Continuous Parenting and the Clean Break: The Aftermath of Marriage Breakdown

This paper examines the financial disparity between men and women after marriage breakdown in the context of the debate about public support for children and their caretakers. The Australian Institute of Family Studies research into the economic consequences of marriage breakdown, the government's endorsement of reforms for the assessment and collection of child maintenance and the Law Reform Commission's recommendations for the reform of matrimonial property law indicate the need for more clarity and predictability for family law clients. In addition, empirical work highlights the need to eradicate any notion that the clean break philosophy is appropriate for parenting after separation. Whilst family law reforms are already underway in this area, the issues of womens' independence and of child welfare must be looked at in the broader context of employment opportunities and child care.     

Socio-genealogical connectedness, attachment theory, and childcare practice

At the heart of child welfare policy and practice are issues of loss and separation, issues of loss and discontinuity of parent–child or carer–child ties. Consequently, John Bowlby's ideas concerning attachment have been influential in this field over the past 50 years. This paper argues that the society in which Bowlby originally developed his ideas has altered greatly; in Western societies, family dynamics have changed remarkably, and continue to change. The present paper therefore argues that these ideas may not adequately address the developmental needs of to-day's children. Hence, it puts forward the notion of socio-genealogical connectedness to complement our existing knowledge and understanding of the psycho-social developmental needs of modern-day children. The notion's implications for policy and practice are also highlighted.     

Adapting the Friends of the Children programme for child welfare system‐involved families

Research has shown the importance of long‐term, caring adults for children in foster care. This paper reviews the Friends of the Children (FOTC) long‐term mentoring programme and how it was adapted to serve children and families with child welfare system involvement. This study's two research questions are (1) How do Friends (FOTC's paid professional mentors) currently work with, and in turn, have an impact on, child welfare‐involved families? and (2) How can Friends better support child welfare system‐involved caregivers and families to promote family stability, permanence, and child well‐being? Data were collected from 21 caregivers (foster and biological), 24 FOTC Friends, five child welfare workers, and five teachers. Qualitative analyses of focus group, interview, and open‐ended survey data revealed a wide variety of ways Friends currently support children and families. In addition, several recommendations were made for strengthening programming. These findings provide valuable insights into providing long‐term mentoring to child welfare system‐involved children and families.     

The Dissolution of Joint Living Arrangements among Single Parents and Children: Does Welfare Make a Difference?

Objective . This research examines the claim that states' newfound autonomy to devise their own welfare systems will lead to more intergenerational family dissolution. Critics of welfare reform argue that children residing in states with lower welfare benefits will be more at risk of living apart from parents, as some parents will lack sufficient income to raise children. Methods . Data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation were analyzed employing a discrete-time hazard model. Results . The findings suggest that the risk of children living apart from parents was lower in states offering higher welfare benefits. Also, results indicate that the children at greatest risk of living apart from parents are those who are either newborns or teenagers, are white, or have parents with disabilities. Conclusions . Growing reluctance across all levels of government to provide income support for needy families may accelerate the upward trend in parent-child separation. Results further broaden the literature on household responses to economic setbacks by showing that economic deprivation leads single-parent families to reduce the number of coresident children.     

Beyond Assessment: Social Work Intervention in Family Court Enquiries

Most parents or carers who separate or divorce are able to makearrangements themselves about where their children will resideand how the children’s contact with the non-resident parentwill be managed. A further group of parents or carers are ableto come to agreement with the assistance of community- or court-baseddispute resolution/ mediation services. There are times, however,when disputes cannot be resolved without recourse to the courtsand, when this happens, the court will normally request thata welfare report be prepared by a CAFCASS (Children and FamilyCourt Advisory and Support Service) practitioner. While theboundary between assessment and intervention in social workis often less than clear, the commissioning of a court welfarereport in family proceedings strongly suggests an assessmentfocus and appears to carry little expectation that the practitionershould intervene in order to meet the needs of the childrenor adults involved. This article presents recent research findingsthat illustrate ways in which CAFCASS practitioners do go beyondthe assessment role expected of them in the course of the enquiriesthey undertake. Implications for policy and practice in thisarea of social work are then discussed.     

