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Given that the number of children and young people needing care keeps rising and fewer people are becoming foster carers, efforts to support carers and workers in foster caring are essential. This paper considers the experiences of carers and foster care agency workers involved in Australia's piloting of the Mockingbird Family. With a view understanding experience, data were collected via focus groups with carers and agency workers (n = 20) involved in piloting, implementation and evaluation. Deductive analysis applied the theory of experience to generate understanding of experience, as both intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions to capture strengths in the Mockingbird Family's foster caring networks. These dimensions of experience included collective passions of carers and workers; experiential change over time; collective experiences as a moving force; and experiences as transformational. Understanding of experience associated with the perceived strengths of the Mockingbird Family, including strategies to promote strong professional relationships between carers and workers, is an important element in strengthening environments of children and young people in care. Safe and stable environments are crucial for wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes the opportunity of the current child welfare system change in Ireland to promote the value of learning from history to better understand the interface between family support and child protection. The paper draws from the histories of child protection and family support to illuminate the commonalities and differences that have come to define the two practices. Using findings from two historical studies - one on family support and the other on child protection - the paper demonstrates the unique features and the many integrated elements of family support and child protection in Ireland. It is argued that students and practitioners need to be provided with a stronger sense of the historical developments that have shaped the present. This will enable comprehension of the complex context within which current relations between 'protection' and 'support' are negotiated and help to avoid operating in a vacuum of a present only viewpoint. The paper concludes with reference to the need for students and practitioners to navigate the complex relationship between family support and child protection at practice, policy and organizational level through a well-informed knowledge of the historical as well as the present context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public policies encourage the service system to work in new ways to promote health and increase social equality. This paper presents four categories that show the character of the low-threshold services in Norwegian family centres from the professionals' and parents' perspectives, focusing on accessibility and participation: easy access, low level of bureaucracy, collaborative competences and inclusive arena. This paper is based on an inductive study in three municipalities that have chosen to establish family centres as interdisciplinary co-located services that aim to offer low-threshold services for children and their families. Data were generated through a fieldwork, and participatory observation and interviews were the main source of data. The methodological framework for the analysis was grounded theory, in which the data generation and analysis interchanged throughout the study, and theoretical sampling set the focus for the fieldwork. Exploring the actor's perspective highlighted both strengths and challenges with the low-threshold services in the family centres. The four elements presented emphasize that the value of these low-threshold services are not found in one single hallmark; rather, the value depends on an interaction between different elements that must be addressed when establishing, evaluating and developing low-threshold services in family centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers working to protect children face the prospect of making very finely balanced judgements, often on the basis of incomplete information. Based on doctoral research into sense‐making by social workers, this paper explores aspects of the tipping point, i.e. where the categorization of a child's situation changes, potentially leading to a very different response to their needs. Those aspects include identifying the triggers for, and consequences of, the tipping point, and being aware that the tipping point being reached may have to do with changes in the internal world of the worker as well as changes in the circumstances of the family. This paper stresses the need for a more nuanced understanding of the tipping point, and emphasizes the need to take account of the processes of decision‐making, and of looking at both inter‐ and intra‐personal components of those processes. Further, it is argued that a cautious attitude requires to be taken towards technical–rational solutions and that there is a real need to place professional judgement and consideration of the tacit dimension at the heart of the child protection process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents data from a qualitative case study of a family support service, support care. As a time‐limited service that aims to enable positive change within families and involves children and parents spending time apart, aspects of time feature prominently in understandings and experiences of the service. This paper uses the concept of time as a lens to explore some of the organizing principles and underlying assumptions of this service. Eighty‐two qualitative interviews and 22 participant observation sessions were undertaken with stakeholders engaged in support care. This paper examines the variety of ways in which time was understood and experienced over the course of the research. This includes a conceptualization of time as a resource, together with the hopes, expectations and concerns attached to the time provision. It is argued that the service‐specific questions regarding how much time to afford families, and the purpose of support have wider relevance within social work policy and practice. This includes debates about how best to respond to families with support needs, including those with enduring needs, how to manage tensions in respect of balancing need while seeking to avoid dependency and the sometimes competing nature of support and protection objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons for unintended placement disruptions in foster care. Based on a semistructured survey, the paper presents the views of 132 Norwegian foster parents who have experienced placement disruption between 2013 and 2015. Foster parents rated several relevant causes of placement disruption: the child's behaviour, the need for care, concern for the well‐being of their biological children, and lack of support from the Child Welfare Service (CWS). Although the child's behaviour was the cause most frequently reported in the quantitative data, CWS‐related factors such as poor collaboration, not being valued and listened to, insufficient support and follow‐up, and a mismatch between the child's needs and the foster carers' capacity were