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Perspectives on being a father from men involved with child welfare services
Author(s) -
Cameron Gary,
Coady Nick,
Hoy Sandy
Publication year - 2014
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/j.1365-2206.2012.00876.x
Subject(s) - welfare , perception , focus group , service provider , developmental psychology , psychology , service (business) , welfare system , social psychology , sociology , political science , business , anthropology , law , marketing , neuroscience
Fathers can make positive contributions to their children's well‐being. However, involving the literature and this research indicate that fathers are much less likely to be engaged with child welfare services than mothers. This paper reports the findings of life story research with 18 fathers involved with child welfare. It focuses on these men's perspectives of fatherhood and their relationships with their children. Also, reactions to these fatherhood stories from father and service provider focus groups are examined. The findings challenge common perceptions of these fathers and highlight similarities and differences in perspectives between fathers and service providers. Implications for engaging fathers in child welfare practice are discussed.