Children’s quest for love and professional child protection work: the case of Norway.

Abstract

Central actors in the child protection field in Norway argue that children in public care should not only receive care and support, but also love. It is hard to disagree that children need love. However, there is reason to question the situation that may arise if children's need for love is translated into requirements that must be safeguarded and handled by child protection workers in the child protection services. In this article, I analyse this 'requirement of love' both with regard to the increased focus on children's rights in discussions on children's life conditions and to the history of the professionalisation of social work; having the gendered features of social work and its partial professionalisation in mind. Due to the challenges this requirement represents, there may be good reasons to revisit the debates on care and care work among feminists who have theorised care as work within professional contexts. I try to show how the field of social work and child protection may utilise the critical potential in care feminist thinking by connecting it to their own emphasis on emotional awareness and knowledge of self as a prerequisite for professional child protection work.

The significance of love in relation to looked-after children and child sexual exploitation

“…Indeed, Jacono (1993) suggests that due to a lack of societal comprehension and uneasiness around love, the terms 'care' and 'relational' become a euphemism for 'love', and these alternative terms are seen to dilute the emotional meanings attributed. The importance of love for young people is undeniable (Neumann, 2016), especially those who have experienced family breakdown and live in Care. The need for love is not lost once removed from a family (Lausten and Frederiksen, 2016); in fact, it invariably becomes more important.…”

Challenges and dilemmas working with high‐conflict families in child protection casework

“…Empowering interventions and strength‐based approaches highlight professionals' ability to empower parents, build trust, and give positive feedback to overcome parental resistance and to help parents handle future situations more effectively (Forrester et al, ; Stevens, ). As Neumann () says, social workers are responsible for making the therapeutic relationship with their client function well.…”

Barnevernet – velferdsstatens romantiske effektiviseringsprosjekt

“…Akademiske bidrag til diskusjonen om kjaerlighetens rolle i offentlige byråkratier har kommet i ulike tapninger (Neuman, Olsvold og Thagaard, 2016;Neumann, 2012Neumann, , 2016Thrana, 2013Thrana, , 2014Thrana, , 2016Økland og Sørsdal, 2020). Thrana, som vi siterte ovenfor, har forsøkt å begrunne at kjaerligheten bør ha en mer sentral plass i sosialfaglig arbeid, og at kvaliteten på tjenestene lider under at det er for lite av den.…”