reported most frequently in the qualitative data. Placement disruption appears to be caused by the sum and interaction of several coexisting causes. It may not be the child's behaviour per se but rather the combination of challenging behaviour, concern for one's biological children, and insufficient support from CWS that lead to disruption. Good collaboration with the CWS in the form of respect, recognition, support, and follow‐up appears to be of the utmost importance in reducing the risk of placement disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing concerns about the efficacy and costs of intrusive child protection interventions and increasing recognition of citizen rights to participation in governance, jurisdictions are looking to collaborative alternatives that divert families from the courts and out‐of‐home care. In Queensland (Australia), "intervention with parental agreement" (IPA) is one such response. Under IPA, the statutory child protection authority can work collaboratively with families, without a court order, to respond to children assessed as "in need of protection." In this paper, we use procedural justice theory as a lens to explore how IPA policy is enacted in practice. Procedural justice relates to the quality of treatment a person receives and the fairness of the process than an authority uses during decision‐making (Tyler,). It is associated with voluntary cooperation and compliance; key practice concerns when working to address child maltreatment via parental agreement rather than court ordered intervention. We report on a qualitative study that utilized semistructured, in‐depth interviews to capture the perceptions of 30 practitioners regarding the factors that shape the extent to which they enact IPA policy in a procedurally fair manner. Strategies for enhancing procedurally just enactment of IPA policy in practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws upon the findings of a study that looked at women's experiences of mothering in the context of co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse, and considers the issue of women's violence towards children – while acknowledging the fact that men are the main perpetrators of violence towards women and children in these families. The paper first explores the relationship between women's victimization and women's violence, and suggests that women's abuse of their children can be seen as a consequence of their own experiences of domestic violence. The findings nonetheless suggest that abused women have agency, and therefore have responsibilities when they chose to use violence towards their children. The paper also considers the feelings of guilt and blame that tend to arise in these circumstances. Implications for research, policy and practice are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grandparents whose grandchildren are exposed to domestic violence are faced with some unique challenges in their grandparenting, which have thus far been little discussed in research. This paper discusses the narratives of 10 Swedish grandparents whose grandchildren have been exposed to violence towards their mother. The aim was to explore grandparents' narrations of their responses in the face of violence, and their understanding of the role they play in their grandchildren's social networks. Two significant responses are discussed: ‘being there’ and ‘acknowledging the independence and self‐determination of the adult children’. Grandparents experienced these responses as contradictory and felt powerless when it came to their possibilities to protect their grandchildren. The paper suggests that grandparents could be a resource for domestic violence services, and social work practice needs to assess the roles of grandparents of children exposed to domestic violence. Social workers should consider the challenges these grandparents are facing and what support they may need in order to support their grandchildren. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The absence of a sociological discourse about children in the past meant that child and family social work has largely relied on psychological interpretations of children and their behaviour. However, since the 1990s, the sociology of childhood has been developed in the UK. The aim of this paper is to explore the relevance of the sociology of childhood in understanding looked-after childhoods and in informing contemporary social work practice with looked-after children and young people. The central argument of this paper is that, in order to fulfil professional responsibilities and to implement current and forthcoming UK social policies for looked-after children, social work needs to employ broad understandings of children, young people and looked-after childhoods. The paper goes on to discuss the ways in which a social work approach drawing on the sociology of childhood can offer such a conceptualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on data from a qualitative case study of child protection social work in one local authority. Ethnographic methods were used and constructionist grounded theory employed to collect and analyse 329 pages of historical documents about the local authority child protection service, 246.5 hours of observations of social work practice and 19 interviews of social workers and their team managers. By interpreting the experiences of the social workers through the conceptual debates about the changes in the field of social administration, the social workers could be seen to want to perform a traditional form of social work but were required to perform a contemporary form of social administration. The aims and purposes of this form of practice could be considered to be distinct from those of social work as understood by the social workers, and as such, the social workers experienced the practice environment as constraining and often felt disillusioned. This paper conceptualizes these forms of practice, contributing to the debates about what practice is and how we are to analyse and categorize it for the purposes of influencing the institutions that create and maintain contemporary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on a British Academy (BA) funded study exploring social workers' conceptions of family using a vignette and focus groups. The policy context is discussed and the data from the BA study are then compared and contrasted with families' accounts of their own situations using the data from a separate qualitative study about child protection social work. The paper discusses the themes emerging and argues for a renewed focus on theorizing family in children's social work and the implications for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a widely accepted term in child welfare discourses, there remains a vagueness as to what Family Support as a named orientation in children and family services actually entails. This lack of clarity is, at times, used to detract from its usefulness within the policy and practice arena. Using the accumulated wisdom of a select group of accomplished managers, academics and policy makers in social work and social care, this paper retrospectively reviews the evolution of Family Support within the Irish context and distils the core characteristics of Family