FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES: TYPES OF SERVICES RENDERED BY SOCIAL WORKERS TO AT-RISK FAMILIES

Marianne Strydom

doi:10.15270/48-4-26

Abstract

Family preservation services are considered essential in order to avoid the removal of children from their families. In accordance with South African legislation and policy documents, social workers at family welfare organisations must focus on family preservation services in order to prevent children being placed in foster care. Theoretically family preservation services consist of different types of services, namely family support services, family-centred services and intensive family preservation services, or crisis services. In this article the different types of services will be discussed with reference to policy documents. The services delivered by social workers in the context of family preservation are reviewed.

Highlights

According to the literature (Tracy, 1995:980), family preservation services are rendered in order to keep children safe in their families by stabilising the crisis situation that might necessitate removal
The nature or extent of the family-centred family preservation services that are delivered to families by social workers at family welfare organisations
As policy documents indicate that family preservation services should be rendered, respondents were asked to describe their understanding of the term “family preservation services”, so that their perspective could be determined

Summary

Introduction

According to the literature (Tracy, 1995:980), family preservation services are rendered in order to keep children safe in their families by stabilising the crisis situation that might necessitate removal. Social services are delivered with the aim of increasing the family’s coping skills by inter alia strengthening family bonds, as well as facilitating the family’s utilisation of formal and informal resources; some authors (Al, Stams, Bek, Damen, Asscher & Van der Laan, 2012; Ryan & Schuerman, 2004:347) maintain that this would improve the functioning of the family These services must first focus on preventative services, on therapeutic services and on statutory services (Tracy, 1995:980). To distinguish between different types of services this article will utilise the exposition of the Child Welfare League of America as described in Standards for Service to Strengthen and Preserve Families with Children (1989) This exposition is still regarded as relevant in literature (Pecora et al, 1995; Tracy, 437 1995) and is consistent with Norman’s (1985) exposition of the nature of family preservation services which should be rendered to families, as described by Berry (1997:79).

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