How does family homelessness impact on children's development? A critical review of the literature

Family homelessness is a key social issue across many European countries and is associated with uncertainty, a lack of safety and increased risks for children which can trigger the involvement of child welfare services. Living in homeless accommodation during the early years of a child's life also has the potential to impact on a child in many ways, for example, academically, physically, emotionally and socially. In the current paper, the authors review existing literature regarding the impact of family homelessness on children's development in order to identify key messages for social work practitioners working with children and families experiencing homelessness, for example, in the field of child protection and welfare. Findings reveal that family homelessness impacts on various aspects of a child's world and ultimately on their development, as a result of reduced social networks, inappropriate space to facilitate play, increased school mobility and school-dropout rates and increased levels of behavioural challenges and mental health concerns. These findings are discussed with relevance to social work practice when working with children and families who experience homelessness and how social work professionals can address the developmental needs of children who experience homelessness. Implications regarding future research and the education and training of social workers are also explored.     

More present than absent: Men who use domestic violence and their fathering

An earlier article referred to the “absent presence” of the perpetrator in the lives of children and their mothers who have lived with domestic violence. It identified the ways in which the shadow of the perpetrator continued and was evidenced in the “symptoms of abuse” that both women and children experienced in spite of his absence. The current article argues that fathers who use violence are actually more present than absent in the lives of children (and women), even following separation. A mixed method approach surveyed men in Men's Behaviour Change Programs (N = 101), and interviewed women who had experienced violence (N = 50). The studies reported that the majority of men in both the quantitative men's study (80%) and the qualitative women's study (77%) had substantial contact with children. The women's interviews highlight the problematic fathering that many of their children experienced, both before and after separation. They reported very high levels of child abuse and poor attitudes to both women and children. The article concludes that the family violence and child welfare systems are poorly configured to address fathers who use violence and continue to hold substantial parenting roles, including following separation.     

Child protection revisited: balancing state intervention and family autonomy through social work processes

This paper explores selected findings from a qualitative study of the 1989 Children Act, which examined ways in which the new definitions of significant harm were being interpreted in practice. Significant harm is seen as a major site where state intervention and family autonomy are balanced, especially through establishing thresholds for intervention. The data are analysed in relation to the social work processes of assessment, intervention and evaluation. These are seen as a series of interactions between families and practitioners, in which goals are identified, methods used and resources mobilized. Key decisions and levels of change address the paramountry of the child's welfare. These processes are also under-pinned by new legislative requirements. The practitioners displayed their professionalism during a period of transition and change. Social work processes facilitated non-judgemental practices which empowered the families in the difficult circumstances of their lives. The paper concludes that balancing state intervention and family autonomy requires social work of a high order and a profound understanding of complex issues.     

Family Caregivers of the Elderly

Two groups of primary family caregivers were interviewed; one whose older relatives received assistance from an inhome chore services program, the other whose relatives had been terminated from service due to budget reductions. Both groups of caregivers were found to be actively involved in providing care to their older relatives. The assistance that caregivers provided was similar whether or not their relative received chore services. No significant differences were found in the type of tasks they provided nor in the amount or length of time they have provided care. The data suggest that there may be limits to the assistance that these caregivers can provide and that care of the elderly beyond such limitations needs to be supplied by other sources. Caregiving may be influenced both by the particular circumstances of the caregiver and the individual needs of the older relative. These findings support the notion that there is a need for shared responsibility between the family and government, based on an understanding of the tasks that family caregivers are best able to provide.     

