaps in knowledge about how social status and organizational context intersect to affect rule abidance. Examining these dynamic relationships advances understanding of how organizations reproduce inequality and the limits and potential for standardization to transform social hierarchies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study narrative of one woman. Drawing on her storied recollections, from infancy into childhood through young motherhood into adulthood, we trace the interlocking relationship between policies and practices intended to offer welfare support facilitating her criminalization. A collaborative approach to producing knowledge, representing 8 years of narrative, dialogue and reflection surfaces a looming panopticon. The gendered power of the state to intervene across the life course is revealed, as is the failed and harmful nature of this panopticon. Three distinct themes emerge from the analysis: the power to define and the fixing nature of gendered policy and practice narratives; the gendered control strategies that reproduce harms in women's lives; and the lifelong nature of the panopticon for some girls and women. Cutting across these experiences are processes of silencing and ultimately resistance, strategies for surviving the enduring forms of institutional surveillance and intervention. The paper closes with clear implications for the hegemonic trio of social science research and social work and criminal justice policy and practice. We must confront and dismantle our complicity in the silent silencing and gendered harms of the panopticon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe UK housing crisis is having a detrimental impact on the lives of families. However, in England the links between housing and Children’s Social Care remain poorly understood. This paper draws upon 24 months of embedded research within Torbay Council, a Local Authority with comparatively high rates of children in care and acute housing challenges. It includes qualitative data from interviews/focus groups with parents (n = 66); Children’s Services professionals (n = 7), the housing department (n = 2); housing association (n = 2); and staff/volunteers from voluntary and community Sector organisations (n = 28). This study shows that housing circumstances can both trigger crisis situations leading to the involvement of Children’s Services and form a critical element of the complex needs many families in contact with Children’s Services confront. Parents described difficulties demonstrating their parenting abilities to Children’s Services and the Family Courts when living in inadequate housing, or indeed when homeless. This paper recommends better alignment of Housing and Children’s Social Care responses to ensure more effective support for families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the era of chattel slavery, the state has used institutionalized abuse and violence as a tool for reproductive control. Today, public institutions and social services have been established by the state to police and surveil the behavior of poor communities and parents to maintain the reproductive violence and oppression that began centuries ago. This paper uses a reproductive justice framework to explore how the history of criminalizing pregnancy, surveilling Black and Indigenous communities, and denying reproductive autonomy are connected to and maintained by the present-day family policing system. In doing so, this paper expands on existing literature to create a stronger link and build solidarity between the movements against family policing and reproductive oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The web of law, regulation and policy which forms the modern day "child welfare" system is organized around one central unifying principle: the notion that these laws, regulations and policies are necessary to protect and save children. Yet an ever‐growing and overwhelming chorus of "lived experts" – individuals who have been impacted as a parent and/or child by what is more aptly called the family policing system – as well as by advocates and scholars, are drawing attention to the degree of harm the system causes to the families it purports to help. Even though the harms the family policing system causes are well known, the family policing system continues to justify these harms as warranted in the name of protecting children. More concerning, even well‐meaning advocates and scholars who acknowledge the harms, implicitly and explicitly continue to perpetuate the big lie that the family policing system's intention is benevolent and caring. The impetus for any law is a story; law identifies a problem and seeks to resolve it. But what happens when the story is false? The stories we tell about the need for family policing perpetuate harm and replicate systemic racism. Most importantly, the impact of these false narratives can be felt through generations of families leaving devastated communities. The stories, perspectives and opinions of those most impacted by the system historically have been, and continue to be, intentionally left out of the making of law and policy, and even in the teaching of the law. Unless the actual perspectives of families are present to challenge the stories that are woven into the law, these narratives will continue to create significant obstacles to critical thought about the law, prevent meaningful legal change, and ultimately cause continued harm to families and communities. In this essay, in the tradition of participatory law scholarship (Note: Rachel Lopez, Participatory Law Scholarship, 123 Colum. L. Rev. 1795 (2023) ["Participatory Law Scholarship or (PLS)... is an emerging genre of legal scholarship written in collaboration with authors... who have no formal training in the law but rather expertise in its function and dysfunction through lived experience."]), the authors, a parent and professional advocate, and a clinical law professor and attorney, seek to unpack the myths which are built into the laws of family policing. In reckoning with these myths, the paper seeks to propose a critical framework to both acknowledge the intentional trauma and harm caused by the family policing system, and to disrupt