Norwegian Child Welfare Managers’ perceptions of the impacts of COVID-19 infection control measures upon service functionality: A longitudinal study

Abstract

This article examines Norway’s child welfare service managers’ perceptions of infection control measures on service functionality. The longitudinal study entailed nine rounds of surveys (N = 153–214) with child welfare managers between April 2020 and September 2021, collected by the Norwegian Directorate for Children Youth and Family Affairs after the onset of the Norwegian lockdown of March 2020. The findings suggest links between the strictness of measures and ability of child welfare services to ensure appropriate service delivery. Lockdown caused significant difficulties for many municipalities, while milder measures had less impact. We discuss some implications for practice with children and families.