Welfare Services Research Articles

Australian Non-Resident Fathers’ Relationship and Ongoing Engagement with Their Children: A Critical Focus on Power

Non-resident fathers are rarely researched from a critical perspective. Becoming a non-resident father often results in major dislocation, presenting challenges and hindrances to a meaningful relationship with children. Dislocation is increased by the involvement of the family court, legal issues, false abuse allegations, and ex-partners. Changing family configurations may marginalize non-resident fathers, with their own perspectives, voices, and lack of power remaining largely unmapped. This paper identifies what hinders non-resident fathers’ relationships with their children from a critical and Australian perspective. In-depth interviews using open-ended questions with 19 non-resident fathers were used to collect data, followed by a five-step critical thematic analysis to focus on the locus of power. Non-resident fathers’ perceptions included a lack of agency and decision-making power; the mother, legal obstacles, and agencies hindered their desired relationships with children. Hindrances were magnified by descriptions of false allegations and IPV from the ex-partner and/or her agents, resulting in a sense of marginalization, silencing, and disempowerment. Australian non-resident fathers in this study identified that desired relationships with their children were hindered by the roles of legal and welfare services, policing, and their ex-partners. The highlighting of these issues points to ways that non-resident fathers with similar experiences of a lack of agency and decision-making power might be better supported by more streamlined and balanced legal processes.

Competing language ideologies of health literacy

Abstract This article examines how ‘Sara’, a migrant woman living with a disability, narrates her experiences with Norway’s welfare and healthcare. Sara invokes a trope — tydelighet [clarity] — to describe successful communication styles in Norwegian institutional spaces. Through ethnographic investigation, I demonstrate how this trope indexes broader linguistic ideologies cycling through different levels of the Norwegian nation-state. To be able to communicate with clarity is linked to being a specific type of citizen-subject. On the one hand, Sara describes the sociopragmatic style of clarity as enabling access to healthcare and welfare services, stable employment, and speaker legitimacy. On the other hand, lack of clarity rationalizes inequalities in institutional spaces. I propose that this ideology has a racializing, gendering, and disabling function. The article offers insights into how language ideologies regulate Sara’s lived experience with health literacy to secure a healthy and employed life as a migrant with disability living in the welfare state.

Calibrating families: Data behaviourism and the new algorithmic logic

Abstract Family intervention is a long-established mechanism of state control, but recent technological developments are facilitating new regulatory capacities and objectives. This paper will explore how contemporary welfare policy interventions in the UK are converging around a technological solutionist ideology that centres family relationships as core instruments of social management. The last decade has seen a marked techno-administrative turn, with family/state relationships increasingly mediated through online portals and dashboards. Over the last few years this data-centric model has accelerated towards an algorithmic approach to governance through the incorporation of big data surveillance, predictive analytics and behavioural interventions to monitor and socially engineer populations. In this paper we draw on policy analysis and freedom of information requests to trace the embedding of data collection frameworks into apparently conventional family intervention programmes in the UK, and show how this “datification” was made into a core delivery tool. We also highlight how secrecy, or at the very least strategic silence, has restricted public knowledge of how and why data is being collected and used in the UK. We show how parents and children are being quantified and translated into datapoints to support new logics of choice manipulation, ceding unprecedented power to financiers, data analytic and social marketing companies, platform developers and big tech industries. The resulting financialization of family welfare services tracks the contours of longstanding social divisions, reconfiguring and in many cases compounding the injustices of race, class and gender. This algorithmic calibration of children and parents is extending the regulatory powers of the state far beyond previous efforts to govern and control poor families, with under-explored consequences for the principles of democracy and justice.