and dismantle the fictions that are the underpinnings of the laws and regulations that continue to perpetuate these harms. Ultimately, this paper argues that by centering the lived expertise of families' voices and perspectives in legal advocacy, we can form a cogent vision for true safety for families and communities. Key points for the family court community: False Narratives Embedded into Child Welfare Law.Debunking False Narratives.Centering Lived Expertise.Child Welfare, Family Policing, Lived Experts, Lived Expertise, False Narratives, True Narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper explores active efforts as a transformative measure in the child welfare system. It argues how the currently used reasonable effort standard has not served the children or families in its care adequately. When a child comes to the attention of child protective services, measures to maintain family unity could see significant improvements in the child welfare system. Additionally, the current standard has shown to be particularly detrimental to the integrity of Black families and children. Through a critical examination of these failures as well the benefits of using an active efforts approach, this paper advocates for the adoption of this standard as a necessary step in the shift toward fostering stronger, more resilient family structures. Key points for the family court community: The Reasonable Efforts Standard has led to separation of children from their family bonds.This separation has disproportionately affected Black children and families.Family integrity is a Constitutional RightUsing active efforts holds a higher standard for social workers to preserve these bonds.Using relative placements whenever possible and safe has significant positive outcomes for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationships between low‐income single mothers and their adolescent and early adult children utilizing qualitative interview and focus group data with youth from three Canadian cities. The research explored youth provisioning roles in these families. Provisioning, a concept widely understood in the global south, refers to labour used to sustain low‐income families and includes emotional labour, care work, trade and exchange and paid labour. Findings from this study identified strong expressions of positive attachment and close relationships between youth and their family members. The paper queries whether positive attachment may be built through roles where youth see themselves as integral parts of a family team and where their contributions are acknowledged. These findings invite us to explore and perhaps challenge the oft‐reported correlations between living in a low‐income, lone mother‐led family and poor childhood outcomes and poor attachment. Can these outcomes be mediated and can the provisioning roles youth undertake possibly be such mediators? [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]

PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENTChild sexual exploitation perpetrated by organised networks has been a major child protection concern in the UK. This paper uses police investigation files and interviews with police officers to reconstruct and explore the structures and mechanisms underlying offender and victim networks in five cases of network-based CSE perpetrated within UK communities between 2010 and 2021. Using social network analysis and content analysis this paper finds that, while structures vary, most offender networks are loosely connected, lack centres of power and lack structural sophistication. Additionally, examination of the corresponding victim cohorts demonstrates that victims often come from interconnected peer groups intrinsically involved in introducing each other to offender networks. Specific roles in network activity could be identified and matched to both offenders and victims. Statistical analysis shows that an offender’s structural position in the network is related to the specific roles they perform, with different roles showing distinct structural profiles.The study suggests that identifying and targeting offenders with specific roles within CSE networks could aid strategic network disruption. However, it is also implied that when it comes to dismantling networks, taking an offender-centred approach may not be the most effective strategy, as they are structured in a way that is resilient to these tactics. Instead, the study proposes that engaging with victim networks could serve as a more effective alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Universal health visiting has been a cornerstone of preventative healthcare for children in the United Kingdom (UK) for over 100 years. In 2016, Scotland introduced a new Universal Health Visiting Pathway (UHVP), involving a greater number of contacts with a particular emphasis on the first year, visits within the home setting, and rigorous developmental assessment conducted by a qualified Health Visitor. To evaluate the UHVP, an outcome indicator framework was developed using routine administrative data. This paper sets out the development of these indicators. Methods: A logic model was produced with stakeholders to define the group of outcomes, before further refining and aligning of the measures through discussions with stakeholders and inspection of data. Power calculations were carried out and initial data described for the chosen indicators. Results: Eighteen indicators were selected across eight outcome areas: parental smoking, breastfeeding, immunisations, dental health, developmental concerns, obesity, accidents and injuries, and child protection interventions. Data quality was mixed. Coverage of reviews was high; over 90% of children received key reviews. Individual item completion was more variable: 92.2% had breastfeeding data at 6–8 weeks, whilst 63.2% had BMI recorded at 27–30 months. Prevalence also varied greatly, from 1.3% of children's names being on the Child Protection register for over six months by age three, to 93.6% having received all immunisations by age two. Conclusions: Home visiting services play a key role in ensuring children and families have the right support to enable the best start in life. As these programmes