The emotional encounter with child welfare services: the importance of incorporating the emotional perspective in parents' encounters with child welfare workers

The child welfare service (CWS) in Norway represents a growing field. In 2011 about 52,000 children received help. Families mainly received supportive services in their homes while around 8000 children were taken into the custody of the CWS. Although most actions taken by the CWS are deemed to be supportive and have the consent of the parents, many parents find being assessed by the CWS to be distressing, and there is a widespread feeling that there is a stigma attached to receiving help from the CWS. This article discusses the importance of parents' emotions, and how these emotions can influence their cooperation with the CWS by using the concepts of recognition and trust. The data are based on analyses of 385 interviews with parents in which they describe their emotional encounters with the CWS. The results show that certain emotions can create a barrier between the family's need for assistance and the CWS's actions and initiatives. The article concludes by discussing how the emotional encounter challenges child welfare practice.