Child welfare practitioners’ perspectives on factors that promote, and hinder family reunification after out-of-home placement in Norway: a micro-meso systems analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article presents an exploratory multi-method qualitative study conducted in the Rogaland County of Norway in 2018 on child welfare practitioners’ perspectives on factors that promote and hinder family reunification after out-of-home placement. The study aimed to understand micro- and meso-level factors that pertain to children, parents and foster parents and their influence on family reunification decision outcomes after out-of-home placement from the perspective of child welfare practitioners. The study was guided by an interpretive and constructive framework and findings were analysed within an ecological systems model. The study employed both interviews and focus group discussion and adopted purposive and convenience nonprobability sampling techniques. Findings from the study pointed to the child, the parents and foster parents individually and collectively influencing reunification decision outcomes after out-of-home placement. Findings are relevant in understanding the complexities of influences on family reunification decision outcomes by child welfare practitioners and the county social welfare board.