evolve, it is crucial to understand whether changes lead to improvements in child outcomes. This paper describes a set of indicators using routinely-collected data, lessening additional burden on participants, and reducing response bias which may be apparent in other forms of evaluation. Further research is needed to explore the transferability of this indicator framework to other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is much research on the topic of child maltreatment more broadly in Australia, a nuanced understanding of intergenerational child maltreatment is needed to improve our responses. Little work has considered all four intergenerational patterns of child maltreatment: cycle maintainers (maltreated parents with maltreated children), cycle breakers (maltreated parents with non‐maltreated children), cycle initiators (non‐maltreated parents with maltreated children) and a comparison group (non‐maltreated parents with non‐maltreated children). We use this terminology to maintain consistency with international literature, but acknowledge that these terms minimise the complexity inherent in contact with child protection systems. Research has mainly focused on maintainers, which hinders our ability to appropriately support all families and limits our understanding of individuals breaking the cycle. This paper outlines key knowledge gaps and identifies strategic areas of focus for researchers and policymakers. There is an urgent need for more emphasis on building resilience and strengths, the provision of more integrated and holistic support for families, and consideration of sex differences. We highlight the need for more research on this topic, particularly led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and hope that the recommendations in this paper can be revisited and updated as this important research base grows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty in early life can have lasting effects on health and human capital; social protection can counter these effects to promote the development of capabilities across the life course. This paper examines how social protection can promote adolescent well-being and facilitate safe and productive transitions to adulthood in lower and middle-income countries. Focusing on governmental non-contributory programmes the paper investigates (i) whether and how current non-contributory social protection programmes are adolescent-sensitive and (ii) what the impact of non-contributory social protection programmes on adolescents is. To examine these questions, we conducted an extensive review of the literature on existing non-contributory social protection programmes and related impact evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International child protection standards aim to ensure that non-governmental organisations 'do no harm' but the current approach to reporting abuse may actually leave children unprotected and, in some cases, expose them to greater risk. This discussion paper gives voice to concerns raised by local practitioners in Africa and places them within the context of available research in order to stimulate a debate aimed at enhancing the impact of current safeguards. Drawing on systems theory and the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the article illustrates how the current model of reporting often fails to take into account the significant disconnect between formal and informal protection mechanisms, as well as the unpredictability of individual decision-making. Examples from research and practitioner experience illustrate how reporting procedures may provide a route to protection which is impractical and undesirable to local people, and may ultimately be unhelpful to local practitioners. The article calls for further research to inform changes to the current approach and for a review of funding requirements in order that local organisations have greater scope to engage communities in the co-creation of procedures, thereby indigenising responses to ensure that they are realistic and genuinely respond to the specificities of children's lives. Key Practitioner Messages Formal reporting procedures may actually offer routes to protection that are inaccessible or unacceptable to local people., Reporting procedures should be developed with a much greater participation of local people., There is a need for investment in piloting and implementing locally led approaches to capacity building., The engagement of donors is critical in order to develop a new approach to evaluating 'child safe' organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to argue for a strengthening of the relational aspect of social work and for initiatives that involve local people and local communities.Design/methodology/approach A think piece based on observations of the current situation and supporting evidence.Findings Social work has become distanced from those whom it seeks to help. Case management and risk assessment need to be complemented by a more human approach based on positive relationships between professionals and service users.Originality/value An informed discussion on the future of social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a scoping review to identify studies which use the framework of intersectionality to understand the overrepresentation of Black women, children, and families within the child welfare system. A comprehensive review of electronic databases was conducted as of June 2021. Of the 4,663 records identified, ten peer-reviewed journal articles met criteria for inclusion within the study across the disciplines of social work, law, public health, and criminal justice. Additional empirical, peer-reviewed journal articles are needed to understand the overrepresentation of Black women, children, and families within the child welfare system using the framework of intersectionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CarePortal allows community members to partner with the Division of Family and Child Services and make donations intended to prevent children from entering foster care or support current foster/kinship placements. This paper builds on the existing literature to estimate the average, per-child economic impact of