“They seem to listen more now I have an advocate”: a study into the implementation of parental advocacy in Wales
This study used interviews, surveys and focus groups to obtain qualitative data from 18 parents, seven parent advocates, two advocacy managers and four social workers, to explore the potential impact of parental advocacy on decision-making. The study identified challenges in implementing parental advocacy, particularly relating to awareness of the service. Participants also discussed experiences of the child protection system and how parents are supported by advocates.Despite challenges surrounding implementation, initial findings were encouraging, and generated examples of how parental advocacy services have helped parent...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - April 15, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Lilly Evans Samantha Fitz-Symonds Fiona Long Louise Roberts Clive Diaz Shane Powell Source Type: research
Secure futures? A mixed methods study on opportunities for helping young people referred to secure children ’s homes for welfare reasons
Secure futures? A mixed methods study on opportunities for helping young people referred to secure children’s homes for welfare reasons Annie Williams, Hannah Bayfield, Martin Elliott, Jennifer Lyttleton-Smith, Honor Young, Rhiannon Evans, Sara Long Journal of Children's Services, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- Using a mixed methodology comprising interviews, case file analysis and descriptive statistics, this study aims to examine the experiences of all 43 young people in Wales subject to secure accommodation orders between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2018.Children in the UK aged 10–17 years who are...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - March 5, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Annie Williams Hannah Bayfield Martin Elliott Jennifer Lyttleton-Smith Honor Young Rhiannon Evans Sara Long Source Type: research
Exploring participation and engagement in a multi-component, universal early parenting programme
This study aims to assess parent engagement and retention in the parent and infant (PIN) programme – a universal, multi-component intervention designed to support parents from birth to when their children reach two years of age. The programme can be tailored to parent/community needs but also includes standardised core elements including two Incredible Years parenting programmes. Programme provider perspectives on recruiting and supporting participation were also explored.A mixed methods study was conducted involving parents (n = 106) and programme providers involved in the PIN programme. Logistic regression analyses wer...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - February 1, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Gr áinne Hickey Yvonne Leckey Sinead McGilloway Source Type: research
Shipping containers and speed boats: exploring the contexts and relational spaces professionals navigate to safeguard young people from criminal exploitation
Kristine Langhoff, Michelle Lefevre, Rachel Larkin Journal of Children's Services, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- This paper aims to present a mixed methods study of child criminal exploitation (CCE), particularly in the form of “county lines”, in three local authorities in southeast England. The data is analysed using a framework constructed from two relevant contextual and relational theories to understand experiences of CCE and the safeguarding responses undertaken to protect young people from harm.Data were drawn from a survey (n = 118); interviews (n = 5) and focus groups (n = 15) with professional...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - January 30, 2024 Category: Child Development Authors: Kristine Langhoff Michelle Lefevre Rachel Larkin Source Type: research
“It’s hard because it’s something new”: challenges for forcibly displaced parents upon resettlement
Nikita Rao, Jessica Kumar, Erin A. Weeks, Shannon Self-Brown, Cathleen E. Willging, Mary Helen O'Connor, Daniel J. Whitaker Journal of Children's Services, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- Parent–child relationships formed in early childhood have profound implications for a child’s development and serve as a determinant for bio-social outcomes in adulthood. Positive parenting behaviors play a strong role in this development and are especially impactful during times of crisis because they buffer stressors that may lead to externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Children of forced migrants experience num...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - December 23, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Nikita Rao Jessica Kumar Erin A. Weeks Shannon Self-Brown Cathleen E. Willging Mary Helen O'Connor Daniel J. Whitaker Source Type: research
Adolescents ’ perspectives on SSWs’ counselling practice in Swedish elementary schools: “plumb the depths and navigate to shore”
This study aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of adolescent’s experiences of individual school social work counselling in Swedish elementary schools.The study encompasses interviews with 16 adolescents about their experiences of individual counselling with school social workers (SSWs). The data was analysed using conventional content analysis.The main result was the adolescents’ desire “to navigate to shore” to speak freely about their whole lives with a professional SSW and find a “ safe haven,” […] where a trusting professional cared for and comforted them in counselling. The counselling contact con...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - December 14, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Maria Kjellgren Sara Lilliehorn Urban Markstr öm Source Type: research
Peer parental advocacy: a narrative review of the literature
Richard Devine, Katy Benson, Samantha Fitz-Symonds, David Westlake, Katie Campbell, Clive Diaz Journal of Children's Services, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the current state of literature on peer parental advocacy, offering practical insights and ideas for researchers and practitioners interested in this evolving field.This narrative review is a comprehensive, critical and objective analysis of the current knowledge on peer parental advocacy.Parental peer advocacy (PPA) has seen growing interest, with increasing research detailing the benefits and challen...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - October 23, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Richard Devine Katy Benson Samantha Fitz-Symonds David Westlake Katie Campbell Clive Diaz Source Type: research
“Friendly, local and welcoming” – evaluation of a community mental health early intervention service