“Suffering in silence”: How social workers in child welfare practice experience and manage burnout

Social workers in child welfare practice encounter dilemmas, tensions, contradictions, ambiguities, and ambivalence as they attempt to meet the competing demands of the Tri-sphere — the formal child welfare system, the professional theories and values guiding practice, and the child welfare service recipients. This study explored how these encounters result in worker burnout and how that is managed. The study used a constructivist grounded theory approach. Data were collected in St. John’s, NL, Canada, employing in-depth individual interviews with 18 frontline child welfare social workers. Findings reveal that child welfare social workers regularly experience varied feelings and emotions of burnout and utilize a variety of self-care strategies to manage. Recommendations include a call for child welfare agencies to provide opportunities for workers to feel heard and acknowledged about any negative feelings and emotions, strengthen positive peer supports, and promote essential self-care practices such as offering reduced membership cost for physical activities.

Understanding the daily life needs of older public assistance recipient subgroups in Japan: A qualitative study.

Transition from individual-level treatment to social-level intervention should be made to improve peoples daily living conditions for reducing health inequality, which is a major global public health concern. Older public assistance recipients in Japan are socially vulnerable and require healthcare, long-term care, daily living, and social care support. Understanding the diverse daily living needs among public assistance recipient subgroups would prompt the development of novel support measures in the welfare sector. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the daily life needs of older recipient subgroups (segments) created quantitatively in our previous study. We interviewed four caseworkers at municipal welfare offices in 2021; the interview data were analyzed using a qualitative descriptive method to describe the daily life needs of the five older recipient segments for each sex. Five themes of daily life needs were demonstrated: i) housing, ii) financial, iii) welfare service, iv) healthcare, and v) no daily life needs. Consequently, we identified the daily life needs of some older recipient segments, indicating the necessity for support interventions. Future research would help interview other professionals from various backgrounds to further understand the daily life needs of older recipient segments.

북유럽 출소자의 갱생보호 프로그램 동향

The aim of the study is to make policy suggestions that are suitable for the situation of the Korea Rehabilitation Agency. Therefore, we compared and analyzed the domestic Rehabilitation Policy with advanced North European countries, and derived shortcomings and improvements of the Korea Rehabilitation Agency. As a result, regarding the improvements for the domestic Rehabilitation Policy, first, it is necessary to actively utilize Nordic Rehabilitation policies to solve problems related to addiction and mental illness. Second, actively implementing empathy-building programs such as prison experience programs or camps with peers is needed. Third, we suggest strengthening the willingness for social adaptation by incorporating a motivation reinforcement program (MI) into prior counseling. Fourth, through the procedure of the program certification system, we propose to benchmark advanced programs that have been proven effective in reducing recidivism. Fifth, it is crucial to strengthen the expertise of employees and volunteers who are performing rehabilitation protection tasks by providing systematic and specialized education. Sixth, in order to effectively help released prisoners return to society and manage them professionally and systematically, the scope of social welfare services should be expanded to released prisoners and their families.

Who thinks ideologically about welfare state reform? Partisanship and attitude consistency in politicians’ and mass public perceptions about the consequences of welfare service privatization in Sweden

When studying attitudes toward the welfare state or evaluations of welfare reforms, research has tended to focus on what people think rather than how they think about specific issues. Moreover, the effects of the mobilizing efforts of political parties on attitudes and belief systems are often theorized separately from the normative institutional feedback effects common to the welfare state literature. In this paper, I propose that elite political rhetoric and institutional norms may exert dual pressures leading to partisan differences in the propensity to think ideologically among the mass public, defined as a positive relationship between holding internally consistent attitudes and taking a partisan issue position. Drawing on the case of welfare service privatization in Sweden, I point out how the rhetoric of the right – emphasizing choice and private property – frequently contradicts norms about universality long espoused by the Swedish welfare state, while the rhetoric of the left – emphasizing equality of access and outcomes – is better aligned with such institutional norms. The analysis of survey data demonstrated that centre-right sympathizers, the prime receivers of conflicting elite versus institutional messages, frequently took a middling position, being neither positive nor negative, to the consequences of welfare service privatization, and that, unlike centre-right politicians and sympathizers and politicians of left parties, this position did not differ according to attitude consistency. Furthermore, political interest enhanced this relationship among right sympathizers but was of little consequence to left sympathizers, implying that in the case of a conflict between institutional norms and political rhetoric, only the most attentive sympathizers are likely to engage in ideological thinking on the basis of partisanship.