Support practice and service delivery. An unstructured narrative inducing interview was conducted with 14 veterans of Family Support and child welfare. Participants who are based in the USA, the UK and Ireland each had between 30 and 60 years' experience working in this field. Salient factors were identified by participants as having contributed to the growth of Family Support. Specific and distinct characteristics of Family Support practice and services were also categorized by these veterans, providing voice and meaning to Family Support as a specific approach. This paper addresses the debate on Family Support with its place as an accepted and valued orientation within the child welfare arena acknowledged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports part of the findings from a 2014 audit of shelters for street children conducted in four provinces of South Africa. The paper focuses on the assessment of the types, structure and implementation of the programmes, as well as on the adequacy of resources necessary for implementing the programmes. The overall picture that emerged from the assessment was that all shelters draw on a comprehensive and enabling legislative and policy framework to offer some elements of developmental, therapeutic and recreational programmes at the early intervention level. Overall, however, the implementation of the programmes does not effectively take into consideration the varied and interconnected factors that, within and across multiple social systems, impel children to the streets. It was thus apparent that the programmes do not adequately address the risks and opportunities of street children in South Africa, specifically within the eco‐developmental framework. Recommendations are offered for social work policy and practice to further enhance the quality and impact of programmes offered in the shelters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The intergenerational transmission of violence has been one of the most rigorously researched hypotheses in violence research in recent decades. A number of previous studies have provided evidence supporting this hypothesis, and there has been a growing body of literature investigating its mechanism. However, the role of culture in the intergenerational transmission of violence has not received much research attention, and thus, it remains largely unknown. To suggest a better theoretical basis for understanding the role of culture in the transmission mechanism, the present paper examines three critical theories that address the intergenerational phenomenon: Dodge's social information processing theory, Nisbett's cultural cognitive theory and Turiel's social-cognitive domain theory. The paper provides a review of the basic assumptions and core concepts of each theory and identifies the potential contributions and gaps of each theory. The three theories present different accounts of the ontogenetic origins of ideas about violence and convey different portraits of the intergenerational mechanism. However, these theories also show that they are highly likely to be related to one another and that they can help close one another's gaps. This paper suggests that a unified framework that can merge the personal and cultural factors of causation is necessary to better capture the dynamic interplay among culture, experiences with violence and the actual enactment of violent behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how children themselves understand their moves to and between foster homes. The data presented in this paper come from a study that sought children's views on becoming and being a foster child. A key finding of that study was how children's accounts of being fostered illustrated a high level of anxiety and concern about their moving to live with a foster family. This paper firstly explores the key issues about looked‐after children's moves. It then describes the research study undertaken, before exploring the data generated from children's accounts of their moves to a new foster home. Lastly, there is a discussion of the implications for social work practice in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generations of parents lost to AIDS and other causes have created a vacuum of care for the orphaned children they leave behind. This crisis has resulted in rapid changes in caregiving and family life, with extended family members, having to care for orphaned children. As a result of high numbers of vulnerable orphaned children residing with kinship carers, and the fundamental importance of the relationship between carers and orphaned children, we need to understand more about these relationships. This paper explores the nature of orphaned children-kinship carer relationships in Botswana. Interview guides were used to collect data from 15 caregivers and 15 orphaned children. The results indicate that the nature of relationships between orphaned children and caregivers is influenced by the way the parties communicate, how adolescents behave and the competing responsibilities of caregivers. Lastly, the paper recommends how positive relationships can be developed and nurtured between orphaned children and their caregivers in an African setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Child protection workers are tasked with prioritizing and facilitating safe, secure and preferably, long-term care arrangements for children and adolescents living within the child protection system. Recognizing the complexities associated with this task, this paper will propose that the application of theory - namely attachment theory and family systems theory - may aid in the conceptualization of placement decision-making within the context of child protection practice. In particular, this paper will describe a framework entitled: Towards a second-order view of child protection placement-related decision-making. This framework assumes the position that the ideals of relationship security and permanency of placement are more accessible in instances in which practitioners are able to locate themselves within temporary, stabilized but ultimately evolving systems. Specifically, the practitioner is encouraged to conceptualize where their individual selves, the broader child protection system and family system are located at any one point in time, whilst also identifying the direction in which these systems should be moving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Court proceedings are a fundamental and increasingly time‐consuming aspect of social work practice. However, to date, there is a relatively modest body of literature considering the experiences of social workers in instituting child care proceedings and giving evidence in court. This paper draws on data gathered as part of an in‐depth qualitative study of professional experiences of District Court child care proceedings in Ireland and presents findings regarding the experiences of social workers in bringing court applications for child protection orders. It seeks to answer 2 key questions: First, how do child protection and welfare social workers experience the adversarial nature of child care proceedings in the District Court? Second, what are the views of child protection and welfare social workers on the strengths and weaknesses of child care proceedings as a decision‐making model for children and young people? The main findings are that social workers expressed significant reservations about the predominantly adversarial model that currently operates in Irish child care proceedings and about the level of respect that social workers are afforded within the operation of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research identifies the increased exposure of birth children of foster carers to experiences of separation, grief, and loss due to the transient nature of foster care, but little is known about how birth children manage this loss. