Displaying 11 - 20 of 82
ABSTRACT
In 2017 the Danish Parliament considered introducing baby hatches in Denmark and asked the authors to investigate the extent and causes of child abandonment and various practices and services in relation to prevention of child abandonment in Denmark and other high-income countries. We conducted a literature study and interviewed experts from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Poland, Austria, the UK, and the US. In addition, this article presents original data on child abandonment in Denmark based on a media search and information from…
Abstract
This paper examines the discretionary reasoning of the judiciary in three jurisdictions, England, Germany and Norway, in cases deciding whether a newborn child is safe with her parents or intervention is necessary. Our analysis focuses on one specific dimension of decision makers' exercise of discretion, namely, if and how the strengths and weaknesses of the mother are considered. The data material consists of all decisions concerning care orders of newborns from one large city in Germany from 2015 to 2017 (n = 27) and 2016 in Norway (n = 76) and all…
In February 2020 the COVID-19 virus started to spread in Europe. Since then our economies, societies, and daily lives have been turned upside down. This report reflects on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on children. It compiles information gathered from 25 countries across Europe, and provides recommendations for improving public policies in the short and long-term to support better outcomes for children and families. The assessment is accompanied by reflections on the 2020 European Semester. This report is based on information gathered until August/September 2020, and was released…
Abstract
Background
The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on the situation and well-being of children and their families, while simultaneously affecting the ability of welfare services for children and youth to support vulnerable families. As measures of contact restrictions were introduced to contain the virus, and schools and childcare facilities closed, the potential risk to child welfare could hardly be overlooked.
Objectives
Focusing on Germany, this article aims to explore some of the effects of the COVID-19 measures on children and families. Furthermore, it…
In this article, the authors describe the short and long term ramifications of the pandemic for children and youth living in their residential programs in Germany under the auspices of municipal child and youth services.
Abstract
This case study explores the arriving process of an unaccompanied minor refugee in Germany and his perception of the psychosocial support he received. The aim is to elaborate possibilities to support refugee adolescents' arrival processes adequately. Two interviews—theme‐centered and narrative—were conducted and afterwards examined by a group of five researchers who used experts' validation as the analyzing tool. Four main dimensions were identified contributing to the complex dynamics in psychosocial work with unaccompanied minor refugees: (a) the distinct need for self‐…
Introduction
Out-of-home care, especially treatment residential care programs (TRC) are often described in the media, and even in some professional studies, as obsolete social structures (Consensus Statement, 2014). Residential care settings are out-of-home facilities such as educational youth villages and educational, therapeutic, or rehabilitation residential treatment centers (Grupper, 2013). Their aim is to provide education, treatment, rehabilitation or protection for children and youth, including those at risk and others, to protect these young people and work toward making a…
Abstract
To combat inequality at its root, in many countries family and parenting support programmes have been developed and implemented to assist families in creating stimulating home learning environments for their children. Practitioners working in these programmes are often confronted with highly complex, changing, and diverse work environments. However a clear description of the competencies these practitioners need to be successful does not currently exist. We conducted a qualitative case study and obtained in-depth knowledge about the necessary professional competencies from the…
Abstract: This article analyzes developments in the forms of social work with young refugees and the legal framing of such work in Germany from 1990 to the present. In particular, it addresses the reactions of politicians and the child and youth welfare system to the sharp rise in the number of refugees in 2015 and 2016, and the concomitant significant increase in the number of unaccompanied minor refugees. It underlines the need for an approach based on children’s rights, and the necessity for social workers, especially those involved in helping youth, to resist the policies of deterrence…
Child poverty in Europe was already unacceptably high before the COVID-19 virus outbreak. In 2018, one in four children in the European Union (EU) were already growing up at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The crisis has had devastating consequences for people across the continent and the evidence from this paper shows that children and their families have been further disadvantaged during the pandemic.
The financial pressure on families, the impact of the closure of services on children’s lives, the online education inequality and the impact of the crisis on refugee and migrant…