Effects of air temperatures on acacia and chestnut honey yields: case study in Italy

Global honey production is increasing.In Italy, the two predominant monovarietal honey types are acacia and chestnut . Climate change, with an increase in extreme weather events (including droughts, heat waves and late frosts), impacts both the phenology of melliferous species andhoneybee activity. The aim of this study was to correlate the honey yields of acacia and chestnut in five Italian climatic sub-regions with the thermal extremes during the flowering phases of the two melliferous species.The objective was to understand the impact that these parameters have on yields.The results highlighted differing impacts of thermal extremes on honey yields for acacia and chestnut, respectively . In the acacia, temperature below 4.3C° in the flowering period had a negative impact particularly in the North-West (P<0.01). Instead temperatures above 17.5C° impacted positively in North Italy. In contrast, for chestnut, temperatures above 23.5C° negatively affected honey yields in the North-West. Understanding the interaction between climate, melliferous species and bees is useful for beekeepers towards developing adaptation strategies to climate change with the aim of protecting the yields, income, animal welfare and ecosystem services.

The Role of Resilience as a Mediating Factor between Adverse Childhood Experience and Mental Health in Adolescents Receiving Child Welfare Services in Nova Scotia

The Role of Resilience as a Mediating Factor between Adverse Childhood Experience and Mental Health in Adolescents Receiving Child Welfare Services in Nova Scotia

Implementing the Place-Train Approach in Train-Place Services: Organizational Culture and Supported Employment

Supported employment (SE) is increasingly implemented in employment services worldwide. The disruptive character of SE, involving a shift from ‘train-place’ to ‘place-train’ models of vocational rehabilitation, has led to growing recognition of implementation challenges and problems that negatively influence service efficacy and employment outcomes.This article enriches existing literature by presenting a theoretical framework that conceptualizes how organizational culture within public employment services can impact SE implementation. The argument is illustrated with cases from the Norwegian Employment and Welfare Service (NAV). Organizational culture plays a crucial role in shaping employee actions, behaviors, and foundational assumptions, which in turn influence local interpretations and applications of SE. Using Yin’s (2018) ‘embedded single case study’ method, our research concentrates on various units of analysis within a singular case. Our findings underscore the importance of considering organizational culture and context, acknowledging SE’s disruptive nature, and recognizing the nonlinear dynamics of implementation processes.

Perceptions, barriers, and facilitators of cannabis screening during pregnancy and labor: A qualitative study

BackgroundCannabis is the most commonly used federally illicit substance during pregnancy. Yet, little is known about women’s lived experiences of being screened for cannabis use during pregnancy. ObjectiveTo explore perceptions of cannabis use during pregnancy and childbirth, including experiences of being screened for cannabis use during the intrapartum period. MethodsWe conducted a phenomenological qualitative study using semi-structured, online interviews with 16 English-speaking women who gave birth at a U.S. hospital within the past three months. After transcription of interview recordings, two coders analyzed data using inductive thematic analysis. We also generated descriptive statistics for sociodemographic characteristics and cannabis use behaviors. FindingsMost participants were 25–34 years of age (75 %, n=12), Black (75.00 %. n=12), and had less than a bachelor’s degree (68.75 %, n=14). Participants reported low-risk perceptions of cannabis use during pregnancy and often used cannabis to alleviate mental health conditions and pain during pregnancy and childbirth. Women reported mixed perceptions of harm, using cannabis as a medicine and because they were addicted, being fearful of disclosing cannabis use due to potential involvement of child welfare and protective services, and perceiving negative provider communication a barrier to disclosing cannabis use. ConclusionsFindings underscore the importance of patient education about adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes of prenatal cannabis use, regardless of whether disclosure occurs. To facilitate disclosure of use, close attention should be paid to verbal and non-verbal communication when screening and counseling women during pregnancy and childbirth. Additional studies are needed to further examine patient-provider cannabis-related communication, with a focus on identifying discriminatory behaviors and practices resulting in health inequities.