This study aims to evaluate a new service model that promotes early-intervention through a community based low-intensity Hub.Clinical data from 2,384 young people were analysed through within-group, pre- and post-comparisons and qualitative survey, and interview data was analysed through content analysis.Overall, participants reported that they were highly satisfied with the Hub and the low-intensity brief interventions met their needs. Participants reported that learning new skills, having a place to talk and positive therapeutic relationships were beneficial. The Hub appeared to be less successful for young people with c...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - August 4, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Sarah Louise Parry Zarah Eve Vasileios Stamou Alice Brockway Daniela Di Basilio Source Type: research
From “intimate-insider” to “relative-outsider”: an autoethnographic account of undertaking social work research in one’s own “backyard”
This study aims to explore the challenges of being simultaneously “intimate insider” and “relative outsider” whilst undertaking an ethnography into a statutory child protection team. As a novice researcher seeking to explore a world of which he was already part, ethnography was considered the most suitable means for exploring child protection social workers’ discretion. However, by subscribing to binary notions of “insider” and “outsider” at the commencement of the study, the author underplayed the dilemma of reconciling friendships with his researcher role, as well as the barriers that his more junior or...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - August 3, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Ciar án Murphy Source Type: research
Effective child well-being practices, barriers and priority actions: survey findings from service providers and policymakers in 22 countries during COVID-19
This study seeks to inform resilience-enabling policies and practices that foster equity, child and community empowerment and organisational resilience and innovation, particularly in anticipation of future crises.Using a novel approach to gather in-the-moment insights remotely, this study offers a unique international and multi-sectoral perspective, particularly from low- and middle-income countries. (Source: Journal of Children's Services)
Source: Journal of Children's Services - July 25, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Dimitar Karadzhov Graham Wilson Sophie Shields Erin Lux Jennifer C. Davidson Source Type: research
Child First and the end of ‘bifurcation’ in youth justice?
This study aims to critically evaluate the trajectory of the “Child First” guiding principle for youth justice in England and Wales, which challenges adult-centric constructions of children (when they offend) as “threatening” and asserts a range of theoretical and principled assumptions about the nature of childhood and children’s evolving capacity.Focussing on how Child First seeks to transcend the socio-historically bifurcated (polarised/dichotomised) thinking and models/strategies/frameworks of youth justice, this study examines the extent and nature of this binary thinking and its historical and contemporary ...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - July 3, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Stephen Case Roger Smith Source Type: research
Why are there higher rates of children looked after in Wales?
Helen Ruth Hodges, Jonathan Scourfield Journal of Children's Services, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- The purpose of this paper is to consider some possible reasons for the relatively high rate in Wales of children looked after by local authorities.Selected potential explanations for Wales having higher rates were tested against aggregate data from published 2021 Government statistics. Wales was compared with England and English regions for area deprivation, local authority spending, placements at home and kinship foster care. Descriptive statistics were produced, and linear regression was used where approp...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - June 29, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Helen Ruth Hodges Jonathan Scourfield Source Type: research
The “PERSPECS” principles: early action and migrant children with no recourse to public funds
Andrew Jolly Journal of Children's Services, Vol. ahead-of-print, No. ahead-of-print, pp.- This paper aims to make the case for early action approaches with migrant families, introducing a set of principles for practice, mapped against the Professional Capabilities Framework for social work and the Social Work England professional standards.The paper first explores the context of social work with migrant families, outlining the challenges and gaps in our conceptual understanding of this work. The paper then introduces a conceptual model of work with migrant families which draws on the literature from social work and allie...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - May 31, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Andrew Jolly Source Type: research
Changes in the YLS/CMI risk inventory scores as predictors of MST behavioral treatment goals
This study aims to investigate outcomes of multisystemic therapy (MST) using the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) – part I.This study, using a pre-post design, included a sample of 2,123 Norwegian youths (mean age = 14.7, SD = 1.34). The MST team supervisors assessed the YLS/CMI risk factors in addition to five behavioral treatment goals (Lives at home, Attends school/work, No violence/threats, Law-abiding and Drug-free) before and after treatment. In addition, data included responses from parent interviews six months post treatment.Significant correlations were found between the total and dyn...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - May 17, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Silje Sommer Hukkelberg Terje G. Ogden Knut Taraldsen Source Type: research
Participation patterns in elementary school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders and their typically developing peers
This study aims to investigate the differences in participation patterns between children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and children with typical development (TD) in Jordan.The study used a cross-sectional comparative design and convenient and snowball sampling. The sample consisted of 60 children (30 ASD and 30 TD), mean age (nine years), who completed the Children’s Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment and the Preferences for Activities of Children (CAPE/PAC) via interview. Analyses consisted of descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U tests.Children with ASD had significantly lower participation Diversity...
Source: Journal of Children's Services - May 9, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Noor Ismael Khader Almhdawi Ala ’a Jaber Saddam Kana'an Sana'a Al Shlool Source Type: research
