Child and Family Social Work, 22(S3), 2017, pp.1-9.
Publisher:
Wiley
Providing educative help at home means that professionals have to enter into the intimacy of families and share daily tasks often for a long time. Family support workers spend many hours alongside parents, helping them with their domestic and parenting tasks. This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study in which the researcher notes and gathers personal accounts relating to material and non-material exchanges between professionals and parents. It analyses the various forms of exchanges between families and family support workers that are permitted, tolerated or excluded by employers. It shows the informal side of professionals working with parents at home.
(Publisher abstract)
Providing educative help at home means that professionals have to enter into the intimacy of families and share daily tasks often for a long time. Family support workers spend many hours alongside parents, helping them with their domestic and parenting tasks. This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study in which the researcher notes and gathers personal accounts relating to material and non-material exchanges between professionals and parents. It analyses the various forms of exchanges between families and family support workers that are permitted, tolerated or excluded by employers. It shows the informal side of professionals working with parents at home.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
family support, staff-user relationships, parents, staff;
Adoption and Fostering, 18(3), Autumn 1994, pp.17-20.
Publisher:
Sage
Describes a pilot project which looks at the different approaches adopted by English and French social workers in their child protection work, and in particular to how they work 'in partnership' with parents.
Describes a pilot project which looks at the different approaches adopted by English and French social workers in their child protection work, and in particular to how they work 'in partnership' with parents.
Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 37(4), December 2012, pp.315-323.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
A study conducted in France, Belgium and Germany investigated what type of information prospective parents need for decision-making about continuing or terminating a pregnancy in the case of a condition predisposing to intellectual disability. 33 parents whose young or adult children had an intellectual disability were recruited through self-help groups, and took part in semi-structured interviews covering discovery of the syndrome, parenting practices, moral feelings regarding the child's behaviour, and personal dimensions of the experience of having such a child. Data analysis focusing on decision-making highlighted the importance of 3 types of information: the foetus as a future child and individual person, the couple as future parents, and the social environment of the future child and his or her parents and its capacity to support them. The article discusses these categories of information in relation to the decisions the interviewees retrospectively considered they would have made had they known about their child's syndrome at a prenatal stage. It includes quotations from participants. The authors conclude that their findings demonstrate that prospective parents' essential
A study conducted in France, Belgium and Germany investigated what type of information prospective parents need for decision-making about continuing or terminating a pregnancy in the case of a condition predisposing to intellectual disability. 33 parents whose young or adult children had an intellectual disability were recruited through self-help groups, and took part in semi-structured interviews covering discovery of the syndrome, parenting practices, moral feelings regarding the child's behaviour, and personal dimensions of the experience of having such a child. Data analysis focusing on decision-making highlighted the importance of 3 types of information: the foetus as a future child and individual person, the couple as future parents, and the social environment of the future child and his or her parents and its capacity to support them. The article discusses these categories of information in relation to the decisions the interviewees retrospectively considered they would have made had they known about their child's syndrome at a prenatal stage. It includes quotations from participants. The authors conclude that their findings demonstrate that prospective parents' essential information needs are not limited to medical information.
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Publication year:
1997
Pagination:
47p.
Place of publication:
London
Report of a conference on child protection services attended by practitioners from the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Germany. Aims to increase awareness of European models of practice, which tend to be centred around the family as a whole, and do not separate child protection from family support and juvenile justice, and to debate issues around the balance between care and control.
Report of a conference on child protection services attended by practitioners from the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Germany. Aims to increase awareness of European models of practice, which tend to be centred around the family as a whole, and do not separate child protection from family support and juvenile justice, and to debate issues around the balance between care and control.
Subject terms:
parents, social policy, child protection, children, families;
Child and Family Social Work, 25(S1), 2020, pp.107-115.
