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Purpose Schools can be an arena for age appropriate and objective information about the support families can get from the child protection services (CPS). There is reason to believe that many children have misconceptions about the CPS and are afraid to talk to the social workers who investigates if there is reason to be concerned about a child’s well-being. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of misconceptions about child protection services (CPS) among school children in Norway. Method A questionnaire containing 10 statements that measure children’s misconceptions and attitudes about the CPS was developed and distributed to 215 children aged 11–15 years old (M = 12.2 years). Results The results showed that 10.7% of the sample have a misconception about children being removed from their homes by CPS and that 17% of the sample had a negative perception of the CPS in general. Discussion The child might wrongfully get the impression that it is at risk of being removed from the parents. Participation in assessment and planning may be challenging for a child under such conditions. Therefore, it is important that adults who work with children are aware that these misconceptions are quite common, also among youth. Implications The prevalence of misconceptions about CPS among children in the general population as well as those in contact with CPS indicate a need for age-appropriate information. If such misconceptions are prevented it might be easier for children to reach out for help if they or somebody they know, are subject to abuse or neglect.

In this study, we look at the decision to provide services following a child protection investigation in Norway. More specifically, we want to look at variability at the case level and at the agency level in order to identify factors that may impact a decision to provide services.The study was designed as a cross-sectional archive study that was carried out retrospectively. Included predictors for service provision were presence of abuse, and risk factors related to child, parental and family function. Agency predictors were referral rate and metropolitan location. Variation in service provision was sectioned into case level (N = 883) variation and agency level (N = 16) variation. Five nested multilevel models were estimated. Service provision for families following a child protection investigation was on average 38.4% in the sample. Among the 16 agencies, it varied between 21.9 and 60.0%. This variation is mostly explained by case variables. The strongest were physical abuse (OR = 1.37) and neglect (OR = 1.18). There is evidence for agency differences with respect to the types of cases being referred. Differences in agency thresholds for service provision when controlling for the referral reason seem to be quite small.

This study aimed to compare the content of the Norwegian Kvello AF for child welfare investigations with similar frameworks from Sweden (BBIC) and Denmark (ICS). The comparison was based on detailed descriptions of each framework, retrieved from authorized websites, textbooks, manuals, course material, and, for the Kvello AF, also personal communication with the author. An ecological triangle model similar to the British AF was chosen as a guideline for the comparison, as all three frameworks referred to bio-ecological developmental theory. The content of the frameworks was thus compared along dimensions and categories related to 1) the child’s needs and development, 2) the parents’ capacity, and 3) environmental factors. The main finding was that the Kvello AF included many of the same elements for gathering information as the other frameworks, but there were some important differences. The Kvello AF seemed to have a narrower perspective on the children’s needs and welfare than the other frameworks, implying a stronger focus on the child–parent interaction and a less focus on environmental factors and the child’s functioning outside the family. publishedVersion

Contains fulltext : 237527.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Children whose parents have mental illnesses are among the most vulnerable in our communities. There is however, much that can be done to prevent or mitigate the impact of a parent's illness on children. Notwithstanding the availability of several evidence-based interventions, efforts to support these children have been limited by a lack of adequate support structures. Major service reorientation is required to better meet the needs of these children and their families. This editorial provides recommendations for practice, organisational, and systems change. 4 p.

Background - When a child welfare service agency receives a report of concern, there is an initial screening to decide whether an investigation needs to be initiated. In addition to the decision maker, case factors, external factors, and organizational factors have an impact on decision making in Child Welfare Services (CWS). Few recent studies have considered the impact of case factors on the initial screening. Objective - This study examined case factors that have an impact on the decision to investigate in the Norwegian CWS. Participants and setting - Participants included randomly drawn samples of case files from 16 agencies (N = 1365). Methods - The study was designed as a cross-sectional case file study. Researchers coded the data on site at the agencies. To examine the association between a decision to investigate and case specific variables, multilevel logistic regression (generalized linear mixed model) analysis was conducted to account for case clustering effects within agencies. Results - The rate of investigation was 82.3 %. Concerns of physical and sexual abuse (OR = 2.61***), parents' health and stressful events (OR = 2.20***), domestic violence or witnessing violence (OR = 2.52***), and concerns related to finances, housing, and employment (OR = 3.25**) lowered the threshold for investigation. Prior referrals were found to raise the threshold for investigation (OR = 0.88). (**p < .01, ***p < .001). Conclusion - Although large differences between agencies exist in decision-making processes in the Norwegian CWS, there are common case factors affecting the initial screening of referrals.