Co-producing an intervention to prevent mental health problems in children and young people in contact with child welfare services

BackgroundChildren and young people (CYP) in contact with child welfare services are at high risk of developing mental health problems. There is a paucity of evidenced-based preventative interventions provided to this population.ObjectiveThis project worked in partnership with CYP, their parents/caregivers and the professionals who support them to co-produce a preventative mental health intervention for CYP in contact with child welfare services.Participants and settingWe recruited a purposive sample of CYP in contact with child welfare services (n = 23), parents/caregivers (n = 18) and practitioners working within child welfare services and mental health services (n = 25) from the North East of England and convened co-production workshops (n = 4).MethodsThis project followed the established principles for intervention development, applying the six steps to quality intervention development (6SQUID) approach. The mixed method research consisted of four work packages with continuous engagement of stakeholders throughout the project. These were: a systematic review of reviews; focus groups with practitioners; interviews with parents/caregivers and CYP; co-production workshops.ResultsWe identified that the primary risk factor affecting CYP in contact with child welfare services is the experience of childhood adversity. The quality of relationships that the CYP experiences with both their parent/caregivers and the professionals involved in their care are considered to be the main factors amenable to change.ConclusionsWe found that a trauma-informed, activity-based intervention with an embedded family-focused component provided to CYP who have experienced adversity is most likely to prevent mental health problems in those in contact with child welfare services.

Mental Health and Parenting Practices and Styles Among Parents Receiving Child Welfare Services in Norway: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Mental Health and Parenting Practices and Styles Among Parents Receiving Child Welfare Services in Norway: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Thinking beyond the stomach: Fixing social work’s food aid provision in displaced environments

This brief note underscores the negative consequences of food aid monotony to mealtime dynamics among war-affected internally displaced families. The article argues that this is rooted in an unethical food aid practice in which social work agencies naively dole out the same food items over a period of time. Caused by monotonic diets, the meal table witnesses poor family commensal activities. Social welfare services have to think ‘beyond the stomach’ and reinvent their food assistance. The article therefore contributes by addressing food aid issues within social work practice and social care policy and urges those responsible to do better.

Collective co-production of health and care services – a systematic review of research from the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway

This article reviews all published English-language articles concerning collective co-production of welfare services in the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway, which are countries representing different welfare regimes. The review identifies facilitators for collective co-production and inductively identifies four themes that are important for successful collective co-production: (1) the motivation individuals have for engaging in collective co-production, (2) the institutional contextual conditions for co-production, (3) the relational conditions for co-production, and (4) the facilitation of different effects of co-production. No studies have investigated why public sector entities or voluntary sector organisations choose to engage in co-production, and we lack studies that compare sectors with different institutional settings.

Socioeconomic and psychosocial outcomes of parents with children in out-of-home care: A scoping review

Families involved with child welfare services (CWS) often diverge systematically from the general population. They are more likely to live in challenging circumstances characterised by adverse socioeconomic conditions (e.g. poverty) and psychosocial adversities (e.g. mental health problems and substance misuse). Past research has primarily focused on the development and lifelong health and social outcomes of children who have experienced out-of-home care (OHC). However, the separation could also trigger negative emotions and other changes in parents, but much less attention has been paid to the associations between children’s placement and parents’ lives.This scoping review synthesises results from quantitative studies investigating the socioeconomic and psychosocial outcomes of parents who have experienced the removal of a child into OHC. Six databases were comprehensively searched, with 15 studies selected for inclusion in the review. Studies were conducted among countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with substantial heterogeneity in the methods and designs, as grouped into three categories: “cross-sectional assessments” (4 studies), “longitudinal assessments” (7 studies) and “pre-post assessment” (4 studies).To a large extent, studies focus on psychosocial outcomes among mothers. The majority indicate that having a child placed in OHC is associated with the deterioration of psychosocial or socioeconomic outcomes among parents. We may conclude that parents who have experienced the removal of a child are a group that deserves tailored support and counselling. However, further quantitative research into aspects of parents’ lives after children’s OHC placement is needed, particularly with longitudinal designs and more rigorous methods to enable a better understanding of the causes and effects of these associations. This might support the development of targeted and effective interventions for these families.