preventing a child's entering care ($83,270.54) and the economic impact of one dollar donated to strengthen an existing foster placement ($2.20). These estimates were used to evaluate the economic impact of all CarePortal donations in Glynn County, Georgia, in FY2021, a total of $5,704,451.92, impacting 97 children and helping strengthen 19 foster/kinship homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding more about the discharge of care orders is vital—whether a care order remains in place has significant implications for children and their families and for local authorities. While there has been comprehensive research about the process and outcomes of care proceedings, much less is known about the discharge of care orders—particularly how, why and when care orders are ended and the differences between applications that are granted and those that are not. The present study combined data from an anonymized administrative data on discharge applications, a detailed analysis of children's e‐records and qualitative interviews with family justice professionals to create the first detailed profile of discharge applications across England and Wales. This paper reports, for the first time, the number of discharge applications and outcomes across England and Wales, highlighting regional as well as between‐country variation. Drawing on data from children's e‐records and interviews with professionals, highlighting how and why local authorities are more likely to submit discharge applications, and to have applications granted, than parents. Recommendations are made for how to adapt professional practice and policy around discharge applications to better meet the needs of children and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infants of women with histories of problematic alcohol and other drug use are among the most vulnerable children known to statutory child protection services, which they enter at a younger age, and in which they remain longer. The net results include overwhelmed child protection systems and the birth of subsequent children conceived to ease women's grief at the loss their infants. Without adequate and appropriate support to the mother and her family, the pattern repeats. Obstetric services have an important role to play in the assessment of risk and protective factors in the perinatal period and in determining pathways to service provision. A comprehensive assessment considers the availability and quality of informal support prior to activation of formal systems of support, both statutory, where engagement is mandated, and non‐statutory, where support is offered on a voluntary basis. This paper uses quantitative methods to explore the social networks of women with problematic substance use in the transition to motherhood and the relationship between formal and informal support systems and infant outcomes. Surveys were held with two counsellors from the Women's Alcohol and Drug Service (WADS), a specialist obstetric clinic in Melbourne, Australia, and with 18 child protection workers. In addition, the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (Norbeck, 1984; Norbeck et al., 1983) was administered with 20 participating mothers to measure levels of formal and informal support, as well as the type and quality of support available to mothers over a 12‐month period, and to consider the provision of social support against known outcomes for infants. The findings demonstrate that WADS counsellors made several referrals for most women but that there was little in the way of long‐term follow‐up by non‐statutory service providers, with most women experiencing a dramatic drop in support over the 12‐month period. Women whose main informal support was from a domestically violent partner, and those who had been in out‐of‐home care in their own childhood, were particularly vulnerable to losing the care of their infant. The role of child protection varied markedly across the 12‐month period, particularly in relation to the extent that a relationship between formal and informal systems of support for mothers and their infants could be established. Overall, the study findings demonstrate that mothers experienced diminishing formal and informal support over time and that the quality of social support available to the mother was more important in terms of outcomes for women and their infants than the quantity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a scoping review to identify studies which use the framework of intersectionality to understand the overrepresentation of Black women, children, and families within the child welfare system. A comprehensive review of electronic databases was conducted as of June 2021. Of the 4,663 records identified, ten peer-reviewed journal articles met criteria for inclusion within the study across the disciplines of social work, law, public health, and criminal justice. Additional empirical, peer-reviewed journal articles are needed to understand the overrepresentation of Black women, children, and families within the child welfare system using the framework of intersectionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CarePortal allows community members to partner with the Division of Family and Child Services and make donations intended to prevent children from entering foster care or support current foster/kinship placements. This paper builds on the existing literature to estimate the average, per-child economic impact of preventing a child's entering care ($83,270.54) and the economic impact of one dollar donated to strengthen an existing foster placement ($2.20). These estimates were used to evaluate the economic impact of all CarePortal donations in Glynn County, Georgia, in FY2021, a total of $5,704,451.92, impacting 97 children and helping strengthen 19 foster/kinship homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States Supreme Court's decision in Dobb's v. Jackson Women's Health Organization has heightened interest in the link between restrictions on abortion access and child maltreatment. Connecting decreased access to abortion to increases in child maltreatment and subsequent foster care entries presents substantive challenges related to the magnitude of any effect