Property,gender and the life course: Inheritance and family welfare provision in early nineteenth-century England

Drawing upon detailed research of inheritance practices in early nineteenth-century Stockport, this article examines how married men attempted to provide for their families after their death. It is argued that inheritance acted as an informal family welfare mechanism through which specific gender relations associated with middle-class households were reproduced. The evidence presented suggests that married male testators often used inheritance to try and 'fix' their wives into widowhood. Widows were frequently required to act as custodians of family property and maintain the domestic order. Access to property was carefully controlled and various legal devices were used to give authority to the process and ensure that the estate was used by widows to care and provide for children in certain, carefully stipulated ways. In making these claims, the article argues that recent revisionist studies that have attempted to highlight the proprietorial autonomy of middle-class women in industrializing communities ignore the forces at work which constrained the free use of property by women at certain stages in the life course. The findings of the study are also used to highlight the ways in which middle-class men's uses of property were materially and ideologically 'constrained'.     

Congruence and incongruence in the perception of ‘family’ among foster parents,birth parents and their adolescent (foster) children

Over recent decades, listening to children's voices and viewing children as competent actors has gathered momentum in research as well as in practice. Acknowledging children's perspectives requires sensitive listeners who are willing, deliberately and as realistically as possible, to reconstruct children's ways of seeing. In our study, based in Norway, we investigated the views of 22 adolescents in long‐term foster care and 15 of their birth parents and 21 of their foster parents. Using Q methodology, we explored congruence and incongruence in the perception of ‘family’ among foster parents, birth parents and their adolescent (foster) children. We found three family perspectives among the adolescents. Within two of these perspectives, there seem to be more congruent understandings of the children's perspectives among the parent groups. We discuss some main implications in light of these findings. In Norway, as in many other countries, the policy of child welfare is that children first and foremost should grow up with their birth family. When out‐of‐home placements are necessary, a basic principle is that children should remain in contact with their birth family.     

Children's and young people's experiences in various residential arrangements: a longitudinal study to evaluate criteria for custody and residence decision making

Summary The child's welfare or the child's best interest is, in manycountries, the court's paramount consideration for determiningcustody and residence of a child after parental separation ordivorce. This longitudinal study evaluates the custody criterionchild's relationships and residence preferences. Based on aqualitative study design including interviews with childrenand parents, the experiences of 62 children of separated ordivorced parents in various residential arrangements are analysed.The main findings are: (i) a residential arrangement in accordancewith the child's relationships and residence preferences accordswith the child's welfare and represents a positive living situationwith loved people in the family and social environment; (ii)the personal relationships of the child are in no way static,but demonstrate a noticeable dynamic as they change under theinfluence of internal and external factors. Therefore a timelychange of residence, which occurs in accordance with the changedemotion preferences of the child, is beneficial; (iii) a residentialarrangement contrary to the child's relationships and residencepreferences represents for the child involved a difficult situation,which can lead to one of three different processes: adjustment,a trajectory of suffering or initiatives to change the livingsituation. This means that some children adjust, others experiencetrajectory processes of suffering, and those in the remainingcases act as competent social agents, who can autonomously representtheir own interests and pursue them in order to initiate orcontribute to a change of their residence. Findings of the studyare discussed, and suggestions are offered for substantive andprocedural laws to guarantee the child's welfare in custodyand residence settlements and for further research.     

Children against parents? The politics of intergenerational recalibration in Southern Europe

Traditionally, Southern European countries displayed remarkably elderly biased social policy arrangements. This article introduces the notion of intergenerational recalibration to capture reforms aimed at rebalancing the generational profile of Southern European welfare states via the expansion of family policy and social assistance schemes—both monetary benefits and care services—and retrenchment in the field of pensions. Then, it elaborates theoretically on the political dimension of this policy strategy, focusing on the implications of the peculiar combination of expansionary and retrenchment reforms, to advance the hypotheses that domestic politics would prevent the realization of such an agenda, whereas the latter would be favored by a major role of supranational actors, especially the European Union. To test these hypotheses, we systematically analyze policy trajectories in the field of pensions and social assistance in Italy and Spain between the mid‐1990s and 2016. This allows, first, to argue that investment in “pro‐children” measures has not adequately balanced the reduction of pro‐parents expenditure and, second, to question the idea that domestic political incentives to expand “pro‐children” policies are necessarily too weak as well as the “enabling” role of external pressures in pursuing intergenerational recalibration.     