Objectives Child protection referrals that contain information about incidents of physical child abuse, sexual abuse, and domestic violence have a high chance of being screened in for investigation. The aim of the current study is to investigate which case factors that affect the decision to screen-in cases with other types of concerns. Method A sample of referrals (N = 1365) to child protection services in Norway was randomly drawn. Information was collected regarding (i) child and family characteristics, (ii) the content of the referral (iii) the decision to investigate. A structural equation model that describe how case characteristics and the contents of the report influence the screening decision was estimated. Results Non abuse-concerns were grouped in three latent variables. The first consisted of referrals that contained concerns about a wide range of problems related to the child’s health and development. The second consisted of referrals that contained concerns about parental conflicts and child safety. The third consisted of concerns related to different types of family and environmental risk factors. Families with immigrant background have an increased chance of being screened-in, irrespective of referral content. Cases with previous referrals have a decreased chance of being screened-in. Conclusions When controlling for other case factors, more complex referrals with multiple concerns have increased chance of being screened in.

Contains fulltext : 238338.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Child Talks+ is a preventive intervention developed with the aim to assist mental health professionals in offering support to children of parents with mental health problems and/ or addiction problems. This brief report presents the intervention, which can be adopted by mental health workers, social workers and other healthcare professionals who are in contact with patients who are parents. Parents and their children are entitled to receive psychoeducation about the parents' mental health problems. Interventions to provide knowledge and support will enable parents and children to have a mutual understanding of the situation in the family and possible changes in parental behavior. Common grounds can make it easier for the family to speak openly about mental health problems within the family. The intervention aims to enhance parenting communication skills. After completing the intervention, patients should feel more equipped to talk with the children about their mental health problems, as well as listen to the children’s needs and experiences. 4 p.

Summary Children of social service users are at risk for developing mental health problems as well as social and behavioral problems. Social service counselors should therefore be aware of service users’ children and provide support for them. In fact, they are obligated by law to consider children's views and their best interests in cases affecting them. Despite this, little is known about social service counselors’ child focus in their practice. In this study, self-reported survey data from 93 counselors working for the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration (NAV) were analyzed to explore their child focus. Findings Findings suggest that a particular focus on children is no part of common practice among NAV counselors; nor is use or knowledge of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Knowledge and use of the CRC may be a predictor of child-focused practice. The results showed a significant difference of medium effect size between NAV counselors who ask about children and NAV counselors who do not when it comes to knowledge and use of the CRC. Applications Policy makers and practitioners should utilize NAV's potential as a preventive arena. For NAV counselors to be aware of and support children of social service users they need a stronger focus on children and hence know and use the laws concerning children's rights. Incorporating children's rights into social workers’ education and internal training may strengthen the focus on children in NAV counselors’ practice.

Internationally there has been a movement to reform investigative work in child welfare and protection systems. These reforms have aimed to introduce national frameworks that systematize the way assessments are carried out. Several reports have identified shortcomings in the way that child protection investigations are carried out in Norway. Consequently, there is a need for improvement. However, an attempt to change practice within an organization has little hope of succeeding unless the organization implementing the new practice accepts that a change in practice is needed. The aim of this study was to examine child protection agency managers’ views on the advantages and disadvantages related to implementation of an assessment framework in Norway. Electronic survey questionnaires were distributed to the managers of all Norwegian child protection services. The response rate was 68% (N = 217). The majority agreed that the use of an assessment framework is helpful in child welfare and protection services investigations in general, and helpful in terms of facilitating child and family participation. This study indicates that some prerequisites would need to be present for successful implementation of an assessment framework: training, supervision and ongoing support, and sufficient resources.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Lauritzen, C., Vis, S.A.M. & Fossum, S. (2018). Factors that determine decision making in child protection investigations: A review of the literature. Child & Family Social Work, 23(4), 743-756, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12446. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature on factors that determine decision making in child protection investigations. More specifically, to investigate the existing research on the 4 factors that are considered fundamental for child protection decision making: case characteristics, caseworker characteristics, organizational characteristics, and external factors. The results indicated that child welfare decisions to investigate a case and/or to implement services are influenced by characteristics of the case, the social worker, and the organization, in addition to external factors. These elements work together to determine the outcome of an investigation. There are some substantial differences between various countries connected to disparities in child welfare legislation, support apparatuses, culture, ideology, and socio‐economic factors. It is methodologically challenging to design studies that capture all possible variables associated with case factors, social workers, and organizational factors. However, multilevel analyses of the types of variables that are most significant to case outcome conclude that caseworker assessments corresponded to organizational factors. Furthermore, decisions are better explained by characteristics of the child welfare organization than by characteristics of the social worker.