Publisher:
Wiley
Several studies have analysed the parent–professional relationship in the field of child protection. Although social workers tend to privilege interviews when working with families and view them as a means through which to build ties, few studies have focused on these interviews. To analyse how professionals and parents position themselves, the authors chose to focus on the content of these interviews and on the associated interactions. To this end, they recorded 13 parent–professional interviews after receiving the consent of the concerned parties. After analysing the interviews, the authors asked volunteer social workers and parents to analyse their own recorded interviews. Their results confirm the asymmetric nature of the parent–professional relationship. They show that professionals' viewpoints carry more weight than those of parents. They also underscore professionals' lack of openness and the strategies parents implement to cope with this power imbalance. Lastly, the authors' results open new avenues for reflection on the evolution of practices that may enable professionals to better take into account families' viewpoints.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Several studies have analysed the parent–professional relationship in the field of child protection. Although social workers tend to privilege interviews when working with families and view them as a means through which to build ties, few studies have focused on these interviews. To analyse how professionals and parents position themselves, the authors chose to focus on the content of these interviews and on the associated interactions. To this end, they recorded 13 parent–professional interviews after receiving the consent of the concerned parties. After analysing the interviews, the authors asked volunteer social workers and parents to analyse their own recorded interviews. Their results confirm the asymmetric nature of the parent–professional relationship. They show that professionals' viewpoints carry more weight than those of parents. They also underscore professionals' lack of openness and the strategies parents implement to cope with this power imbalance. Lastly, the authors' results open new avenues for reflection on the evolution of practices that may enable professionals to better take into account families' viewpoints.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
interviewing, child protection, parents, social workers, family support, social worker-service user relationships;
Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 40(2), 2015, pp.156-166.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Background: Raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) implies significant stress levels and changes in family functioning. Most studies deal with parental difficulties, whereas those focusing on parental self-reported support needs related to ASD are fewer, especially in France. The objective was to explore in a French sample the needs of parents of children with ASD so as to provide recommendations for support.
Method: Parents were interviewed (N = 162, including 84 controls), and content analysis was performed from parental responses.
Results: Six dimensions of need emerged: material, information, guidance, daily management, relational support, and emotional support. Needs priorities were different for parents with a child with ASD involving the transmission of knowledge and skills as well as emotional and relational support.
Conclusions: This study highlights the need to develop support programmes focused on the needs of the parents that reflect educational, behavioural, and psychological dimensions.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Background: Raising a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) implies significant stress levels and changes in family functioning. Most studies deal with parental difficulties, whereas those focusing on parental self-reported support needs related to ASD are fewer, especially in France. The objective was to explore in a French sample the needs of parents of children with ASD so as to provide recommendations for support.
Method: Parents were interviewed (N = 162, including 84 controls), and content analysis was performed from parental responses.
Results: Six dimensions of need emerged: material, information, guidance, daily management, relational support, and emotional support. Needs priorities were different for parents with a child with ASD involving the transmission of knowledge and skills as well as emotional and relational support.
Conclusions: This study highlights the need to develop support programmes focused on the needs of the parents that reflect educational, behavioural, and psychological dimensions.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
needs assessment, parents, children, autistic spectrum conditions, family support, autism;
Families, Relationships and Societies, 2(2), 2013, pp.159-174.
Publisher:
Policy Press
Place of publication:
Bristol
This article explores parenting support as a field of social policy in Europe by comparing developments in England, France, Germany and Italy. The results suggest cross-national diversity and a need to differentiate between parental support for more general family purposes and measures oriented to teach parents particular skills in childraising. Comparatively, England has by far the most extensive architecture of services to engage with parents and is set apart from the other countries also in terms of the extent to which 'support' means intervention to (re) skill or (re)train parents through standardised parenting programmes. Elsewhere, 'support' has deeper roots in education for family and social life and interventions tend to be more tailored and home-grown. However, despite varying philosophies of child and family welfare, they all show evidence of a move in the direction of greater state engagement with how parents rear their children and their competence in this role.
(Publisher abstract)
This article explores parenting support as a field of social policy in Europe by comparing developments in England, France, Germany and Italy. The results suggest cross-national diversity and a need to differentiate between parental support for more general family purposes and measures oriented to teach parents particular skills in childraising. Comparatively, England has by far the most extensive architecture of services to engage with parents and is set apart from the other countries also in terms of the extent to which 'support' means intervention to (re) skill or (re)train parents through standardised parenting programmes. Elsewhere, 'support' has deeper roots in education for family and social life and interventions tend to be more tailored and home-grown. However, despite varying philosophies of child and family welfare, they all show evidence of a move in the direction of greater state engagement with how parents rear their children and their competence in this role.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
comparative studies, parenting, parental skills training, social policy, intervention, parents;
Child: Care, Health and Development, 40(1), 2014, pp.106-114.
Publisher:
Wiley
Background: Bad health news is difficult to communicate, especially when parents must give bad news to their children.
Methods: We had 170 lay persons, 33 nurses and six physicians in Toulouse, France, judge the appropriateness of the parents’ behaviour in 64 scenarios of parents dealing with this problem. The scenarios were composed according to a four within-subject orthogonal design: child's or Minimize’ (16%, with an older average age), ‘Tell the Truth Except in Cases of Incurable Illness’ (22%) and ‘Depends on Child's Characteristics’ (29%).
Conclusions: Physicians in training and in practice need to be aware that lay people – and likely parents as well – have diverse and complex opinions about when and how parents should give bad health news to their children.