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study that examined the retrospective experiences of 15 adult birth children of foster carers (aged between 18 and 28 years) in Ireland. Findings suggest that birth children experience grief and loss when foster children leave their families. They report experiencing a range of emotional responses such as guilt, blame, and sadness. A reluctance to discuss their emotional responses with either their parents or foster care professionals was also reported. Instead, birth children developed strategies to manage the loss, such as distancing themselves from the foster care process. The study highlights the importance of social workers and foster carers explaining to birth children why foster children are leaving and, where possible, maintaining contact between birth children and foster children. Additionally, findings indicate the need for birth children to have safe nonjudgmental spaces to discuss their emotional reactions to loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a driving force within current UK child welfare policies which promotes a strengths led approach to both assessment and care planning for children in need. Social policy emphasizes the importance of tangible outcomes such as education achievement, which have been enshrined in statute. However, other developmental outcomes, such as identity, are subordinated. Notwithstanding the relevance of these more concrete indicators, this paper suggests that this focus has left a gap at theoretical, strategic and operational levels relating to more psychosocial aspects of human growth and development, such as identity. This paper seeks to redress that gap by considering identity as both a process and an outcome. Following a review of the literature on identity development, it presents an analysis of semi-structured interviews with 13 young people and their social workers. The findings show how young people's identity is shaped by their relationships, can be a protective mechanism, and deferred or put on standby. In the concluding discussion the implications for social work practice are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children in the protection and care system are highly vulnerable and need more than protection and physical care. This paper outlines elements of an innovative therapeutic programme, Take Two, which combines trauma and attachment-informed practice with a clinical outcomes focus. An important feature was the embedding of a research and evaluation partnership between the programme and a university. The paper discusses the challenges of implementing a research approach into a highly sensitive ‘messy’ or non-routine environment. The paper portrays the value of a trauma and attachment perspective within a developmental and ecological framework to guide understanding and intervention with these children and their network. A description of the client group is followed by analysis of outcome measures: the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children and the Social Network Map. Findings include the significant reduction of trauma-related symptoms, an increase in the percentage of friends identified and an increase, albeit not significant, in the percentage of people described as very close. The results point to the importance of family in the lives of these children. This study explores this type of research in situ and its value in building knowledge and strengthening practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the ambiguous nature of supervised meetings between children and their non-residential parent(s) which, according to the current legal idea, should serve the best interest of the child. In Finland the meetings between the child and the non-residential parent can be ordered supervised if there are justified grounds for assuming that they constitute a risk for the child's safety. In many parts of Europe the need for such kinds of meetings controlled by outsiders has increased. The aim of the paper is to consider the child's position and the closely related issue of the child's interest in supervised meetings, based on the daily experiences of the supervisors. Data are gathered by focus group interviews and analysed qualitatively in terms of categorization analysis. As a result, the child's position is an ambiguous phenomenon with multiple interests. Obviously the child's interests will be met in some cases, although paradoxically it is mostly the interests of the parents and most often the fathers, which seem to demand more attention. Thus adult-centredness, meanings of gender, time together with both the positive and possible detrimental outcomes for the child need further reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine family stigma as one form of the stigma of mental illness in child and youth mental health. Presented are the outcomes of a thematic content analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with seven ( n = 7) young siblings, ages 13 to 21 years old, with a brother or sister identified as having a mental-health issue. The focus of the interviews was on the ways the siblings experienced their other sibling's mental health and how those experiences shaped their sense of self and family. From the analysis, young siblings had predominately negative experiences, struggled with making sense of their brother or sister and the family as 'flawed' against the mental illness as 'bad' and experienced considerable family stress and overt family stigma. Current practice theories fail to consider the complexity of these factors and, in doing so, fail to adequately explain the nature and extent to which stigmatization occurs for immediate family members. The importance of peer support and understanding stigma in social work practice with children and their families is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a scoping study into looked after children and care leavers who are parents in Wales. Eight parents engaged in a qualitative interview. Thirty-one pregnancies were discussed during the interviews: 16 live births, two ongoing pregnancies, one stillbirth, one termination and 11 miscarriages. At the point of interview, two parents continued to care for their children, but six had experienced the permanent removal of their child/ren as a result of social services intervention. Twelve of the 16 children discussed in the interviews were 'looked after' or adopted. Despite its small-scale nature, the study highlights important considerations before, during and after participants became parents. Broadly categorized, these relate to the influence of parents' childhood experiences on their capacity to be parents, the availability and adequacy of support during parenting and the ensuing impact of parenting 'success' or 'failure'. For parents who had experienced the loss of a child, some were resigned to having no further children, some continued to hope for a family in the future, while others had experienced cycles of repeated pregnancies and compulsory removals. The findings are considered in the context of related literature and suggest that increased attention is required in this under-researched but highly emotive area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2002–2011 reforms of the social welfare system in Serbia produced changes to the assessment model in the field of child welfare. In addition to risks and needs, the new model considers the strengths of the child, family and community, marking a significant innovation for social welfare services. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of caseworkers regarding the strengths of the new assessment model that is used in social welfare centres in Serbia. Based upon a representative, stratified and random sample of 347 records of children who were referred to alternative care during a period of intense reform (2006–2011), notes taken by caseworkers were collected and analysed. The results indicate that strengths were poorly identified at the onset of work with the children, but improvement followed later in the process. This finding leads us to the conclusion that there are serious challenges and difficulties in transitioning from the problem‐oriented model to the new strengths‐oriented approach in the Serbian social welfare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor outcomes for young people in and leaving care have been well documented and research has indicated that the expectations of professionals working with children and young people looked after is a significant influence, particularly in relation to education. An evaluation of an independent children's residential school in Scotland provided a rare opportunity to analyse and compare the views of different kinds of staff about desirable outcomes and how successful outcomes could be achieved. Care workers, teachers and specialist support staff shared some views, but also held contrasting expectations, which appeared to be linked to differing emphases in their models for working with young people. This paper offers tentative explanations for such differences and concludes with suggestions on how to help align service staffs' expectations of young people leaving their care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teenage pregnancy is associated with adverse health and social outcomes, even after adjusting for prior disadvantage, and is recognized as a major public health issue. Rates of teenage pregnancy in the UK are among the highest in Europe. Interventions introduced in the past decade to address the problem, such as improved sex and relationships education in schools, have been accompanied by a fall in teenage pregnancy rates in the UK. However, this decline has not been mirrored among looked‐after children. In this paper, we discuss why this may be the case. We suggest that a system of peer mentoring, involving a young person, whose experience of life post‐care has been positive, may be an effective approach to tackling the problem of pregnancy in this group. Peer mentoring has the potential to assist young people in developing self‐esteem, confidence and in making choices regarding their education, personal development and relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how mental health services consider the parenting role and the well‐being of children when assessing parents with acute mental illness. This paper investigated how crisis mental health services addressed child well‐being in the Wellington region, New Zealand. This mixed‐method case study included: (i) an audit of the electronic clinical records of all adults presenting to the crisis assessment team; (ii) interviews with 22 key informants; and (iii) a documentary review. We found that data about children were not systematically collected. Less than half of (49 of the 104) the records of patients who were parents included information on their child's well‐being; only six (6%) contained a specified plan for action. The focus for services was the adult patient. Key informants were unclear about their role. They identified inadequate training and institutional support, inflexible funding models and limited availability or inappropriateness of referral services as problems. They saw a need for children to become more visible, for collaborative working to improve the use of existing services and for new funding models, resources and roles. Existing national policy documents contained little guidance and no practice guidelines were in use. These were lost opportunities to improve support for the parenting role and promote child well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores findings from an exploratory study on sibling relationships following adoption reunion in adulthood. The qualitative data was gathered through in‐depth interviews with 33 adopted adults who were reunited with their birth sibling(s) through an adoption agency in the Republic of Ireland. The findings throw light upon the development of the emotional, often complex, relationships which may emerge when siblings meet for the first time in adult life. Factors influential in facilitating or hindering these post‐reunion relationships are discussed. The important insights are then considered in the context of the wider international literature on adoption, search and reunion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children taken into care and custody are arguably the most vulnerable and problematic groups within the wider debate and responses developing to the ‘troubled families’ agenda in England. They represent what the state most wants to avoid when it intervenes in the life of a family. This paper is based on an analysis of the service involvement and needs of the 196 children taken into care or custody over a 3‐year period (2008–2011) in one city local authority in England. The research was undertaken to inform the response to prevention of entry into care and custody which was the original focus of the most intensive part of the troubled families programme in the city. Interviews with 10 senior professionals from a range of agencies involved in setting up this local programme, explored the way the emerging troubled families agenda was shaping ideas about the understanding of and response to the needs of these children and their families. Key findings of the study illustrate the range and complexity of need as well as the sequence and amount of agency involvement. Professionals were often critical of the thinking behind the troubled families agenda, but were positive and creative about new ways of working with these families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper considers social and personal/individual approaches to researching identities of adolescents with severe learning disabilities; suggesting that vital components of emotionality and relatedness are largely missing from research and consequently from literature informing social care professionals. This