Source at https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0020872819828333. The primary aim of this study is to summarise research findings about the use of assessment frameworks, that is, structured models that guide information collection and decision making in child protection services, by reviewing the literature. The research review method consisted of identification, selection, coding, categorisation and summary of publications on child protection investigative work. The results indicated that there is some documentation showing that the use of frameworks leads to more information being gathered, a greater focus on the needs of the child and increased involvement of the child during the investigation. One side effect is that the investigative work becomes more extensive and time-consuming.

Source at https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00728. Background - The main objective of this study was to identify and describe core life circumstances of children with mentally ill parents (COPMI) and their parents. Knowledge about COPMI aged 0–17 years is necessary, as assessment of the risk and protective factors in their lives provide solid background for preventive interventions. Methods - Participants (N = 422) were parents of minor children (N = 589) receiving treatment in the clinic for psychiatric illness and substance abuse at the University Hospital of Northern Norway. Data was drawn from electronic patient journals. Results - A total of 286 mothers and 136 fathers participated in the study, and 46.3% were single parents. Parents had 1–7 children (M = 2.24; SD = 1.02). Most parents had one diagnosis (n = 311, 73.7%), and mood disorders was the most frequent type of diagnosis. The largest proportion of parents had serious mental disorders (n = 185; 46.0%), and a large proportion of the sample was affected by disorders of moderate severity (n = 156; 38.8%). The mean age of the children was 8.6 years (SD = 4.97), and 432 children (74.6%) had one or more siblings. The large majority of children had access to adult resource persons other than the mentally ill parent (n = 424; 94%), but 6% of the children (n = 27) did not. About three quarters of the children (76.2%, n = 526) were living with the mentally ill parent (n = 401), and 170 children (32.5%) lived with a single parent with a mental health disorder and siblings, full time or part of the time. The odds that parents had informed their children about the treatment/hospitalization and condition was higher the older the child was (p < 0.001), and the youngest children rarely got necessary information about this. Discussion - Risk and protective factors associated with the children's ages, access to resource persons, information about the parent's health problems and treatment are discussed in relation to different preventive steps for COPMI.

Accepted manuscript version. Published version available at https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-3010-2018-04-10. Introduction: Psykisk helsearbeid med voksne pasienter må også handle om barna deres. Det høres så enkelt ut – hvorfor er det ikke det? Jeg har jobbet med temaet barn som pårørende i tiår nå. I løpet av de ti årene har det skjedd mye, og samtidig ganske lite. La meg starte med å si litt om hva vi mener med barn som pårørende. Dersom du har jobbet i helsesektoren i de siste årene, så har du nok hørt det bli snakket om.

Contains fulltext : 158159.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Research substantiates children of parents with mental disorders including substance abuse face increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Although evidence suggests that support programs for children enhance resiliency, recruiting children to these groups remains problematic. This study identifies successful recruitment strategies for prevention programs for children of parental mental illness. The participants were recruited from an international network of researchers. E-mail invitations requested that researchers forward a web-based questionnaire to five colleagues with recruitment experience. Forty-five individuals from nine countries practicing in mental health responded. Descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis techniques were used. Results: Schools, adult, and youth mental health services were recruitment sources. Nine themes were identified: Relationships, diversified information output, logistics, program consistency, family involvement, recruitment through adults, stigma, recruiting locations, social media. Recruitment barriers were: stigma, inadequate knowledge about parental mental illness and limited time. Transportation to programming was an essential component of successful recruitment. 19 p.