of abortion restrictions, methodological challenges related to limitations of existing sources of national child welfare data, and conceptual challenges related to the structure and function of child welfare systems. In this paper, we explore these substantive, methodological and conceptual challenges. Specifically, we consider both the actual impact of abortion restrictions on the occurrence of abortions and the complexities that studying the link between abortion restrictions and child maltreatment presents. We caution researchers about making causal links between abortion restrictions and either child maltreatment or foster care entries without sufficiently documenting limitations of national sources of child welfare data and accounting for multiple confounding factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition-age youth with foster care involvement (TAY, ages 17–22) are at heightened risk for suicidal behavior. Despite this, mental health screenings are not standardized across child welfare (CW) systems and existing assessment tools are not designed for use with this specific population. As such, TAY are unlikely to be adequately screened for suicide risk and connected with needed services. In this paper, we sought to identify screening and assessment tools that could be effective for use with TAY in CW settings. Using PubMed and PsycINFO, we conducted a search of the current literature to identify some of the most commonly used screening and assessment tools for youth. We then narrowed our focus to those tools that met predefined inclusion criteria indicating appropriateness of use for TAY in CW settings. As a result of this process, we identified one brief screening tool (the ASQ) and four assessments (the SIQ-JR, the C-SSRS, the SHBQ, and the SPS) that demonstrated specific promise for use with TAY. The strengths and limitations of the tools are discussed in detail, as well as the ways that each could be used most effectively in CW settings. We highlight three key points intended to guide social work practice and policy: (1) systematic, routine assessment of mental health and suicide risk across CW settings is critical; (2) the protocol for assessing suicidal behavior in TAY must account for the wide variations in context and service provision; and (3) CW workers administering assessments must be thoughtfully trained on risk identification and the protocol implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically tests the Decision-Making Ecology (DME) framework to explore which characteristics of child maltreatment cases are most influential in the decision to refer children to services. We used latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify latent groups of child welfare organizations based on their climate and culture. We then use logistic regression models to determine whether organizational, external, case, and caseworker characteristics were predictive of children’s service referrals. Our findings revealed that organizational characteristics were a significant predictor of service referrals, as well as caseworker and external characteristics. These results support the DME framework in understanding service referral decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia assaulting another person is a criminal offence. It occurs when one person strikes another person, applying force of any kind either directly or indirectly, without the person's consent. There is an exception. Children are specifically denied legal protection from intentional assaults when it is rebranded as corporal punishment. Successive governments have failed to act to provide children with the same protection from assault as adults despite repeated calls by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, and the robust body of evidence of the substantial harm it causes (Gershoff & Grogan‐Kaylor, 2016). This glaring inconsistency in the law, should cause us to question how far we have evolved in our attitudes and treatment of children. In particular just how deeply ingrained are attitudes and prejudices about children that rationalise or justify acts and omissions that harm them, and fail to protect their rights (Childism: Confronting Prejudice Against Children, Yale University Press, 2013). This paper will examine past and contemporary attitudes to children and the narrative that helps explains why policy makers and the community tolerate the use of physical force against children, and why a new narrative is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recruitment and use of children by armed groups continue to threaten the effective protection of children. Preventive approaches to child protection, call for robust early warning mechanisms that do not only focus on the recruitment and use of children, but capture the root causes and vulnerabilities of both boys and girls for recruitment. A comprehensive early warning mechanism for prevention requires a gender-sensitive approach. This paper seeks to examine the gender dynamics of the recruitment and use of children by armed groups, and how that can inform a gender sensitive data collection and analysis to improve early warning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the suitability of the United Nations Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) as an early warning tool for the prevention of child recruitment, including discussion of predictive elements for child recruitment as a prevention tool. The article discusses the functioning of the MRM and surveys predictive factors for child recruitment. The article concludes with recommendations for future strengthening of the global child protection architecture for the prevention of child recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses potential developments involving kinship care policies and practices which were addressed at the Kinship Summit event in Albany, New York in September 2016, and it mentions collaborative partnerships, the needs of children, youth, and families, and gaps involving child welfare services in America. Continuity in kinship care is examined, along with kinship caregivers, the U.S. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, and Voluntary Placement Agreements.