leaves untapped, rich information and communication resources for research which may improve understandings of the experiences of a socially excluded group of young people. A psychosocial view of adolescent identity development, 'subjectivation', offers a way forward and a case study on 'Billy', drawn from a 'practice-near' observational study, helps to illustrate this. Observation allows the researcher to be sensitive to the subtle ways in which identities of young people with severe learning disabilities are constructed, often with a sense of fragility and uncertainty. Continuities of experience between the young people and the rest of the adolescent community may be seen, but also the impact of living with impairment can be thought about in relation to the particular psychosocial circumstances of each young person. Knowledge of these processes enhances social work practice by encouraging workers to be sensitive to, and healthily curious about, the multiple ways in which identities of young people with severe learning disabilities are shaped in relationship with those around them and the wider social field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality relationships form the backbone of social work with children and their families. They are particularly relevant in the close, intimate work with looked-after children who have identified how important it is to them that their relationship with their social worker is positive, warm and meaningful. It is accepted that in order to achieve and maintain successful and meaningful relationships, practitioners need to engage at an emotional as well as a professional level. All too often this requires a trade-off between organizational efficiency and the emotional work of caring for looked-after children. Therefore, it would appear the role of corporate parent is increasingly difficult, involving complex decisions about how practitioners might best spend their time, where their loyalties lie and the quality and direction of the final output. Using data from a series of interviews with practitioners, this paper explores the difficulties of maintaining active emotional engagement with children using the sociological concept of emotional labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children who have experienced abuse display significant difficulties in dealing with all aspects of the school environment. This paper examines the experiences at school of a group of respondents who had been subject to abuse and neglect during their childhood and adolescence. A qualitative research approach, utilizing in-depth interviews, was used to explore their perspectives and insights in relation to their experiences. The findings of this study show how the various forms of abuse and neglect experienced in their families had consequences for them in the school setting. A further important finding was a lack of professional student welfare support for the interviewees at school. Implications for prevention and intervention approaches in relation to both policy and service delivery are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the prevalence of mental health problems among children in family foster and residential care within a Danish context. All children, born in Denmark in 1995, who are or formerly have been placed in out-of-home care ( n= 1072), are compared with a group of vulnerable children of the same age, subjected to child protection interventions but living at home ( n= 1457, referred to as the ‘in home care children’), and to all contemporaries who are not child protection clients ( n= 71 321, referred to as the ‘non-welfare children’). Prevalence data are established on the basis of national administrative register data, including data on psychiatric diagnoses of the children, and on survey data scoring children in out-of-home care, in home care children, and non-welfare children by means of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results show that 20% of children in out-of-home care have at least one psychiatric diagnosis compared to 3% of the non-welfare children. Almost half of the children in care (48%) are, furthermore, scored within the abnormal range of SDQ, compared to 5% of the non-welfare children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe the development and history of the Keeping Foster Parents Trained and Supported (KEEP) foster-parent training intervention. KEEP intervention represents a modified version of the Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care intervention developed by interventionists at the Oregon Social Learning Center and is designed to provide training and support for children ages 5–11 in regular foster care. We also report on the initial findings from a programme of research focused on determining the effectiveness of the intervention. Thus far, the results indicate that the intervention is effective in reducing child behaviour problems and that the effects of the intervention are mediated through changes in parenting behaviour. There is also evidence that the KEEP foster-parent training intervention increases the chances of a positive change of placement (e.g. child reunited with biological parents) and mitigates the negative risk-enhancing effect of a history of multiple placements. We conclude with a discussion of unanswered questions and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Latino population in the USA is growing faster than any other group. Latinas are at risk for mental health and substance-abuse problems and school dropout. Research has shown that the ability to adapt to life in the USA while retaining one's cultural heritage is essential for successful acculturation and may increase the chances for success in school. There is strong evidence that mentoring relationships can enhance teens' social and emotional competence. This paper describes Club Amigas, a mentoring project that paired Latina college students with Latina middle-school girls. Initial quantitative and qualitative evaluations of programme effectiveness found that, as predicted, mentees' self-esteem was related to a positive commitment to their Latina identity, and that self-esteem and positive commitment to Latina identity increased over the programme year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper documents a study conducted among 225 Palestinian pre-school teachers from Israel. