立足现实·展望愿景·寻求突破——“上海困境儿童保护研讨会”综述

在困境儿童伤害事故频发之际,上海社会科学院青少年研究所等机构联合召开国内首次以困境儿童命名的"上海困境儿童保护"研讨会,深入探讨上海困境儿童现状、既有政府保障措施和当前儿童保护法存在的弊端,展望困境儿童保护的未来愿景,包括履行国家责任、制定儿童福利法和成立儿童局等,力图寻求上海在困境儿童保护中可能的突破口,如以地方性政策和项目推进立法、完善家庭政策,建立社区家庭服务中心以及推进社会管理,发挥社会组织功能等。     

近30年来残障儿童立法政策综述

残障儿童作为儿童中的特殊群体,其生活、医疗、康复、教育等方面更需国家立法政策给予强力的保障与支持。通过对近30多年来残障儿童立法政策的梳理,发现残障儿童立法政策已形成以残障预防为前提,以医疗救助、康复治疗、特殊教育与全纳教育为主体内容的保护体系,并且已延伸至满足残障儿童生活、社会参与、文化、维权等多方位的残障儿童福利需求当中。     

中国儿童保护制度建设论纲

推进公权力对家庭育儿过程的干预,积极预防和有效应对家庭内的儿童虐待问题,是儿童保护制度的重要价值追求,也是现代国家的共同努力。中国在政治上高度重视儿童保护,并在法律层面为儿童保护制度的实践提供了基本框架,但儿童保护的相关法律规定不够健全、具体、可操作,儿童保护制度缺乏相应的社会政策与服务基础,缺乏有力的组织机构保障。我国儿童保护制度的发展,要在不断健全法制、强化组织机构的同时,致力于建立健全面向儿童及其家庭的监护监督制度、监护支持制度、监护替代制度等国家监护制度,发展并完善一系列儿童保护服务,全面落实国家之于儿童的监护责任。     

我国儿童权利保护立法现状及展望

近些年来,有关儿童权利受侵害的案件日益增多,严重侵犯了儿童的权利,对我国儿童的身体和心理健康发展造成了巨大的危害。本文以分析我国儿童权利保护立法现状,概括总结了我国立法模式中存在的问题,并对我国儿童权利保护的立法发展方向提出了可行性建议。     

优化儿童成长环境是社会的重要责任——“儿童成长环境与社会责任”理论研讨会综述

儿童健康成长是中国社会的重要责任,当前,儿童成长环境中还存在一些不利于儿童成长的客观因素,比如家庭过度教育问题、教育机制导向问题、儿童安全问题、青少年犯罪及立法问题等。因此,必须加强儿童工作的力度,切实落实相关政策,为儿童的健康成长提供有利的保护。习近平总书记在2013年“六·一”前夕以一个大朋友身份来到北京市少年宫,向全国儿童祝贺节日的同时,勉励儿童既要学习书本知识,又要多学课外知识;既要勤于思考,又要培养创造精神。以此为契机,上海社会科学院青少年研究所举办了“儿童成长环境与社会责任”研讨会．就以上问题展开热烈讨论,并提出具体策略以供相关部门参考。     

近十五年中国儿童福利研究述评

本文对我国近十五年关于儿童福利研究的论文进行了梳理,总结了相关研究的发展趋势、主要研究内容及存在问题。通童福利的历史研究等。我国儿童福利研究存在的不足主要是:关于儿童福利基本理论问题研究有待加强;儿童福利政策对儿童心理需求关注较少;对女童福利的研究严重缺乏;很少从儿童福利的角度认识教育的重要作用。     

“儿童之家”建设的执行差距成因探究——基于制度分析的视角

“儿童之家”建设作为新时代中国儿童福利制度的一项创新实践，发展已有十余年历史。评估数据显示，儿童之家建设的数量和效果与政策目标存有较大差距。本文从制度分析视角出发，以“制度环境”与“执行结构”为关键解释变量，考察了相关政策的执行过程，揭示了儿童之家建设执行差距的主要原因：制度环境方面的问题主要体现为行政性政策的模糊性和执行性政策的缺位；执行结构方面的问题主要包括执行主体单一化、执行方式线性化、执行人员缺乏意义共识，以及执行资源脱嵌于儿童福利制度环境等。针对这些结构性问题，本文从转变福利理念、完善福利政策体系、优化政策执行结构等方面提出了推动儿童之家建设与儿童福利制度整体发展的相关建议。     

