The plight of international child support enforcement

Arising from the landscape of global development and fueled by the demographics of increasing rates of mobility and divorce, the international enforcement of child support is a challenging and growing problem. Current initiatives to rectify this critical problem cut across geopolitical divides and have resulted in the creation of uniform procedures for child support enforcement that are awaiting ratification in the USA: the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. In the following paper, we will trace the evolution of these efforts and extrapolate a framework for social work practice illustrated by examples drawn from a case study of a family's plight with international child support enforcement. While thousands of families are impacted by this issue, there is a gap in the social work literature about this critical issue.     

Child Sexual Abuse Allegations in the Context of Divorce: Issues for Mothers

Correspondence to Catherine Humphreys, Department of Applied Social Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL Summary The investigation and assessment of allegations of child sexualabuse constitute a difficult and contentious area for practitionersinvolved in this process. When these allegations emerge in thecontext of divorce, the problems of assessment appear to becompounded. This paper argues that when mothers raise concernsabout child sexual abuse during divorce proceedings these areoften construed as vindictive or misguided. Such constructionsof mothers have significant implications for the protection,or lack of protection of children in these circumstances. Theway in which this ‘knowledge’ about mothers hasdeveloped is explored and held up against the results of empiricalstudies which show that there is little basis for this constructionof mothers. Possible explanations for this incongruity are suggestedwith a view to progressing child protection in this area. As the court cases go on I can see the hopelessness of the wholething. It's getting stronger in me to want to take the law intomy own hands. I wouldn't say it's revenge, it's not ... I meana mother protects its young. You wouldn't see a lioness lettingsomething attack its young. (A mother expressing her desperation that the Family Court ofAustralia has ordered her to send her child on visits to herex-husband who she believes sexually abused their child.)     

Emotional labour and befriending in family support and child protection in Tower Hamlets

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.     

From Children's Departments to Family Departments

Drawing upon his own experience as a child care officer, the author draws attention to the local authority Children's Departments which were established 50 years ago in 1948. To mark the anniversary, interviews were held with 20 former children's officers. From these, it was possible to identify three major achievements of the Children's Departments, namely the restoration of natural parents to child care, the promotion of child care skills, and the formation of a highly committed staff force. The Children's Departments were abolished over a quarter of a century ago and amalgamated into the Social Services Departments (Social Work Departments in Scotland). Despite some notable advances, it is argued that, under these departments, preventative work with children, child care skills and staff morale have declined. As a way forward, the author proposes the formation of a local authority Family Department which would consist of family workers equipped with child care skills, a facility approach which offers open services, and backing for locally run neighbourhood groups. It is contended that this service would be acceptable to and particularly helpful to parents and children living in conditions of social deprivation.     

Effect of child benefit payments on child outcome expenditures in South Korea

Extensive research has shown the positive impact of conditional child benefits on child outcomes. However, there is limited work on the impact of universal child benefit payments on how families spend on child outcomes. Our study explores this issue. This study examined the relationship between child benefit payments on child outcome expenditures using longitudinal data from the Korean National Survey of Tax and Benefit (N = 3681 households) and a household- and year-fixed effects regression model. We found that child benefit payments are positively associated with child outcome expenditures across family income groups. Furthermore, the analysis results suggest that compared to high-income family groups, low- and middle-income family groups increase spending on child outcome expenditures in response to child benefit payments. Finally, the policy implications of this are discussed.     

Child protection, family support and social work: a critical appraisal of the Department of Health research studies in child protection

This paper provides a critical appraisal of the Department of Health Research Studies in Child Protection and their recommendations for policy and practice. It argues that there are a number of conceptual and methodological problems and a failure to thoroughly articulate and represent the tensions and complexities of child protection work, particularly at the point of allegation and initial referral. In the process it fails to fully appreciate the significance of risk in the current social and political climate, the way front-line professionals, particularly social workers, are held to account and the nature of the responsibilities they carry. As a consequence, the paper suggests that attempts to shift the balance of policy and practice from narrowly defined child protection to family support for children in need may be far more difficult than the research suggests.     