Accepted manuscript version. For published version, go to source. I følge nye norske lover skal helsepersonell i psykisk helsevern for voksne registrere, kartlegge og ivareta psykiatriske pasienters mindreårige barn. Dette fordi barn av foreldre med psykiske lidelser er en stor risikogruppe i samfunnet og svært mange av disse barna er i risiko for å utvikle psykiske lidelser selv. Formålet med denne studien er å evaluere i hvilken grad helsepersonell registrerer barn av psykisk syke pasienter i elektronisk pasientjournaler i tråd med helsepersonelloven. Moderne implementeringsteori er et viktig verktøy for å forstå og støtte endringer i klinisk praksis innen psykisk helsevern for voksne og benyttes som rammeverk i artikkelen. Deltakerne i studien er alle pasienter i en allmennpsykiatrisk klinikk i Nord-Norge pr. januar 2013. Svært få pasienter i klinikken var registrert med mindreårige barn. Med nåværende takt i registreringer av pasienters barn vil det ta 19 år før pasienters barn blir registrert i elektronisk pasientjournaler slik det nye lovverket forutsetter. De ønskede endringer i klinisk praksis viser seg vanskelige å implementere. Det kan være ulike årsaker til dette og forfatterne fremmer flere forslag til hva som må gjøres for at endringene i klinisk praksis skal skje raskere.

Source at: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00507 Background: Children of parents with mental disorders are more likely to develop mental difficulties during their childhood and adulthood. Based on this knowledge, the Norwegian health legislation has been amended to better identify and protect children of parents with a mental illness. In this project, two interventions were implemented in a regional clinic for adult mental health services. These interventions were (i) Assessment Form and (ii) Child Talks. Both interventions aimed to support healthcare professionals in identifying and providing support for children of patients within adult mental health services. The process of changing relevant practice to become more family-focused was evaluated in 2010 and 2013, and the results showed some changes slowly materializing in the adult mental health services. The purpose of the current study was to investigate long-term effects of the interventions at 5 year follow-up (2015). The main aim was to investigate whether the workforce perceived that their clinical practice had changed as a result of the legislative change and the implemented interventions. Method: This longitudinal study consists of a pre-test, post-test and follow-up test. The sample (N = 219 at pre-test, N = 185 by post-test and N = 108 on follow-up test) included healthcare staff from a participating hospital, responding to an online survey about their routines for identifying children of patients, their attitudes, as well as concerns and expectations related to having a child perspective in their clinical work. Employee experiences with family conversations were also investigated, as well as their knowledge about the consequences parents’ mental disorders may have for children. Results: Our findings showed a significant increase in participants identifying children of patients between pre- and post-measurement but a minor, non-significant increase at follow-up measurement. There was no significant increase of participants who reported that they had a lot of experience with family conversations. From post-test to follow-up, there was no increase in the workforce’ reported positive attitudes, knowledge or expectations about the effects of the interventions. Conclusion: There have been some changes in clinical practice, but it seems that the changes required by law are a very time consuming process. It is necessary to increase the pace of the implementation process.

In 2015, a new guidance was issued that sought to clarify the responsibilities and obligations for cooperation between child welfare and mental healthcare services in Norway. This study investigated if the guidance had any impact on the collaboration between services. An electronic survey was administered to employees in the child welfare services and in the child and adolescent mental health services. The response rate was 50.6% ( N = 267). The results show that about one-third of the respondents had never heard about the new guidance. Most of the participants who had heard about the guidance considered it useful, in particular the clarification of duties and responsibilities. Sometimes, however, issues that cannot be solved by regulatory guidance alone hinder cooperation. Chief among these issues are professional disagreements about children’s needs and resource restrictions. Such matters cannot be solved by merely a new guideline.»/>