从《儿童权利公约》的视角看中国儿童保护立法

本文就儿童保护立法在四个方面与《儿童权利公约》进行了比较，包括儿童保护的基本原则、家庭环境和替代措施、紧急状态下的儿童的保护以及受侵害儿童的康复和重返社会问题。通过比较，指出了国内立法与公约之间的差距，对形成这些立法空白在主客观方面的原因进行分析，并就这些立法空白提出立法建言。     

美国的儿童保护体系及其启示

美国以国家亲权为法律基础,出台了预防和应对儿童虐待的相关法律,在联邦、州和地方政府成立了儿童保护职能部门,制定了服务于儿童与家庭的工作流程。当前我国的儿童保护工作存在着强制举报制度缺乏、监护权法律不健全、儿童长期安置渠道不畅的困境,借鉴美国经验,我国应通过健全法律法规、建立专门政府机构、建设社区儿童服务中心等措施来完善儿童保护体系。     

日本儿童福利政策的发展变迁

为所有儿童提供一个安心、安全,能最大程度实现自我和社会参与的健康成长环境是儿童福利的核心部分,而儿童福利政策则是实现上述目标的政策保障。本文以日本儿童福利政策的发展变迁为纵轴,分析梳理20世纪90年代日本儿童福利政策从“补缺型”向“普惠型”、从“儿童福利”向“儿童、家庭福利”、从“救助、保护”向“自立支援”转变的背景和主要内容．为我国儿童福利体系发展提供拳者视点．     

Child protection policy perspectives and reform of Australian legislation

Legislative responsibility for child protection has become a major theme in the international human rights arena and a major policy issue within early childhood education and care. This paper examines child protection policy and legislation in Australia and measures that are being employed to safeguard children and childhood within contexts that are seen as increasingly risky. Juxtaposing perspectives on child protection and child liberation, it examines the protective responsibilities speci?ed in legislation in the context of predominantly adult agendas. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reframing child protection: A response to a constant crisis of confidence in child protection

Child protection systems appear to be in a continual crisis of confidence. They get criticised for not doing enough to protect some children, whilst at the same time being criticised for being too intrusive or not managing demand. This constant balancing act drives almost continual reforms, none of which appear to reduce further crises of confidence. The central issue facing tertiary child protection systems stems from their function as makers of sometimes highly uncertain risk screening decisions. Uncertainty leads to errors; false positives and false negatives. Two recurring issues challenging child protection agencies are concerns about these errors. Fears about doing too much are concerns about false positives and fears of doing too little are concerns about false negatives. The need to address both issues within the context of uncertain high stakes decision making, in a highly risk intolerant environment leads to poorly formed sentinel event driven policy that in turn leads to organisational fragility. A decision outcome-based performance model based on Signal Detection Theory provides indicators that explicitly outline the link between these two strategic issues facing child protection systems. This has improved dialogue, understanding and support from sponsors. It has led an informed focus on improving decision making and stabilisation of decision thresholds. It demonstrates that Child protection systems are in fact very responsive and do perform well in their decision making (risk screening) function. Social work decision makers provide value in their decision making in spite of highly uncertain decisions to make. Child protection systems do not need reform, they need to be “reframed” to better understand true performance and so avoid poorly informed reactive policy responses to the genuine challenges that they face.     

Negotiating stigma: Understanding mothers' responses to accusations of child neglect

Current child protective service policies encourage family preservation and reunification. Yet little is known about how mothers accused of child neglect experience being labeled neglectful or how this influences compliance with child protective services (CPS) service plans. This paper reports the results of a case study of mothers' perceptions of being labeled neglectful. Drawing on symbolic interactionist theories of identity, interviews with sixteen mothers and sixteen child protective service caseworkers, and content analysis of interview data obtained, this paper describes the strategies mothers employ to resist the stigma of being labeled a neglectful mother, strategies that ultimately put them at odds with child protection goals. Findings suggest that mothers' identity preservation and maintenance have powerful implications for CPS policy.     