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire that examined the teachers’ attitudes towards reporting child abuse and neglect. In general, the participants’ attitudes towards reporting child abuse and neglect to the child protection services (CPS) were more positive than their attitudes towards reporting to the police. Willingness to report suspected cases of child sexual abuse to the police and CPS was higher than willingness to report other types of child abuse and neglect. Inconsistent results were revealed with regard to how awareness of reporting regulations and awareness of signs and risk factors for child maltreatment affect willingness to report to CPS and to the police. A comprehensive discussion of the possible relevance of the participants’ socio-cultural and sociopolitical values to their attitudes towards reporting child abuse and neglect is presented. The implications of the results for future studies are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child-to-mother violence is an area of family violence that has received limited attention over the past 20 years but is a problem for many families. It is poorly understood in the community and this lack of understanding creates a basis for families and service providers to minimize the abused mothers' experience. This paper is drawn from a larger study that aimed to explore child-to-mother violence in a high-risk geographical area and describes a qualitative theme developed from 185 participating women's narratives, ‘Living in the red zone’: the experience of child-to-mother violence. The red zone refers to danger and was an element throughout women's narratives. It is clear from the reflections of these women that child-to-mother violence is a significant and complex issue. Mothers were predominantly struggling in silence with their experiences of a child or children whose behaviour was threatening and/or abusive. Their experiences were most often minimized and/or devalued by family and community members, which may prevent affected women from seeking support. Mothers generally had limited concepts of the possibilities open to them to improve their situation, or limited access to appropriate and empathic individuals or services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study which sought to obtain greater knowledge and understanding of the life circumstances of a group of people who had experienced adversity and abuse in childhood. A qualitative research strategy involving in-depth interviews with individuals was used to help achieve the study's aim. The study found that interviewees detailed multiple risks to their development during childhood and adolescence, including experiences of child abuse, being placed in care and major grief and loss experiences. Most had left home in their mid-teenage years and had little or no contact with their families of origin. Interviewees had very limited social networks and described difficulties in making and keeping friends. Many reported unstable and often violent personal relationships. As suggested by attachment theory, this study supports the notion of developmental continuities from adverse childhood experiences into later life, particularly in relation to personal and social relationships. Recommendations for a number of suitable methods of intervention and support are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the emotional labour and befriending of families in East London by Family Support Workers (FSWs). The study is derived from an evaluation of the Family Welfare Association's Tower Hamlets Family Support Service. A key finding is that engaging the emotions of families enables high quality and effective support in the family home. FSWs win trust and elicit narratives from families, particularly from mothers and children. The narratives of families are a rich source of informing better practice. In line with Government objectives, the participatory work of FSWs helps to balance understanding on family support, health and child protection. According to Government and research, the early identification of child protection issues is particularly important in mitigating their worst effects. FSWs gain trust and early disclosure on child protection cases. This prevents child care problems from deteriorating into child protection issues. FSWs also act as informal advocates and help to balance social service assessments with the views of families. FSWs take a proactive, non-stigmatizing, non-intrusive approach to families. FSWs are sensitive and responsive to the emotions, ethnicity and specific needs of families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that a critical analysis of the ideologies that inform contemporary child care has been missing from the ‘re-focusing debate’. Such an analysis points up the necessity of reasserting a critical social work position in order to provide a basis for reconstructing practice and engaging with other social actors and their ideologies in an open and creative fashion compatible with Habermas’ aspiration of ‘communicative reason’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although children's social care is an area rich in guidance, there is very little research looking at the implementation of new policies in the United Kingdom. In this article, we report on the first stage of a realist evaluation of the implementation of the new Safeguarding Children from Child Sexual Exploitation guidance in Wales. We discuss the development of an initial programme theory, for which we conducted semi‐structured interviews with practitioners and managers in three local authorities. We developed programme theories across three areas: policy nature and development, implementation plans and organizational context. Findings suggest that, for policies to produce a significant impact on practice, they need to be sufficiently different to social workers' current perceptions of practice. Second, we found that the coordination between national and local policies is critical for successful implementation as contradictions between them might lead to confusion in what local teams should prioritize. Finally, our findings highlight the importance of effective communication of policy changes, as well as a supportive organizational culture to strengthen implementation in local contexts. These findings illustrate the complexity of policy implementation and the need for policymakers to consider the meaningful involvement of local practitioners in national policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signs of Safety (SofS) is a popular framework for child protection social work practice, used in more than 200 jurisdictions worldwide. Although workers tend to find SofS tools easy to use, skilled application of the approach is challenging, and research has found that SofS is often not implemented as intended. This study aimed to deepen and inform the explanation (initial theory) of what key SofS tools and processes are expected to achieve in the family–worker interaction and why. A realist synthesis was used, involving a realist review of literature and focus groups with 22 international SofS experts. Using self‐determination theory, we detail how SofS can be conceptualized as aiming to support families to experience 'autonomous' rather than 'controlled' motivation by supporting basic human needs for 'autonomy' (feeling a sense of volition), 'competence' (feeling effective) and 'relatedness' (feeling cared for). This explanation can be used for training and evaluation purposes to better explain and test how SofS expects to engage families in the child protection process. More broadly, we suggest that self‐determination theory may contribute a mechanistic explanation of effective social work practice more generally and that this hypothesis should be empirically investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article elucidates the challenges parents face when they lose the care of their children and their experiences of family counselling as a support service in Norway. A qualitative study following five mothers and one father whose children were in care was conducted through two focus groups and six individual