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Nordic Social Work Research on 14 May 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/2156857X.2017.1326977. There are several studies conducted on parenting stress, and the conclusion in the parenting stress research literature is generally that parenting stress decreases the quality of the parent-child relationship. There are however few studies on parenting stress comparing kinship homes to ordinary types of foster homes. The aims of this study were to measure parenting stress in kinship and non-kinship foster homes and to explore factors that predict parenting stress related to the child and to their role as foster parents. Results show that kinship-foster parents experienced higher stress related to the parent domain i.e. depression and relationship problems with the spouse. This was associated with kinship foster parents being of older age and receiving fewer social support services. Non-kinship foster parents experienced higher parenting stress related to the child domain i.e. child’s acceptability and adaptability in the family. This was associated with children in non-kinship foster homes having higher internalising and externalising mental health problems. The implications are that different types of support are needed for kinship foster parents and non-kinship foster parents. More differentiated support for foster parents may help prevent parenting problems and increase placement permanency.

Publisher's version, source: http://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-016-0098-y. Background Children who have parents with mental health problems are a vulnerable group. Intervening early to support parents with a mental illness can contribute to improve outcomes for children. Rigging the adult mental health system in such a manner that child responsible personnel are designated in wards is a strategy to systematically address the needs of families. It has since 2010 been mandatory for Norwegian hospitals to appoint such personnel in all hospital wards. The current study aimed to investigate the appointment of child responsible personnel in the adult mental health services in a regional hospital with local clinics. Additionally, to describe the characteristics of child responsible staff in terms of gender and educational background, their competence, clinical practice and knowledge about parental mental illness. A final aim was to study whether or not the clinics had established collaboration with other services concerning follow-up for the children of parents with mental illness. Method Participants in this study are the staff at psychiatric clinics in a large university hospital in Norway. Practitioners were asked to answer a questionnaire prior to the initial process of implementing the new legislation in 2010 (N = 219). After a three-year period of implementing routines to adopt the new law in the clinic, the same survey was sent out to the staff in 2013 (N = 185) to monitor if changes were taking place. To study if the changes were sustained within the clinics, we conducted a two-year follow up in 2015 (N = 108). Results The results indicated that the systematic work to change clinical practice in the participating hospital had made a difference. Routines to follow up children’s patients after the new legislation had to some extent been implemented. The child responsible personnel had more knowledge and awareness about the consequences of parental mental illness for children. Conclusion The results of this study suggested that the systems change of establishing child responsible personnel within adult mental health services may be a tool contributing to safeguarding children of mentally ill parents. However, the role of being a child responsible should be further developed and defined.

The mental health of children seeking asylum and their families is a somewhat neglected area of research. Research on refugee children and children living with adversities suggests that environmental factors are crucial in preventing mental health problems. In this study, we aim to identify central environmental conditions that affect the mental health of children living with their families at governmental asylum processing centres in northern Norway. This study has a qualitative design, and is based on 11 focus group interviews with the staff at asylum processing centres. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed focusing on important risk and protective factors for mental health problems presented by the informants. The results highlighted time spent at asylum centres and the parent’s mental health as the most important risk factors. Schooling, activities, general living conditions and poor economy were also seen as crucial. The findings suggest that these children are indeed vulnerable, and at high risk of developing mental health problems. Their rights are, however, open to local interpretations, and they fall between two stools; their right to proper health care, and national and international immigration policies.