Underpinning knowledge for child care practice: reconsidering child development theory

Child development theory has come to be regarded as essential underpinning knowledge for social work practice, a view reinforced by the current research‐minded agenda. Practitioners are enjoined to acquire a more in‐depth knowledge of child development but in this paper it is argued that this agenda requires more scrutiny if social workers are going to engage more meaningfully with the child development literature and use it in a critical and reflexive way in their practice. To this end some key messages drawn from critical approaches to developmental psychology, a literature to date largely unrecognized by social work, are examined for their relevance to practice.     

Challenges of operationalizing trauma‐informed practice in child protection services in New Zealand

New Zealand is undergoing major change in service delivery to children and families. A new Ministry for Children Oranga Tamariki has been established to oversee 5 work streams, one of which provides intensive intervention with families requiring a statutory response to child protection concerns. The government minister responsible promised that the service would be child‐centred and trauma‐informed. To date, these terms remain undefined, and there is no shared understanding of their meaning. Practice frameworks to support the work of the new ministry are still being developed, creating something of a vacuum in the meantime. The focus of this paper is the challenge of implementing trauma‐informed practice in the child protection service provided by the Intensive Intervention work stream. Limited research or commentary on trauma‐informed practice in this context currently exists. Drawing on the relevant available literature, the concept and its application in child protection social work is explored. An ecological framework is used to discuss the changes needed to achieve this. Particular attention is paid to the impact of historical trauma for indigenous people due to New Zealand's colonial history and their over‐representation in care and protection services.     

Adapting private family time in child protective services decision-making processes

The Family Group Conference (FGC) is grounded in a rights-based framework, whereby children and their families have the right and responsibility to be primary decision-makers when child protection issues arise, and the statutory agency has the responsibility to convene the entitled members of the family network to lead the decision-making. A distinct core component of FGC—private family time (PFT)—allows families to discuss the information and formulate their responses and plans privately during conferencing. This paper describes how a large child welfare agency in the United States adapted PFT in two ways: (1) including a parent advocate (PA) and (2) abbreviating the amount of time allowed for this discussion. Given the lack of empirical research on the PFT component, this qualitative exploratory study sought to understand the functions and perceived impacts of PA-supported PFT during initial child protective services (CPS) conferences at which decisions of child removal or placement were being contemplated. PFT served multiple beneficial functions and impacted families in several positive ways: families gained greater awareness of safety concerns, felt empowered and confident in the preferred safety and service plan, became increasingly engaged and involved in the case decision-making process and ultimately felt less apprehensive.     

Evaluation of child sexual abuse - what should be evaluated?

An analysis of behavioural changes, mental symptoms and personal characteristics may contribute significantly to the evaluation of child sexual abuse. Examples from children of different ages are presented to illustrate how such information may be used in the evaluation process. Not rarely the psychological investigation of the abuse allegations is regarded as almost synonymous with an analysis of the child and what the child has communicated. In fact, there are many other important - but often neglected - sources of information than those related to the child as an individual. Different kinds of information concerning the suspects are presented as illustrations of this thesis. A hermeneutic approach is advocated for the evaluation. This means that the main issue is understanding the unique rather than knowledge of what is most common.     

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect: does it really make a difference?

Mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect has its origins in the USA, where model statutes for laws designed to introduce this process were first drafted in the early 1960s. Indeed, every state and the District of Columbia passed a child abuse reporting law between 1963 and 1967. Some 10 years later, in 1977, New South Wales was the first Australian state to pass comparable legislation. Mandatory reporting of suspected cases of child abuse and neglect is now in place in all Australian states and territories, with the exception of Western Australia. The question considered in this paper is: ‘What evidence is there that children are abused and neglected less in jurisdictions where mandatory reporting exists by comparison with jurisdictions where it does not exist?’ This question is examined by way of a comparison between two states, New South Wales and Western Australia. This paper also raises questions about the cost of mandatory reporting and the extent to which it diverts financial resources away from support services for families. There is also a question about the new New South Wales child protection legislation that extends mandatory reporting and possible negative consequences for ordinary families. The final question is about the role assigned to health care and education professionals under this legislation.     

