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Child welfare workers' views of fathers in risk assessment and planned interventions, a comparison between E nglish and N orwegian workers
Author(s) -
Skramstad Heidi,
Skivenes Marit
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
child and family social work
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.912
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-2206
pISSN - 1356-7500
DOI - 10.1111/cfs.12220
Subject(s) - vignette , welfare , girl , psychological intervention , context (archaeology) , ideology , psychology , social psychology , developmental psychology , sociology , psychiatry , political science , geography , archaeology , politics , law
In a comparison of 53 child welfare workers' risk assessment based on a vignette case about a 9‐year‐old girl, less than one‐third of the child welfare workers in E ngland and N orway, intended to work with fathers. Only 28% and 14%, respectively, suggested involving the stepfather, in spite that, the vignette said he lived with the girl and her mother. The invisible fathers in child welfare have been well documented, but fathers and stepfathers in particular, were surprisingly invisible in the N orwegian context, known for its strong focus on gender equality and institutionalized support for the father role. The child welfare workers seemed to prefer working with the mother and other professional agencies, rather than involving the father(s) and other family members. Although this may reflect the reality of families within child welfare, they are in contrast with the prevailing family ideology and practices in the society at large, both in E ngland and in N orway.