Single Moms, absent Dads: neglecting fathers and burdening mothers in social work practice with separated families

Family practice with fathers, social care, and capabilities

“…Other questions may require methodologies that have not been previously used or have been used to a limited extent. Intrafamilial relationality can be accounted for using methodologies that focus on relationships rather than on individuals, such as dyadic research; organizational aspects of father engagement are best understood using organizational research methods, as have been done to a limited extent using ethnographies (Critchley, 2021;Perez-Vaisvidovsky et al, 2023a, 2023b. Specifically, there is a substantial lack in the use of macro-oriented methodologies, as demonstrated above.…”

“…Ethnographic methodology allowed Critchley (2021) to assess procedures and work norms, alongside perceptions and views of social workers, in the process of the exclusion of fathers. Perez-Vaisvidovsky et al (2023a, 2023b) also used an organizational ethnography to identify connections between worker beliefs, structure, and culture.…”

“…Works that focus on relational aspects, specifically on the effect of promoting father engagement on mothers, arrive at opposing conclusions. Featherstone (2010) stresses the dangers that a focus on father engagement poses to writing mothers out; Strega et al (2008) highlight the risks of fathers' exclusion for mothers (see also Perez-Vaisvidovsky et al, 2023b). These opposing conclusions demonstrate the need for further research, which will be relationality-oriented and theory-led.…”