Civil society and governance. A survey of local authority and NPO collaboration from an institutional perspective

ABSTRACT There is a renewed interest in third sector organizations with hope for contributions to systems of new public governance and welfare services. This study is based on a survey to the local authorities in Sweden and aims to analyze how collaboration between public and third sector organizations occurs at the local level. A special focus for the study is idea-driven public partnerships (IOPs). The results indicate that collaboration mainly occurs outside of the core fields of welfare and also that the national level agreements set standards to be used in especially the larger local authorities who are more in need of formalized policies to handle the local relations. The institutionalized collaborative relations are diverse and mainly meant to promote a thriving third sector for its democratic values, but there are also certain welfare fields with less local remit such as sports, leisure time activities, and homelessness where NPOs are not crowded out by the public sector. Collaboration with IOPs are more common in larger local authorities and places with a larger proportion of immigrants.

CaseAIM: child welfare workers’ experiences using information and communication technology for case management services

ABSTRACT The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance child welfare services provides innovative tools and support for child welfare workers to manage caseloads effectively. This study used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand case managers’ experiences with the CaseAIM mobile app, a tool that supports workload efficiency through documentation, case access, support, and transportation. Thematic analysis of interviews (n=11) revealed four domains of experiences with CaseAIM: time management, increased engagement with children and families, improved case management support, and challenges. Findings yield implications for agencies introducing new technologies into their workforce.

Towards an integrative approach of healthcare: implementing positive health in three cases in the Netherlands

BackgroundThe healthcare system is under tremendous pressure. One possible solution towards relieving some of this pressure is to use Positive Health, which takes ‘health’ as a starting point, rather than ‘illness’. Positive Health provides opportunities for stimulating integrated care.MethodsThree cases in the Netherlands are studied in this paper. Their way of working with Positive Health is investigated through semi-structured and narrative interviews, using realist-evaluation and thematic analyses.ResultsSeven ‘working elements’ are identified that enhance the chances of successfully implementing Positive Health in practice (part 1). The interviews show that healthcare professionals have noticed that people adopt a healthier lifestyle and gain a greater degree of control over their own health. This boosts job satisfaction for healthcare professionals too. The organisations and professionals involved are enthusiastic about working with Positive Health, but still experience barriers (part 2).ConclusionsThe results of this study imply that implementing Positive Health in practice can facilitate collaboration between organisations and professionals from different disciplines, such as healthcare, welfare, and municipal health services. Operating from the perspective of a shared goal, professionals from different disciplines will find it easier to jointly organise activities to foster citizens’ health. Additionally, more attention is paid to non-medical problems affecting people’s well-being, such as loneliness or financial problems.

Housing the poor? Accessibility and exclusion in the local housing systems of Vienna and Milan

AbstractDespite featuring very different housing systems, both in Vienna and Milan a growing number of people struggle to access affordable and decent housing. Even though social housing policies are in place in both contexts, for many the unregulated and often unaffordable private housing market is the only option. Building upon Antonio Tosi’s work, we centre our analysis on the poor and compare how two very different local housing systems create the conditions for their inclusion or exclusion. Through a comparative analysis of the Viennese and Milanese local housing regimes and adopting a mixed methodology, we discuss how both generate conditions of exclusion and who the ones excluded are, which local policies address the poor and how appropriate these are for mitigating housing exclusion. Finally, we indicate some directions for policies aimed at tackling the intersections of poverty and housing exclusion, advocating for a maximization of the ‘sociality’ of housing policies, involving a shift in prioritisation from the middle classes to the most vulnerable groups and the loosening of certain formal access requirements to housing or welfare services that constitute barriers to these groups, where possible.