interviews. The study found that the parents struggled to understand why their children had been placed in care and felt disempowered by the Child Protection Services (CPS). This situation led to complicated relationships with the CPS. We drew upon positioning theory and Goffman's theories about stigma and identity in this study, and these theories are explicitly used in discussing our analytic results. The study reveals the challenges encountered by CPS due to their dual role: On the one hand, they remove the children, and on the other, they offer support. The parents in this study also received assistance from the Family Counselling Services. Important results of this study are the parents' experiences of the two systems and, in particular, the different positions the systems seemed to place them in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental conversations with their teenage children about alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are associated with lower rates of use. Looked‐after young people are at greater risk of early initiation, higher rates of use, and more problematic use. However, there is no evidence regarding whether these conversations occur in settings where the parental role is assumed by someone other than the biological parent. The aim of the study was to examine how carers communicate with looked‐after young people about alcohol, tobacco, and drug use. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 16 residential care staff and foster carers in Scotland. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Participants talked about "shared doing" as a way of building relationships and communicating about substance use. Shared doing encompassed particular activities that carers and young people would do together, such as driving in the car, cooking, watching TV, and going for a walk. Shared doing provided an opportunity to spend time together and to create an environment in which communication could be facilitated. These environments were shaped by space, time, and context. Carers should be encouraged to take advantage of the time‐limited occasions they are with young people to have conversations about substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents addicted to methamphetamine ("crystal meth") are likely to be impaired in meeting parental responsibilities, and the developmental settings can be highly disadvantageous for children. Therefore, parenting by methamphetamine‐addicted mothers and fathers needs further exploration, while considering the impact on children affected by parental substance use. In our study, we analysed parenting practices and parental stress as well as children's behavioural problems using standardized assessments. The sample consisted of 87 methamphetamine‐addicted parents in recovery. We obtained data on parents' current substance use and on their psychological distress. Multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of children's overall problems. Parents reported high levels of parental and psychological distress, even after achieving abstinence. Especially depressive perceptions of parenthood appeared problematic. While recovering from methamphetamine addiction, parents exhibited a precarious psychosocial situation and problematic parenting behaviour. Dysfunctional parenting practices were evident in both indifferent and overreactive tendencies. Children were at risk of behavioural and emotional problems. Variables associated with parenting showed significant predictive value for children's overall problems, beyond current substance use, and psychological distress. These findings are discussed in terms of a family‐oriented perspective in order to promote parenting capabilities of methamphetamine‐addicted parents and to prevent problematic development of their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a pilot study on the sensitive issue of how children and young people experience family contact in foster care, and the views of key adults in their lives on the same issue. There is a special focus on the children's experiences, opinions, and feelings. The study is a response to the relative scarcity of literature on family contact based on the experiences of children and adults in caring roles. This is a qualitative and exploratory study, with a sample of 10 children and young people in care in the district of Porto, aiming to identify key issues and areas for further examination. The results allow us to conclude that the possibility of maintaining contact is positively evaluated. However, perspectives on the relationships involved, and on the reactions to and difficulties associated with visits, revealed considerable disagreement among the actors. A possible set of implications drawn from the findings pointed out to the importance of developing a monitored cooperation that improves communication processes in order to take into account the children's and young people's views in the decision‐making process; and to develop more attentive and open working relationships with parents throughout the foster care placement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many child protection systems struggle to implement effective models of frontline practice in the context of high caseloads, increasing costs, and compliance‐focused bureaucratic cultures. This article discusses changes brought about by "Practice First," a framework for practice introduced to improve the quality and effectiveness of child protection work in New South Wales, Australia. Findings drawn from quantitative and qualitative research with practitioners show that the initiative was effective in changing cultures of practice. It enabled workers to spend more face‐to‐face time with families and build relationships and was perceived to improve the quality of decision‐making. At the same time, the article highlights difficulties in attempting to embed change in practice cultures when broader systemic challenges persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of stability for children in long‐term foster care is an emerging field within social work with vulnerable children. In Sweden, the adoption of foster children is not a common occurrence. Instead, when a child has been placed in foster care for 3 years, the local social welfare committee will consider whether the custody of the child should be transferred to the foster parents regardless of the circumstances of the birth parents, in order to secure stability and a sense of family belonging. Consequently, custody transfers raise questions such as "who is family?" and "who is a parent?" This qualitative interview study with custodians and young people who have experienced custody transfer highlights that who counts as family and as a parent is ambiguous. This article draws attention to how negotiations about family and parenthood revolve around biological, emotional, and relational dimensions. Furthermore, we show that stability for children in care has to be understood in terms of processes over time and not as the result of a single decision of custody transfer. Consequently, social workers need to take several aspects into account when they assess family belonging and stability for children in foster care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]