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]

While on paper Zimbabwe has a comprehensive child protection legal framework, the occurrence of child sexual abuse (CSA) is high. Drawing from findings of a qualitative study, a case study design, and a research population consisting of a forum of organizations providing CSA interventions: the Victim Friendly System, this paper presents how some cultural myths, cultural practices, cultural rites, and religious practices may contribute to CSA in Zimbabwe. Purposive sampling was used to select 38 professional working in the VFS, 4 key informants, 17 VFS monthly meeting minutes, and 300 court files of tried and sentenced CSA cases from Harare and Gokwe. CSA is a gross child and human rights violation that places some religions, myths, beliefs, and cultural practices at crossroads with social work principles. Various social work interventions are suggested as ways to navigate the paradox: shaped by cultural, traditional, religious, and mythical factors contributing to CSA and legal frameworks to address CSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Parental advocacy is an emerging area of research and policy interest in Wales and across the UK. Although there is little research in the UK context to date, international research has indicated that parental advocacy can improve the relationship between parent and professional in the field of child protection social work. This paper aims to ascertain how the implementation of a parental advocacy programme supports parents to play a meaningful role in decision-making when children's services are working with them and their families. Design/methodology/approach: This study used interviews, surveys and focus groups to obtain qualitative data from 18 parents, seven parent advocates, two advocacy managers and four social workers, to explore the potential impact of parental advocacy on decision-making. The study identified challenges in implementing parental advocacy, particularly relating to awareness of the service. Participants also discussed experiences of the child protection system and how parents are supported by advocates. Findings: Despite challenges surrounding implementation, initial findings were encouraging, and generated examples of how parental advocacy services have helped parents to understand children's services and develop relationships of trust with social care professionals. In doing so, this study identified potential mechanisms that may be useful to support future service delivery. Originality/value: This paper and research is novel as it explores parental advocacy within the Welsh context. Although there has been research conducted into parental advocacy, this has largely come from the USA. This research comes from the evaluation of an innovative and promising parental advocacy scheme in Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As opioid fatalities rise in North America, the need to improve the supports available to those who are dependent on opioids and pregnant has become more urgent. This paper discusses the social organisation of drug treatment supports for those who are pregnant, using Canadian clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) as a case study. Pregnant patients are a priority population for MMT, both in Canada and internationally; the regulatory bodies that oversee MMT in Canada are the provincial Colleges of Physician and Surgeons and Health Canada. The paper analyses MMT CPGs published by these agencies, comparing their general recommendations to those specific to pregnant patients. We demonstrate that the guidelines address few treatment considerations for pregnant patients, other than improved birth outcomes and child welfare, despite acknowledging their more complex needs. Drawing on social science studies of gender and drugs, we argue that MMT CPGs therefore perpetuate the intensified surveillance and foetal prioritisation that have long generated barriers to care for opiate‐dependent pregnant patients. We also discuss how and why the CPGs ultimately only reinforced these current limitations in the drug treatment sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the concept of racialization to an analysis of research on the child welfare system's racial disparities and its interactions with Black African immigrant families. This conceptual paper makes the argument that Black African immigrants are an important population of focus for U.S. child welfare system research, and that the use of a racialization lens is necessary to interpret the experiences of the increasingly diverse, Black-racialized population with the child welfare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child welfare agencies increasingly use machine learning models to predict outcomes and inform decisions. These tools are intended to increase accuracy and fairness but can also amplify bias. This systematic review explores how researchers addressed ethics, equity, bias, and model performance in their design and evaluation of predictive and prescriptive algorithms in child welfare. We searched EBSCO databases, Google Scholar, and reference lists for journal articles, conference papers, dissertations, and book chapters published between January 2010 and March 2020. Sources must have reported on the use of algorithms to predict child welfare-related outcomes and either suggested prescriptive responses, or applied their models to decision-making contexts. We calculated descriptive statistics and conducted Mann-Whitney U tests, and Spearman's rank correlations to summarize and synthesize findings. Of 15 articles, fewer than half considered ethics, equity, or bias or engaged participatory design principles as part of model development/evaluation. Only