Bacheloroppgave i Økonomistyring og investeringsanalyse fra Handelshøyskolen BI, 2015 Vi har gjennomført vår bacheloroppgave i samarbeid med spesialkaffebrenneriet Jacobsen og Svart AS. Økende interesse for spesialkaffe og bedriftens manglende økonomiske styring, gjør Jacobsen og Svart AS til en interessant bedrift å se nærmere på. Bedriftens leder har ingen økonomisk bakgrunn og innehar lite kunnskap om temaet. Formålet med oppgaven er å utarbeide en økonomisk startpakke som skal hjelpe Jacobsen og Svart AS å sikre en effektiv og relevant økonomistyring. På bakgrunn av dette ønsker vi å besvare følgende problemstilling: “Hvordan kan et nyetablert kaffebrenneri sikre tilstrekkelig økonomistyring?”. Først presenterer vi relevant teori innenfor økonomistyring, som vi anvender videre i analysen og drøfting. På bakgrunn av vårt databehov valgte vi å gjennomføre dybdeintervju med et eksplorativt design. Dybdeintervjuene er gjort utelukkende av bedriftens leder og medarbeider, for å komme i dybden av hvilke behov og tiltak som trengtes for å sikre en tilstrekkelig økonomistyring. Resultatene fra dybdeintervjuene har gitt oss et solid grunnlag for å kunne besvare vår problemstilling. Analysen underbygger utsagn fra bedriftens leder og viser at det er forbedringspotensial i bedriftens nåværende økonomiske styring. Ved å gjøre en dypere analyse av bedriftens budsjetter, kalkyler, styring av likviditet, nøkkeltall, kundesituasjon og bedriftens vareregister ga det oss grunnlag for videre drøfting, anbefaling og utvikling av styringsverktøy. Videre tar drøftedelen for seg de økonomiske verktøyene som bedriften kan benytte for å sikre en tilstrekkelig økonomistyring. Det blir også gjort rede for hvorfor akkurat disse er relevant for Jacobsen og Svart AS. Anbefalingen blir presentert i et styringsverktøy som er fremstilt i et årshjul og Excel-verktøy, og inneholder en ny kalkyle, videreutviklet budsjett, likviditetsbudsjett og prestasjonsmåling. I tillegg til ser vi på fremtidig kundesituasjon og nye retningslinjer for vareregistrering.

This is the accepted manuscript version. Published version available at https://www.idunn.no/tnb/2015/04 Hensikten med kunnskapsoversikten var å lære mer om samhandlingen mellom barnevernet og psykisk helsevern for barn og unge (PHBU) i Norge. Det ble gjort litteratursøk sommeren 2014 i rapporter og artikler som var publisert i tiden 2004 til 2014. Kriterier for inklusjon var at barnevern og/eller PHBU sto i tittelen. Totalt var 78 publikasjoner relevante for en grundigere gjennomgang, og av disse ble 36 inkludert i denne kunnskapsoversikten. Generelt kan det synes som om samhandlingen mellom barnevern og PHBU fungerer bra. Det finnes imidlertid eksempler hvor samhandlingen ikke fungerer tilfredsstillende. Dårlig samhandling kan føre til at barn og unge ikke får tilstrekkelig gode, helhetlige, og samordnede tiltak. Dette er bekymringsfullt siden barn og unge som mottar eller burde motta tiltak fra både barnevern og PHBU, er en særlig utsatt gruppe. Det er vanskelig å slå fast hvor mange som rammes av at samhandlingen mellom tjenestene ikke fungerer tilfredsstillende. Årsaker til vansker i samhandling kan være administrative og økonomiske forhold, samt at det er ulike lovverk som regulerer tjenestene. Kunnskapsoversikten viser at det foreligger lite forskningsbasert informasjon om omfanget av samhandling, samhandlingsvansker og mulige konsekvenser. Det er også lite kunnskap om ulike samarbeidsmodeller mellom tjenestene. Funnene og mulige implikasjoner drøftes. The purpose of the article is to provide information regarding interaction between child welfare agencies and mental health services for children and adolescents in Norway. We conducted literature searches and examined relevant publications. Literature published from 2004 until summer of 2014 was relevant and in all 36 of the publications were included. In general, it seems as if interaction between the services in general is good. However in some cases, cooperation is difficult. Reasons for this could be due to administrative and financial barriers and that the services are regulated by different legislation. Independently of the reasons for these barriers, cooperation difficulties gives causes for concern because these children have heightened risk for adverse outcomes in both short-term and long-term. The findings and possible implications are discussed.

