Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal最新文献

The COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to decrease the spread impacted youth in foster care and foster parents in a myriad of ways. One critical yet unexplored area is how educational changes during the first 2 years of the pandemic impacted this specific group of youth in foster care and foster parents. This exploratory study used three methods: (1) A scoping review of the prior research on pandemics/climate events and school closures and the research from early 2020; (2) individual interviews and focus groups with foster parents and teachers; and (3) an online survey of 88 foster parents. We endeavored to include findings at each stage of the process. Research from prior epidemics and school closures and predictive models predicted learning losses which were verified by the findings in the survey and interviews. Foster parents reported that the youth in foster care had great difficulty concentrating with on-line delivery and the absence or greatly limited access to mental health services compounded the challenges. Even as children returned to classrooms, the behavior of children, youth resulted in suspensions and expulsions likely increasing learning losses. The discussion identifies some approaches to addressing COVID-19 learning gaps and the mental health needs of this vulnerable group of children and youth.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic thrust the world's population into a crisis. Social workers and other professionals working with youth have been front-line witnesses to the accentuated negative impact of this public health emergency on youth and their families as well as to the creative adaptive strategies of youth and their families. Purpose: Because youth workers are often the first to identify and respond to the needs and desires of children and youth, it is critical to better understand the ways in which youth workers adapted, coped, and intervened within the context of this global health, social, and economic crisis. Youth workers play a central role in the lives of children and youth. Their perspective is key to recognizing both practice innovation and organizational impediments. Method: 31 youth workers in mental health, housing, primary care, and child protection participated in focus groups discussing the impact of the pandemic during waves 1 and 2 on the youth and families they work with and, consequently, on their own practice. Results: include two central domains that organize findings around adapting professional practice to crisis situations: (1) the first-person experience of working with youth during the pandemic; (2) the changing needs and risks faced by youth and their families. Discussion: These domains include discussions around participant emotions and feelings of isolation, helplessness, and fear as well as adaptability. The article concludes with recommendations to support youth workers and adapt organizational structures to help protect youth from increased risk and vulnerability during a pandemic or other crises.

According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to voice their opinions and participate in decision-making in matters affecting their lives. Furthermore, professionals working with children have the responsibility to always make the best interests of the child the priority when contemplating decisions that have an impact on the child, including by ensuring that the child's concerns are paid attention to and their opinion is taken into consideration. However, studies indicate that the opposite occurs in practice and that decision-making in child protection cases often excludes children's views, especially in alternative care. In this qualitative study, 31 foster children's perspectives were gathered through in-depth semi-structured and focus group interviews with the aim of exploring the children's participation and perspectives based on their lived experiences within the context of child protection removal practice in Estonia. Findings indicate several obstacles that hinder children's meaningful participation, including not receiving adequate or truthful information about their removal and placement. Furthermore, they had no trustworthy adult to talk to and, therefore, they lacked opportunities to discuss their views or concerns with someone capable of acting on them. These findings suggest that children's active and meaningful participation in alternative care requires more attention and implications in practice.