Publikationen
Parental involvement and children’s participation in decision making over time
Liel, Christoph/Witte, Susanne/Kindler, Heinz
Parental involvement and children’s participation in decision making over time. Results from the analyses of case files in Germany.
Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) Zürich "The 8th Biennial International Symposium on Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work (DARE conference)." 20.06.2024
Background: In recent decades, the societal view of the family has changed considerably. Demands of parenthood, the involvement of both, mothers and fathers, and the awareness of children's rights have become more important (Taraban & Shaw, 2018). However, it is sometimes unclear whether decision-making practices in social work sufficiently reflect this shift in the prevailing family ideology. For child protection practice, this includes involving both parents, e.g. by assessing risk of harm and offering support, and especially children, e.g. by informing, asking, and listening to them. Discussions about practical issues of children's participation have also increased (Tunestveit, 2021). Objectives: We assessed whether the change in policy also led to a change in child protection practice in relation to parental involvement and children’s participation. Methods: We analyzed 703 case files from a specialized child protection unit over three decades (1985 to 2014) particularly in terms of documented contacts, risk factors, and recommendations in mothers and fathers. Participation of children was measured according to the model of meaningful participation of Bouma et al. (2018). Bivariate correlations and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influence of time on contact frequency, parental risk assessment and support recommendation, and child participation. We also included important child and case characteristics as control variables. Findings: There is a significant increase in the contact frequency to all family members over the three decades (r = 0.22*** for mothers, r = 0.20*** for fathers, r = 0.37*** for children). Professionals had a higher contact frequency with mothers than fathers. This gender difference increased over time (r = 0.09*). Growing numbers of documented risk factors from 1985 to 2014 were found in mothers (r = 0.12**) and fathers (r = 0.13***), growing numbers of documented support recommendations only in mothers (r = 13***). The difference in documented support recommendations between mothers and fathers increased over time (r = 0.10*). For children, only 36.7 % were found to have at least one form of participation regarding to the model of Bouma et al. (2018). This proportion increased to 52.8 % in 2014. Across all decades, older age and a high number of contacts with the child increased the likelihood of children's participation. However, the effect of time remains significant. Conclusions: The results show an increase in contacts with all family members and especially in children’s participation likely due changes in societal family ideology. However, almost half of the children were not involved in decision-making processes. There is still a gap between the involvement of mothers and fathers. It still seems challenging to assess the risk of harm in both parents and to recommend indicated support. Nevertheless, it is essential to consider the whole family when including the children’s point of view in child protection decision-making.
Parental involvement and children’s participation in decision making over time. Results from the analyses of case files in Germany.
Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) Zürich "The 8th Biennial International Symposium on Decisions, Assessment, Risk and Evidence in Social Work (DARE conference)." 20.06.2024
Background: In recent decades, the societal view of the family has changed considerably. Demands of parenthood, the involvement of both, mothers and fathers, and the awareness of children's rights have become more important (Taraban & Shaw, 2018). However, it is sometimes unclear whether decision-making practices in social work sufficiently reflect this shift in the prevailing family ideology. For child protection practice, this includes involving both parents, e.g. by assessing risk of harm and offering support, and especially children, e.g. by informing, asking, and listening to them. Discussions about practical issues of children's participation have also increased (Tunestveit, 2021). Objectives: We assessed whether the change in policy also led to a change in child protection practice in relation to parental involvement and children’s participation. Methods: We analyzed 703 case files from a specialized child protection unit over three decades (1985 to 2014) particularly in terms of documented contacts, risk factors, and recommendations in mothers and fathers. Participation of children was measured according to the model of meaningful participation of Bouma et al. (2018). Bivariate correlations and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the influence of time on contact frequency, parental risk assessment and support recommendation, and child participation. We also included important child and case characteristics as control variables. Findings: There is a significant increase in the contact frequency to all family members over the three decades (r = 0.22*** for mothers, r = 0.20*** for fathers, r = 0.37*** for children). Professionals had a higher contact frequency with mothers than fathers. This gender difference increased over time (r = 0.09*). Growing numbers of documented risk factors from 1985 to 2014 were found in mothers (r = 0.12**) and fathers (r = 0.13***), growing numbers of documented support recommendations only in mothers (r = 13***). The difference in documented support recommendations between mothers and fathers increased over time (r = 0.10*). For children, only 36.7 % were found to have at least one form of participation regarding to the model of Bouma et al. (2018). This proportion increased to 52.8 % in 2014. Across all decades, older age and a high number of contacts with the child increased the likelihood of children's participation. However, the effect of time remains significant. Conclusions: The results show an increase in contacts with all family members and especially in children’s participation likely due changes in societal family ideology. However, almost half of the children were not involved in decision-making processes. There is still a gap between the involvement of mothers and fathers. It still seems challenging to assess the risk of harm in both parents and to recommend indicated support. Nevertheless, it is essential to consider the whole family when including the children’s point of view in child protection decision-making.