Accepted manuscript version. Published version available at https://www.idunn.no/tnb/2015/04 Myndighetene ønsker å innføre veiledet førsteår for nyansatte i barnevernet, med hensikt om å redusere frafall, samt å bidra til profesjonell utvikling av nyansatte. Dette prosjektet hadde som formål å undersøke hvor langt man har kommet med å innføre veiledning for nyansatte og øvrige ansatte i det kommunale barnevernet. Deltakerne i studien besto av ansatte i det kommunale barnevernet (N = 228), hvor 71.7 % av respondentene hadde lederansvar. De ble invitert til å fylle ut et elektronisk spørreskjema. Resultatene av studien viste at det til en viss grad var etablert veiledning i den kommunale barneverntjenesten, men veiledningen som tilbys er av varierende karakter. Det kan imidlertid stilles spørsmåltegn ved kvaliteten på den faglige veiledningen som ble gitt i tjenestene, da det var stor variasjon i veiledernes formelle kompetanse. Videre fant vi at ikke alle nyansatte hadde tilgang til systematisk faglig veiledning på det tidspunktet vi gjennomførte undersøkelsen. Dette hang sammen med ressurstilfang og tilgjengelig kompetanse. Et annet funn i denne studien var at om lag en fjerdedel av de ansatte i den kommunale barneverntjenesten ofte vurderte å slutte i jobben sin, og at det veiledningstilbudet som finnes i tjenestene i dag ikke synes å ha noen effekt på ansattes ønske om å slutte. Dette er funn som bør undersøkes nærmere. There are extensive requirements to employees in child welfare services, and workers within these services have to deal with many professional, ethical and juridical challenges. The child welfare services have difficulties when it comes to recruiting and retaining qualified personnel in countries across the world. The child welfare services have high attrition rates, which also may have consequences for the quality of the services offered. Several disadvantages associated with being a child welfare worker have been studied extensively. Supervision has been suggested as a solution to reduce high turnover rates and to contribute to the professional development of new employees. Norwegian authorities have initiated implementation of supervision for new employees in the child welfare services, and the aims are to reduce dropout and to contribute to the professional development of new employees. This project aimed to examine the status quo in terms of supervision within the child welfare services. The participants consisted of employees in the municipal child welfare (N = 228), where 71.7% of respondents had managerial responsibility. They were invited to fill out an online questionnaire. Results of the study showed that supervision was established only to a certain extent, and the content of the supervision was of varying character. There was considerable variation in the supervisors' formal qualifications. Furthermore, several new employees did not have access to systematic professional supervision at the time we conducted the survey. This was related to a lack of resources and available expertise. Another important finding in this study was that about a quarter of the employees in the municipal child welfare service often considered quitting their 4 jobs, and that supervision provided within the services today did not seem to have any effect on employees' intention to quit. These findings should be investigated further.

Contains fulltext : 140275.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Children with mentally ill parents are at risk of developing mental health problems themselves. To enhance early support for these children may prevent mental health problems from being transmitted from one generation to the next. The sample (N = 219) included health professionals in a large university hospital, who responded to a web-based survey on the routines of the mental health services, attitudes within the workforce capacity, worker's knowledge on the impact of parental mental illness on children, knowledge on legislation concerning children of patients, experience, expectations for possible outcomes of change in current clinical practice and demographic variables. A total of 56 % reported that they did not identify whether or not patients had children. There were no significant differences between the groups (identifiers and non-identifiers) except for the two scales measuring aspects of knowledge, i.e., Knowledge Children and Knowledge Legislation where workers who identified children had higher scores. The results also showed that younger workers with a medium level of education scored higher on Positive Attitudes. Furthermore, workers who reported to have more knowledge about children and the impact of mental illness on the parenting role were less concerned about a child-focussed approach interfering with the patient-therapist relation. 8 p.

Background Although more knowledge about effective interventions is frequently developed, most services in Norway are not evidence based. Part of the reason might be that practitioners and decision-makers do not know which interventions have scientific evidence for effectiveness and that they don’t search for information in traditional research literature. Although the evidence base of available interventions is growing, little research has been conducted on implementation strategies to bridge the gap between research and practice.