one-third involved cross-disciplinary teams. Model performance was positively associated with number of algorithms tested and sample size. No other statistical tests were significant. Interest in algorithmic decision-making in child welfare is growing, yet there remains no gold standard for ameliorating bias, inequity, and other ethics concerns. Our review demonstrates that these efforts are not being reported consistently in the literature and that a uniform reporting protocol may be needed to guide research. In the meantime, computer scientists might collaborate with content experts and stakeholders to ensure they account for the practical implications of using algorithms in child welfare settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The context of this paper is family situations where young people are experiencing significant behavioural and emotional problems. Based on a qualitative study, it offers an empirical and theoretical contribution to the understanding of family‐related factors that promote or hinder behaviour change. Data were collected through face‐to‐face, semi‐structured group interviews with nine families (28 participants), all of them mandatory recipients of child welfare services in Croatia. Thematic analysis comprised primary coding designed to elicit information about individual family members' capacity for change and secondary coding of family‐level phenomena. The results indicated 10 phenomena that were judged to represent factors that helped or hindered change. The discussion section suggests three broad categories of capacity to change at family level (Goals and Priorities; Problem solving dynamics; and Development of role relationship). This analysis is offered as the basis for an examination of the concept of family capacity for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sexual exploitation of children and youth remains a critical issue within the child welfare system, despite the limited availability of models of care to support these vulnerable individuals. The START with the YOUTH (STAR‐Y) program adopts a preventative approach, offering personalized care and wraparound support to youth exhibiting at‐risk behaviours. This paper employs a case study methodology using both thematic and content analyses to longitudinally assess the effectiveness of this exploratory program. This evaluation encompasses a comprehensive assessment of various factors associated with the risk of sexual exploitation among program participants. Throughout the program's extended duration (originally planned for one year), predefined risk factors, including concerning Internet behaviours, were monitored and analysed. Qualitative data were gathered through interviews and observations, focusing on the experiences of both the youth and their foster parents. The results highlight the program's successful implementation, with youth enrollment (N = 3) demonstrating a reduction in sexual exploitation risk factors over time, including a decrease in behaviours such as concerning Internet usage. The importance of wraparound support and the foster parent‐youth relationship in mitigating risk and nurturing resilience became evident. This exploratory evaluation serves as the initial phase of a comprehensive assessment aimed at understanding how to effectively support youth within this population, including those at higher risk, such as those possibly involved in sex trafficking. The study's findings provide valuable insights into strategies for mitigating the risk of sexual exploitation among vulnerable youth, informing future endeavours to develop and implement similar programs within the child welfare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

US Federal legislation mandates the treatment of underaged youth induced to sell themselves for commercial sex as victims and not criminal offenders of prostitution laws. Nonetheless, state prosecutors often take action in juvenile court against these youth. This study explored the impact of negative moral emotions, victim blame, and victim believability on public judgments of child sex trafficking victims under varying case facts. We presented an online scenario involving a trafficking case to 682 participants and manipulated youth sex, trafficker sex, vulnerability background, and prior arrest history to determine how emotions, victim blame, and believability mediate child sex trafficking decisions. Two different paths emerged depending on the youth's sex. Participants reported greater victim responsibility and greater negative moral emotions towards a male youth trafficked by a female when he had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. With the same facts, participants reported lower believability for a female youth when she had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings for practice and theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers conducting community-based action research (CBAR) become immersed in their field site, developing close relationships and enabling members of the community to pursue social action. We contribute a nuanced analysis of the impact of CBAR on those who participate in the method, particularly participants who live rurally. Situating this work in the history and prior methodological examinations of CBAR, we demonstrate the critical relationship between this research approach and the rural landscape. Our findings speak to two research questions: how do participatory- and otherwise community-based, action-oriented research methods impact those who participate in research? And, how do researchers and research participants make sense of this impact? Using interview, observation, and photographic data, our analysis indicates that community members' perceptions of CBAR exist on a