Gender and the Child Protection Process

Correspondence to Dr Elaine Farmer, Centre for Family Policy and Child Welfare, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol, Block F, 8 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 ITN, UK. Summary In the debates about finding a new balance between child protectionand family support, there has been silence on the issue of theimpact of gender on child protection work. Using data from oneof the studies in the Department of Health (1995) child protectionresearch programme, this article examines the impact of genderat each stage of the child protection process. It shows thatmothers have tended to be under-represented in relation to offersof service and over-included in respect of agencies' effortsto control them. When social work practice in cases of physicalabuse by men focuses exclusively on mothers, this allows men'sviolence to their female partners to be ignored. This practicehas been sustained in recent years, even though the child protectionsystem itself developed in response to public anxiety aboutchild deaths caused by men.     

The child in child protection: Invisible and unheard

The paper presents findings from a qualitative study of four child death reviews published in Australia. The study was informed by the theoretical concept of childism. A critical social research methodology facilitated the exposure of childist dynamics in statutory child protection. The transformation of child protection practices and systems has traditionally relied on the imposition of never‐ending structural changes, policies, and procedures. This paper proposes that transformation and the erosion of childist dynamics is contingent on humane and ethical statutory child protection agencies.     

Why parents matter: exploring the impact of a hegemonic concern with the timetable for the child

In a climate of austerity, timescales and targets, this paper probes whether parents matter sufficiently within the current child protection system in England. Evidence suggests that achieving partnership working in the context of child protection has become increasingly illusive, particularly when parents are notified that the local authority is considering compulsory intervention to remove their children under the Children Act 1989. Recent changes to legislation, policy and practice ushered in with the aim of achieving earlier decisions within the time frame for the child are laudable, but there are consequences for both children and their parents. The aspirations of the Public Law Outline (2008) are well rehearsed, but the changes being introduced with the recent reform of the family justice system, alongside particular constructions of parenting, may be failing to recognize the potential of many parents, if offered appropriate support, to care safely for their children.     

An Aboriginal community's perceptions and experiences of child neglect in a rural town

Very little is known about how Aboriginal parents experiencing vulnerabilities and communities perceive child neglect, despite Aboriginal families being highly overrepresented in the child protection system. This research investigates the perceptions and experiences of child neglect from Aboriginal parents and human services workers in a rural community. Research methods consisted of community forums and interviews with parents and workers. One community forum developed interview guides and vignettes, and the second discussed and interpreted findings. Between the two forums, in‐depth interviews were conducted with 18 Aboriginal parents and nine Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal workers. Overall Aboriginal parents perceived child neglect in a similar way to Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal workers. Violence and substance abuse were main risk factors for child neglect, and intergenerational trauma, racism and discrimination, and feeling powerless were prevalent in the community. The paper concludes that there are little differences in the way Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal people understand child neglect. Instead it is the difficult circumstances experienced by Aboriginal families that keep parents from actualising their parenting expectations. The implications of these findings when working with Aboriginal families and communities are also discussed.     

Reducing child poverty and assessing targeting performance: Governmental cash transfers in Taiwan

In this study, we focused on child poverty and examined the targeting performance of governmental cash benefits in Taiwan, and whether they successfully alleviate child poverty when budget constraints are imposed. We employed data from the cross‐sectional Survey of Family Income and Expenditure 2010, which was conducted by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics of the Executive Yuan in Taiwan. We investigated efficiency and effectiveness, using the IRIS, Beckerman, and Shapley approaches, to measure targeting performance. The results suggest that few transfer programmes perform well in terms of both target efficiency and effectiveness; this generates trade‐offs and paradoxes between efficiency or effectiveness, undercoverage or leakage, vertical or horizontal efficiency, and universal or selective benefits. We conclude by suggesting social policy implications based on the findings. Key Practitioner Message: ● Using different approach (targeting performance) to analyse child poverty; ● Using targeting efficiency and effectiveness to analyse whether governmental cash benefits ameliorate child poverty given specific budget constraints.     