NORSK: Introduksjon: Utdanningsbakgrunn og ferdigheter for å utøve kompetent sykepleie ligger til grunn for en profesjonell sykepleier (Travelbee 2010). En profesjonell sykepleier må bygge sin omsorg på faglig og moralsk forsvarlighet (Kristoffersen og Nortvedt 2011). Hensikt: Få økt kompetanse og forståelse for pasienter med borderline personlighetsforstyrrelse og belyse viktigheten rundt opprettholdelsen av profesjonell rolle, med sikte på hvilke utfordringer sykepleier står ovenfor i samhandling med pasienten. Metode: Systematisk søk i databaser. Valg av litteratur er vurdert med kritisk blikk, analysert og deler fra studiene ble satt sammen til en ny tekst (Forsberg og Wengström 2013). Nøkkelord: Profesjonell rolle, borderline personlighetsforstyrrelse, og innlagt. Hovedresultat: Det blir kjent gjennom flere artikler at sykepleiere ser det utfordrende å forholde seg til pasienter med borderline (Ma m.fl. 2009, Bodner m.fl. 2011, Treloar 2009). Konklusjon: Litteraturen sier det kan være utfordrende for sykepleiere å opprettholde en profesjonell rolle i relasjon med pasientgruppen. ENGLISH: Introduction: Education background to practice skilled nursing is the basis for a professional nurse (Travelbee 2010). A professional nurse must base their care on justifiability and morally defensible (Kristoffersen and Nortvedt 2011). Purpose: Provide increased competence and understanding of patients with borderline personality disorder and highlight the importance surrounding the maintenance of a professional role, aimed at the challenges nurses face in interactions with patients. Method: Systematic database searches. Selection of literature considered by a critical sight, analyzed and parts from the studies were combined into a new text (Forsberg and Wengström 2013). Keywords: Professional role, borderline personality disorder and hospitalized. Main Results: It has been known through several articles that many nurses find it challenging to deal with patients with borderline (Ma m.fl. 2009, Bodner m.fl. 2011, Treloar 2009) Conclusion: The literature claim that it can be challenging for nurses to maintain a professional role in relation with the patient group.

Parental mental illness is a powerful risk factor, with a potential of serious impact for the children. Mental health problems are often transmitted from one generation to the next. Parental mental illness is however considered to be a malleable risk-factor, which means there are measures that can be taken to counteract the risk. Nevertheless, transferring this knowledge to the field of parental mental illness has been very difficult. The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between knowledge and attitudes towards a child perspective in adult mental health services and actual clinical practice. The aim was furthermore to investigate which factors are hindering or promoting the translation of new knowledge to the field of practice. In the present study results will be interpreted in light of the theory of reasoned action.

Parental mental illness may increase the likelihood of neglect and abuse, and is also a potent risk factor in terms of offspring developing mental health problems themselves. Collaboration between the adult mental health services (AMHS) and the child protection services (CPS) has the potential of reducing risk for the children, by using family supporting interventions and making help available at an earlier stage. The aim of this study was to explore the collaboration between the CPS and the AMHS in terms of routines, attitudes and knowledge. Data was gathered using electronic survey questionnaires. Several barriers to inter-service collaboration were identified in this study. Even though adult mental health professionals were positive towards the CPS, they were reluctant to refer cases of concern. They also lacked knowledge about the CPS. Conclusion: The results indicate that there is an unresolved potential for inter-service collaboration involving the children of patients with mental health problems.

The main purpose of this study was, firstly, to evaluate the effect of an intervention aimed at improving interprofessional collaboration and service quality, and secondly, to examine if collaboration could predict burnout, engagement and service quality among human service professionals working with children and adolescents. The intervention included the establishment of local interprofessional teams and offering courses. The sample was recruited from six different small municipalities in Northern Norway (N = 93) and a comparison group from four similar municipalities (N = 58). Participation in the project increased the level of collaboration in the intervention group significantly (Hedges' g = 0.36), but not the perceived level of service quality. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test a model for predicting burnout, engagement and perceived service quality using work-related factors, including collaboration as predictors. Both burnout and engagement were predicted by job demands and resources after controlling for demographic variables and participation in the project. Service quality was mostly predicted by collaboration. Increasing collaboration seems possible by introducing practice-based changes; however, this intervention did not have the desired effect on perceived service quality.

This article addresses the issue of parental mental illness. The theoretical background and rationale for developing new routines to change clinical practice is described, suggesting a policy change in which a child focus is implemented in adult mental health services. Furthermore, proposed strategies that have the potential of being effective within existing health care systems are discussed.