Living conditions of women who experience violence from their partners: Norway and Australia comparisons

This article briefly explores the comparative ways in which the Australian and Norwegian welfare system supports women and children escaping violence, when they are seeking to become established independently. The two welfare systems are compared with regard to family structure, women and the labour market, women and income, support for crisis accommodation and housing, and child care. It demonstrates that Norway provides a more woman‐friendly welfare state.     

More than Just DNA – Tax,Welfare and the Family. An examination of the concept of family in the Tax Transfer system,with particular reference to family benefits

One of the core issues taken into account in tax transfer systems is the family circumstances of a particular recipient. Family tax transfer payments may be delivered through either the tax or the welfare system. However, the fundamental requirement is that there is a family, maintaining children. The concept of what is a family is a social rather than a legal construct. While marriage and spouse have legal definitions, family structures evolve and change over time. In this paper I explore the concept of family as it is used in the Australian income tax and welfare legislation. I consider the impact of the legislative construct of family on the entitlements to tax credits, and whether the definition of family is appropriate to ensure that the benefits improve the equity of the taxation system, and properly reflect the structure of the contemporary family unit.     

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.     

Ecological influences on parenting and child development

Summary The development of children and young people and their subsequentlife chances in adulthood are the product of a complex set ofinteracting factors, at individual, family and community levels.An ecological framework is used to examine the mutual influencesbetween the different systems that are important during childhood.The links between poverty and health and the influence of socialexclusion and structural inequalities on family and communityfunctioning are considered in some depth, utilizing findingsfrom a wide range of research disciplines, in different partsof the world. The identification, development and protectionof sources of informal social support, available to familiesliving in impoverished circumstances, are identified as keytasks for social workers and other welfare professionals. Togetherwith features of resiliency, found amongst children and familiescoping successfully in high-risk environments, this knowledgeis used to point the way towards features of effective, ecologicalassessment and intervention strategies.     

Service Utilization Patterns Among Adolescent Mothers Residing in Three-Generational Households

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study used in-depth interviews to better understand the social service experiences and identified needs of 26 demographically diverse adolescent mothers and their mothers, who resided together in three-generational households. Most dyads accessed community services, particularly parenting and emotional supports, financial and material assistance, and medical care, and desired short-term assistance related to their circumstances and newly expanded families, rather than long-term support. The most commonly identified barrier to service utilization involved income eligibility guidelines. In light of welfare reform policies and the current economic climate, this research underscores the need for transitional supports for families, including assistance with basic needs. In terms of implications for social work practice and future research, adolescent mothers may need formal supports as they pursue independence after they leave their mothers’ care. Future research could further explore, within other communities and longitudinally, whether these preliminary trends hold true.     

The Experiences of Frontline Staff Working with Children Seeking Asylum

The focus of this paper is welfare professionals’ accounts of their work with children who are seeking asylum. The empirical basis is a commissioned study of children seeking asylum in Wales. As well as qualitative research with children (which is not discussed in this paper), 62 professionals took part in interviews and focus groups. This sample included staff from social services, health, housing, education, police and the voluntary sector. Research findings are presented in relation to the experience of these frontline staff. We attempt to identify some of the sites of tension and the nature of the professional dilemmas, as well as discussing the potential for the exercise of discretion to be exercised. We conclude that there is very little room for manoeuvre within the asylum system for welfare professionals, but that there is evidence of questioning and even minor challenge of current policy from frontline staff. We discuss the extent to which the professional dilemmas raised by the asylum system are of a different order from those experienced throughout social welfare work.