History repeating: child protection responses to domestic violence

Statutory child protection has a long and contested history in domestic violence intervention where children are involved. The inadequacy of the response has been raised by researchers, women and their advocates for more than 20 years. In fact, Linda Gordon, in her classic analysis of the files of charitable agencies from 1880 to 1960, showed that violent men were ignored, women whose own lives were in danger were judged as inadequate when they failed to protect their children and ‘child rescue’ was frequently seen as the solution to protecting vulnerable children. The same issues continue to be raised today. The repetitive pattern points to the structured nature of the problem which goes beyond the intentions and practice of individual workers. A policy response and a cultural change is needed, which tackles not only the ‘age old’ but also some of the newer permutations of intervention in this area. This paper will explore aspects of this structured pattern and then draw from international research and projects which are grappling with positive changes to child protection intervention in this area.     

Family support services buffer the effect of child welfare notifications on child removals

Previous studies have found mixed results about the effects of family support services within the child protection system. The purpose of the study is to examine whether family support services are associated with the need for child removals at the community level. The material of the study consists of Finnish municipalities (N = 292) and their child protection indicators. Linear regression analysis was conducted to analyse the associations between the dependent variable (child removals) and the main predictors (child welfare notifications and family support services). It was found that family support services are associated with child removals. The more children there are in family support services, the more there are also child removals in a municipality. The key finding of the analysis is that a higher rather than lower proportion of clients in family support services buffers the increased effect of demand (child welfare notifications) on child removals better. In this sense, the demand for child removals is not only associated with the characteristics of children and families but may be partly explained by the role of family support services in a municipality. The present study underlines the significance of a system-level approach to child protection.     

The rhetoric versus the reality: a critical perspective on practice with fathers in child care and protection work

Within social work training and practice there is a firm emphasis on anti-discriminatory practice. At the same time, however, fathers are often marginalized or ignored in child protection practice. In suggesting a framework for practice we argue that it is essential to address the anomaly between the rhetoric and the reality of such practice if we are to provide a coherent child protection service. This paper addresses the limitations of current models of practice and traces the theoretical strands that influence them. It is essential that social work practitioners understand the role terms they use and the aim of engaging fathers. By beginning to unravel the differences between role and gender and unpicking the diverse (but overlapping) dimensions of fatherhood, it is contended that there is no definitive, dominant discourse regarding fatherhood in the same way as there is about motherhood. However, in conceptually recognizing these roles it is suggested that intervention can be planned in a way that explicates the specific aim of engaging men.     

What families in poverty consider supportive: welfare strategies of parents with young children in relation to (child and family) social work

In current European Welfare states, Child and Family Social Work has been assigned a pivotal role in constructing a route out of (child) poverty. The direction, processes and outcomes of these interventions are, however, rarely negotiated with the families involved. Based on a retrospective biographical research with parents of young children who experienced financial difficulties over time, this paper therefore seeks to uncover and understand how parents give meaning to welfare which strategies they accordingly develop and how these perspectives and welfare strategies interact with Child and Family Social Work interventions. We aim to acquire knowledge about how interventions are constructed, interpreted and being used as potentially supportive levers in realizing the well‐being of parents and children in poverty situations and explore how they may influence families' routes out of poverty. Drawing on Lister's analytical framework of agency within the bounds of structural constraints, our research provides insights in the essentially complex, multi‐layered and paradoxical nature of support and suggests that support cannot simply be perceived as synonymous to mobility out of poverty.