Child & Family Social Work最新文献

In Norway, child welfare responsibilities are divided between state-run (SCW) and municipal (MCW) agencies. This study explores MCW practitioners' experiences of implementing a therapeutic model tailored by SCW for MCW to aid adolescents with severe and co-occurring problems and their families. In this qualitative study, 12 MCW practitioners participated in semistructured interviews about the implementability of the therapeutic model. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The codebook approach Framework Analysis was used to develop codes, initial themes and final themes through several iterations. Each theme was reviewed for convergence and divergence, across interviews. Practitioners' responses to the Intervention Usability Scale were used to supplement our analysis. Five themes emerged as follows: (1) Internal Motivation: practitioners were driven by the desire to do good; (2) Finally, We Have Something to Offer: highlighting the importance of methods that meet diverse needs; (3) Expectations and Entanglements: describing challenging incongruencies between implementors, practitioners and agencies; (4) Working Methodically: the significance of rigorous CW practices; and (5) Lost in Translation: implementation challenges language, culture and profession. Tailoring practices to resource-limited communities is commendable but requires strengthening inter- and intra-agency collaboration. Adopting novel practices in MCW settings requires professional implementors.

Interventions to enhance positive parenting practices have become a cornerstone of many Western child welfare services. Parental mental health is a crucial factor that influences parenting practices and styles. However, research on the associations between mental health and parenting among parents involved with child welfare services is scarce. The aim of the study was to investigate the associations between self-reported mental health and parenting practices and emotional style among parents in contact with child welfare services. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2018–2019 (N = 256, 71.5% females). Linear regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounding factors, was conducted. The results indicated that higher levels of anxiety and depression symptoms were significantly associated with a higher degree of inconsistent parenting practices, a lower degree of involving parenting practices and higher levels of emotion coaching parenting style. Socioeconomic status slightly attenuated the associations. The results highlight the importance of considering parental mental health when assessing parenting practices and styles among parents in contact with child welfare services. It is also crucial for child welfare workers to be aware of how parental mental health can affect their parenting practices and to address these issues through their interventions in the family.

Child to parent violence (CPV) is a serious concern. However, there is a paucity of research exploring practices for supporting families experiencing this violence. Many responses for CPV sit within a criminal justice setting and are underpinned by skill development and psychological approaches. This study is aimed at examining ‘What responses from services, including the conditions that enable responses, are identified as supportive for families experiencing CPV in services?’ Utilising a narrative inquiry methodology, this study analyses interviews with mothers who experience CPV (n = 11) and practitioners who work with CPV (n = 19). Three overarching themes for responding to CPV were found: (1) relatings underpin responses, (2) response-ability and CPV and (3) strategies for addressing CPV. Foundational to all responses is the need for connections between parent and child, worker and family, and worker and worker, with a range of practices to foster connection identified in this study. Practitioners frame the response-ability of the violence varyingly, which makes addressing the violence both possible and impossible. Responses for addressing CPV by practitioners predominantly include psychological based, behaviour based, skills/education based, relationship based and referrals to other services. Recommendations for practice with families experiencing CPV are explored, as are future research and education.

Foster parents encounter significant and diverse obstacles in receiving support when caring for children affected by relational trauma and mental illness. These issues extend to their interactions with welfare systems, mental health professionals and personal networks. This study is aimed at understanding foster parents' needs in navigating the support systems and finding a balance in their responsibilities. To address this, we conducted interviews with 22 foster parents caring for children receiving mental health treatment in a specialized outpatient clinic in Norway. We present the findings as a general meaning structure comprising four interconnected constituents: (1) the challenge of being an ‘employee’ and a parent, (2) encounters marked by inadequate information, (3) wanting a closer relationship with the child welfare services and (4) feeling a need for confidential conversations and support. This study underscores foster parents' struggle with systems that fail to provide adequate child information and holistic support, highlighting a pressing need for context-aware and tailored systemic improvements.

It is of paramount importance that children are equipped with the requisite digital parenting skills to protect them from the risks and threats that they may encounter in the digital environment while also enabling them to seize the opportunities that the digital realm presents. Mobile recommendation systems (MRS) represent a significant intervention for the development of digital parenting competencies among adults. Nevertheless, there is no evidence in the literature of any attempt to develop the system. The objective of this study is to examine the process of developing an MRS for parents' digital parenting skills and to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed system through a pilot study. The study employed the developmental research Type 1 model. The study was structured in three stages: the design of the MRS, the development of the recommendation system (RS) and the pilot study. In order to facilitate the development of the MRS, three distinct working groups were established. The research yielded several key findings. Primarily, it established the theoretical foundation of the MRS, delineated the design principles to be considered in system design and elucidated their application in the system. Additionally, it identified the essential components and functions that should be incorporated into the system. In light of the expert opinions on compliance with andragogical principles, it was observed that the consideration of environmental factors emerged as a prominent theme. It was observed that the experts assigned the highest suitability scores to fault tolerance, low physical effort and an instructional environment in the system design. The system was found to be effective in terms of redundancy, sound and picture quality for all content titles and multimedia principles. The findings of this study indicate that the MRS may be an effective tool for fostering digital parenting skills. However, further research is necessary to develop age-appropriate measures and to assess the long-term impact of the system.

Trauma negatively impacts on the ability of children in out-of-home care to experience safety in their relationships. Trauma rearousal can continue to occur even when children are living in a safe and stable setting due to environmental triggers. Carers who are emotionally regulated themselves can model and support emotional regulation (known as coregulation) when their child becomes dysregulated. To do this, carers need agencies to provide trauma-informed and therapeutic models of care, so they in turn can offer an emotionally secure experience for their child. This article reports on participatory action research with caseworkers from two nongovernment and one government organisation who supported foster and kinship carers to coregulate with children in long-term care. Reflective practice meetings were held over an eight-month period to capture the perspectives and experiences of 16 caseworkers who trialled practice changes for coregulation. An inductive analysis approach was used to elicit themes. Findings revealed a three-phase process took place for caseworkers and carers to (1) acknowledge the presence of trauma and stress, (2) become aware of their own emotional capacity and (3) apply coregulation strategies. This process was possible when organisations promoted trauma awareness and relational safety, thereby creating a ‘holding environment’ for their caseworkers and allowing coregulation to be experienced by carers and their children.