spectrum situated around two key, but fluid, positions: the 'trusted outsider' and the 'affective collaborator.' Our findings provide researchers with a stronger methodological foundation to approach community-based, action-oriented research with an ethic of care. Further, our findings provide methodologists with a better understanding of the multi-directional impact of doing CBAR and the ways we can use this information to do CBAR ethically and effectively. In this way, our paper contributes to a growing body of scholarship regarding the practice and impact of collaborative, community-based research approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In the United States, 37 states and 4 territories allow for the termination of parental rights (TPR) due to parental disability. Twenty‐eight of these states and all four of the territories specifically include parental intellectual developmental disability (IDD). Policies that call for the TPR based on factors outside of parental abuse or neglect have myriad negative effects on individuals, families and communities, including long‐term adverse health outcomes for children who have been removed from parental custody, delays in prenatal care for pregnant people whose stigmatized identities may result in involuntary TPR and an increased burden on already overtaxed child welfare systems. This paper analyses policies and proposes an alternative policy modelled after advocacy from other groups of parents with marginalized identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between Canadian sovereignty and the removal of Indigenous children into non-native foster and adoptive homes. In it, I analyze how colonial child protection regimes following Residential Schools—from the Sixties Scoop (1951–1991) to the present Millennium Scoop—continue Canada's war against Indigenous lives and nations. From Sixties Scoop survivor narratives, ethnographic and archival data, and Indigenous and Black feminist theory, I highlight the gendered character of colonial sovereignty and capitalism. This paper argues that daily practices of refusal and care as an elaboration of Indigenous political orders unmake the grounds of colonial polity. [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]

This paper examines how children from immigrant background experience and negotiate power relations with family and social workers in the context of child protection services (CPS) in Norway. Using the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology, 11 children from Pakistani background were interviewed about their lived experiences with CPS. Analysis of the data highlights that children have to negotiate and navigate generational and gendered power relations both within the families and the CPS to exercise their agency. The analysis contributes to a limited research field focusing on immigrant children's multidimensional lived realities in the context of CPS, where children's voices are largely missing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality early care and education (ECE) presents an unparalleled opportunity to avert disadvantage and promote children's development. Mealtimes are essential daily routines, yet are often overlooked in research on ECE quality. This paper crystallises a composite case study of ECE mealtimes in highly disadvantaged communities by combining Departing Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW) methodology with parent surveys, scorings of educator‐child interactions (inCLASS), and field notes. Poverty is perpetuated in these centres: children do not have enough food, and educator‐dictated feeding practices restrict children's opportunities to exercise their agency and learn. Systemic policy action is needed to address poverty in ECE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School engagement is a luxury not often afforded to children involved in the child welfare system. Current definitions of school engagement largely center around three micro-level foci: behavioral, emotional, and cognitive. These definitions rely heavily on the student and their participation in school in prescribed ways that can exclude system-involved youth, leaving little room to consider how life experiences and developmental trajectories interface with how students show up in educational spaces. This perspective of school engagement also lacks socio-ecological considerations that may impact children in the child welfare system, such as frequent school moves, trauma reactions, systemic racism, and insufficient access to structural resources. Each of these influences may affect how a child engages with school and how a school engages with children and families. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the conceptual misalignments of the current approaches to measuring school engagement for youth involved in the child-welfare system and its subsequent implications for practice and research. We present recommendations that may lead to more inclusive and equitable measures of this important "determinant of life success." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the experiences of US child welfare professionals during the COVID pandemic. Using an online survey, we report on a convenience sample of 444 child welfare workers. The majority reported receiving adequate guidance on staying safe; 86.3% were given access to face masks. Workers reported 75.8% of clients used masks; 10.7% reported contracting COVID through work. About 80% worried that child clients were more at-risk. Workers who felt the most supported and least at-risk were those with stay-at-home orders. Results are discussed in terms of supporting child welfare professionals during periods of crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]