(Publisher abstract)
Background: Bad health news is difficult to communicate, especially when parents must give bad news to their children.
Methods: We had 170 lay persons, 33 nurses and six physicians in Toulouse, France, judge the appropriateness of the parents’ behaviour in 64 scenarios of parents dealing with this problem. The scenarios were composed according to a four within-subject orthogonal design: child's age (4, 6, 8 or 10), severity of disease (lethal or worrisome but curable), child's concern or not about his illness and parents’ decision about communicating the news (tell nothing, minimize, tell the truth or ask the physician to tell the truth).
Results: Cluster analysis revealed four clusters, labelled ‘Always Tell the Truth’ (33%, including a majority of doctors and nurses), ‘Tell Nothing or Minimize’ (16%, with an older average age), ‘Tell the Truth Except in Cases of Incurable Illness’ (22%) and ‘Depends on Child's Characteristics’ (29%).
Conclusions: Physicians in training and in practice need to be aware that lay people – and likely parents as well – have diverse and complex opinions about when and how parents should give bad health news to their children.
(Publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
communication, children, parents, health professionals, attitudes, physical illness;
BODDY Janet, et al, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX. Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth
Publisher:
Nuffield Foundation
Publication year:
2013
Pagination:
12
Place of publication:
London
There are 65,520 looked-after children in England, many of whom will return to their families, either permanently or temporarily. But even those children who do not return will remain in contact with their families in some capacity. ‘Contact’ is a deceptively simple term for the complex process of negotiating ongoing relationships not only with a child’s parents, but also siblings and extended
(Edited publisher abstract)
There are 65,520 looked-after children in England, many of whom will return to their families, either permanently or temporarily. But even those children who do not return will remain in contact with their families in some capacity. ‘Contact’ is a deceptively simple term for the complex process of negotiating ongoing relationships not only with a child’s parents, but also siblings and extended networks, whether or not that is to support a return home. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, this is an analysis how four different European countries work with the families of looked-after children after they have been taken into care. Researchers at the University of Sussex examined both theory and practice in this area of children's services in England, Denmark, the Netherlands and France. This briefing paper provides a summary of the findings, in which the objective was to identify areas for shared learning in order to inform policy and practice in England. Across the four countries, work with families of children placed away from home was consistently described as a difficult and neglected area of work. Although policy in all four countries refers to work with families when children are in care, little is said about how parent and family involvement might be achieved in practice.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
looked after children, contact, families, parents, childrens social care, comparative studies, case studies;
BODDY Janet, et al, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX. Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth
Publishers:
Nuffield Foundation, University of Sussex. Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth
Publication year:
2013
Pagination:
52
Place of publication:
Brighton
... about how parent and family involvement might be achieved in practice. The research highlighted an ambivalence about working with parents, usually resulting from the potential risk to the child of family involvement. Caution was expressed that children’s rights, needs and best interests should not be supplanted by a focus on parents’ rights. However, the research does identify different ways
(Edited publisher abstract)
There are 65,520 looked-after children in England, many of whom will return to their families, either permanently or temporarily. But even those children who do not return will remain in contact with their families in some capacity. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, this is an analysis how four different European countries work with the families of looked-after children after they have been taken into care. Researchers at the University of Sussex examined both theory and practice in this area of children's services in England, Denmark, the Netherlands and France. The overarching objective of the research was to identify areas for shared learning, with the potential to inform policy and practice development in England, through a ‘state of play’ analysis of parallel country case studies involving triangulation of perspectives and sources within and between countries. The report notes that populations of ‘looked after’ children vary considerably across the four countries in the study. The Netherlands and Denmark have the highest rates of children in placements, with rates of over 100 per 10,000 children under 18 years. The rate in France is 93 per 10,000 young people under 18 years of age. England has the lowest rate of looked after children (56 per 10,000) overall and the highest proportion of children in foster care. Across the four countries, work with families of children placed away from home was consistently described as a difficult and neglected area of practice. Although policy in all four countries refers to work with families when children are in care, little is said about how parent and family involvement might be achieved in practice. The research highlighted an ambivalence about working with parents, usually resulting from the potential risk to the child of family involvement. Caution was expressed that children’s rights, needs and best interests should not be supplanted by a focus on parents’ rights. However, the research does identify different ways in which each country facilitates family involvement while children are in care. One example is the Danish framing of child-family contact as ‘being together’ (samvær), which emphasises parents’ involvement in children’s everyday lives and worlds. Intervention to address the problems that led to placement, and to support work towards return home, was seen as a key focus for work with families in all four countries.
(Edited publisher abstract)
Subject terms:
looked after children, contact, families, parents, childrens social care, comparative studies, case studies;