‘Cultivating our humanity’ in child and family social work in England

The goal of the social work reform process was to provide a generic framework and single professional body within a broad conception of generic social work. However, debates about the role and nature of social work continue to exist. This paper explores whether contemporary child and family social work is inclined at times to make use of a less humane social work practice with families and children. The policy context and the culture of child and family social work are considered. Implications for social work education are identified. The key message of this paper is twofold. There is a tendency in contemporary child and family social work to become synonymous with a particular version of child protection. The type of child protection adopted tends to be authoritarian with at times a limited consideration of the humanity of parents and adult carers in particular.     

Child Protection Workers’ Perceptions of Foster Carers and the Foster Care System: A Study in Queensland

Abstract

Child protection workers are key players in the statutory system for the protection of children and young people. For this reason, their perceptions of the operation of the system are important. This study, conducted in Queensland, Australia, explored the views of child protection workers regarding foster carers and the foster care system. The present study revealed the difficulties the child protection workers encountered in engaging with foster carers. These difficulties were due to the structure of the child protection system and the conflicts experienced by workers in balancing the needs of children and young people, their primary clients and the carers of those children and young people. Several recommendations for policy and practice are made.     

Financial Abuse of Older People by Family Members: Views and Experiences of Older Australians and their Family Members

Abstract

Risk assessment in child protection services has been promoted as the most reliable way to ensure that maltreatment to children is prevented and has become central to practice with children and families. However, recent research in Australia has suggested that children are being left in unsafe situations, leading to further maltreatment, by the very agencies responsible for their protection. The present article explores the reasons why child protection has become central to child protection practice and presents a wide ranging critical appraisal of risk assessment and its application. It is argued that risk assessment is a flawed process and, as a central tenet of practice, is implicated in any problems that children's protective services face. Consequently, any future reconfiguration of services for children in need of protection needs to include a re-evaluation of the efficacy of risk assessment.     

Complex families and equality in child support obligations: A comparative policy analysis

Family complexity creates difficulties for child support policy. We examine whether policy in 14 countries results in nonresident parents having equal financial obligations to children in different complex family situations. We find that when a nonresident parent owes support to two nonresident children in different families, the most common policy is to have unequal obligations favoring the older child. However, nearly as many countries achieve equal orders, but do so by reducing the obligation to the older child. When a nonresident parent has one nonresident child and a new resident child, the most common strategy is to reduce the obligation to the older nonresident child, but to make no attempt to equalize obligations for both children. Each of the four main policy strategies we identify has advantages; tradeoffs among three principles of equality, affordability of obligations and protecting the first child's standard of living are discussed.     

The Role of Carers and Caseworkers in the School-to-work Transition of Young People in Care

Abstract

How young people in State care decide upon future careers, and the support offered for this process by carers and child protection caseworkers, has received little research attention. This qualitative study sought the views of young people in care, foster and kinship carers, and child protection caseworkers about career development for in-care youth. We found young people were thinking about career options but encountered a safety driven, acute casework approach, which sidelined education and work planning. Career development was not viewed as a caseworker responsibility, and, by default, was primarily developed by carers. The study highlights the need for a greater focus on the transition to adulthood and the inclusion of career development in policy and practice development.     

Case Reading as a Practice and Training Intervention in Domestic Violence and Child Protection

This article explores the role of a case-reading tool, developed by the Safe and Together Institute, deployed across five Australian states, and which engaged workers from child protection (CP) and specialist domestic and family violence (DFV) services. It aimed to assess the extent to which DFV is identified in CP case files and to assess the quality of case practice from a DFV-informed perspective, as documented in the case file. The Safe and Together approach to child welfare provides a robust foundation upon which practitioners from statutory and nonstatutory backgrounds can work collaboratively and reach consensus about how best to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children living with DFV. The case reading is both a process of transformative working for practitioners and an analytical tool through which their agencies can affect systemic change.

IMPLICATIONS

• A national audit of 20 child protection case files using the Safe and Together case-reading process indicated that documented child protection practice sits at the lower end of a domestic and family violence-informed Continuum of Practice.

• Analysis indicates a need to improve: child protection engagement with fathers who use DFV, assessments of their parenting role and its impact on children and family functioning; identification of adult survivors’ protective capacities and their impact on children.

• Research in this area may have broader implications for other professions and government policy both nationally and internationally.