Beyond Contact? Policy approaches to work with families of looked after children in four European countries

Boddy, Janet; Statham, June; Danielsen, Inge; Geurts, Esther; Join‐Lambert, Hélène; Euillet, Sévèrine

doi:10.1111/chso.12068

Cited by 15 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Boddy et al 2014;Lonne et al 2009) ii Ribbens McCarthy et al used capitals to denote 'Adult' and 'Child' to refer to socially structured and generalised moral positions in which individuals are placed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Troubling Children’s Families: Who Is Troubled and Why? Approaches to Inter-Cultural Dialogue

McCarthy

Gillies

2017

Sociological Research Online

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This article draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives to consider the need and the possibilities for intercultural dialogue concerning families that may be seen by some to be 'troubling'. Starting from the premise that 'troubles' are a 'normal' part of children's family lives, we consider the boundary between 'normal' troubles and troubles that are troubling (whether to family members or others). Such troubling families potentially indicate an intervention to prevent harm to less powerful family members (notably children). On what basis can such decisions be made in children's family lives, how can this question be answered across diverse cultural contexts, and are all answers inevitably subject to uncertainty? Such questions arguably re-frame and broaden existing debates about 'child maltreatment' across diverse cultural contexts. Beyond recognizing power dynamics, material inequalities, and historical and contemporary colonialism, we argue that attempts to answer the question on an empirical basis risk a form of neo-colonialism, since values inevitably permeate research and knowledge claims. We briefly exemplify such difficulties, examining psychological studies of childrearing in China, and the application of neuroscience to early childhood interventions in the UK. Turning to issues of values and moral relativism, we also question the possibility of an objective moral standard that avoids cultural imperialism, but ask whether cultural relativism is the only alternative position available. Here we briefly explore other possibilities in the space between 'facile' universalism and 'lazy' relativism (Jullien, 2008(Jullien, /2014. Such approaches bring into focus core philosophical and cultural questions about the possibilities for 'happiness', and for what it means to be a 'person', living in the social world.Throughout, we centralize theoretical and conceptual issues, drawing on the work of Jullien (2008Jullien ( /2014 to recognize the immense complexities inter-cultural dialogue entails in terms of language and communication.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Troubling Children’s Families: Who Is Troubled and Why? Approaches to Inter-Cultural Dialogue

McCarthy

Gillies

2017

Sociological Research Online

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“…Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the focus of Beyond Contact was on work with families of children who live in placements away from their birth parents, through voluntary or court ordered arrangements, commonly referred to as "in care." The research examined policy approaches to work with birth families in four countries-England, Denmark, France, and the Netherlandschosen to exemplify different welfare approaches and systems for work with children in care and their families (see Boddy et al, 2013Boddy et al, , 2014. The aim was to identify areas for shared learning with the potential to inform policy and practice development in England.…”

Section: Beyond Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Troubling Meanings of “Family” for Young People Who Have Been in Care: From Policy to Lived Experience

Boddy

2018

Journal of Family Issues

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This article seeks to trouble the concept of “family” for young people who have been in out-of-home care, by reflecting on the continuing significance (and troubles) of family relationships beyond childhood. The analysis draws on two cross-national studies in Europe: Beyond Contact, which examined policies and systems for work with families of children in care, and Against All Odds?, a qualitative longitudinal study of young adults who have been in care. Policy discourses that reify and instrumentalize the concept of family—for example, through the language of “contact,” “reunification,” and “permanence”—neglect the complex temporality of “family” for young people who have been in care, negotiated and practiced across time and in multiple (and changing) care contexts, and forming part of complex, dynamic and relational identities, and understandings of “belonging” for young adults who have been in care.

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“…These laws create a duty for institutions to involve parents in service decisions, to give them more rights as service users, especially highlighting the right to being informed, but without clearly indicating how this involvement is conceived or should be practiced (Join-Lambert, 2013;Boddy et al, 2014). In some places, such as schools or residential settings for children with special needs, parents are now represented in 'councils'.…”

Section: Parenting Support Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental Involvement and Multi-Agency Support Services for High-Need Families in France

Join‐Lambert¹

2016

Social Policy & Society

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This article examines developments in parenting and family support services in France. Drawing on qualitative empirical studies, the article considers two types of initiatives ‒ the Programmes for Educational Success (PRE) and parenting interventions delivered alongside child protection services. Both of these services are examples of new types of parenting and family support interventions in the French context targeted at ‘children at risk’, seeking to address and prevent problems of educational underachievement, youth offending, poor health in children and young people and child neglect and maltreatment. The article critically reviews tensions between principles of more responsive, partnership-based family support and more prescriptive parenting education and family interventions. Drawing on empirical findings, the article examines frontline practice and professional‒family relationships, highlighting the significance of ‘parental involvement’ practice and conflicting professional and parental perspectives about children's needs, family support and professional–client relationships

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Beyond Contact? Policy approaches to work with families of looked after children in four European countries

Cited by 15 publications

References 3 publications

Troubling Children’s Families: Who Is Troubled and Why? Approaches to Inter-Cultural Dialogue

Troubling Children’s Families: Who Is Troubled and Why? Approaches to Inter-Cultural Dialogue

Troubling Meanings of “Family” for Young People Who Have Been in Care: From Policy to Lived Experience

Parental Involvement and Multi-Agency Support Services for High-Need Families in France

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