Who suspects and reports child maltreatment to Social Services in Sweden? Is there a reliable mandatory reporting process?

Cocozza, Madeleine; Gustafsson, Per A.; Sydsjö, Gunilla

doi:10.1080/13691450701317996

Cited by 12 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…Many of the parents reported that public authorities like schools, kindergartens and the police referred their cases routinely to the CWS, but research from a number of countries indicates that professionals often abstain from their duty of reporting (Cocozza et al, 2007;Gilbert et al, 2009). The reasons for under-reporting includes inadequate training and limited awareness of signs of maltreatment or of reporting procedures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…A review of child protection referrals and minority ethnic children and families (Chand & Thoburn, 2006) revealed that available research is either contradictory or insufficient to provide strong evidence that a particular ethnic group is more or less likely to be referred to the CWS under a specific abuse category. In countries where the process operates within a family-service organisation, assistance can also be given when a family asks for help, leading to a variety of reasons for entering the system (Cocozza, Gustafsson, & Sydsjö, 2007).…”

Section: Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

When the Norwegian child-welfare services get involved: parents making sense of referrals

Studsrød

Ellingsen

Willumsen

2015

European Journal of Social Work

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There is limited research exploring parents' views and understanding of referrals to the child-welfare services (CWS). This study explores parents' understanding of the circumstances leading to a child-welfare referral, and their understanding of the reporter's objectives in making the referral. Qualitative content analysis and frequency analysis was performed on open-ended survey responses from a sample of 683 Norwegian parents in contact with the CWS. The results showed that the majority (60.2%) of the parents perceived the referral to be initiated solely because of parental difficulties and multiple family life stressors. Some of the parents (22.8%) believed the referrals were initiated exclusively because of their children's problems, whereas a few (13.3%) perceived it to be a combination of parental/familial difficulties and children's problems. The findings reveal that close to half of the parents (46.4%) felt the objective of the person making the referral was to help the child, their parents and the family. Some (36.5%) saw it as a routine or mandated action by public or official services, while others (18.7%) reported that they did not know why referrals had been made, or gave no answer to the question. A small group of parents (6%) viewed the referral as an act of harassment. The main implications of these findings are discussed.Det er mangel på forskning som omhandler foreldres erfaring med-og forståelse av hvorfor en melder fra til barneverntjenesten. Denne studien utforsker foreldres forståelse av de bakgrunnsfaktorene som førte til at det ble sendt melding til barneverntjenesten og deres syn på formålet med meldingen. Studien baserer seg på spørreskjema fra 683 norske foreldre som har hatt kontakt med barneverntjenesten i Norge. Innholdsanalyse og frekvensanalyse ble brukt for å analysere spørsmål der respondentene selv formulerte svarene. Undersøkelsen viste at majoriteten av foreldrene (60,2%) mente at årsaken til at barnevernet ble kontaktet var vanskelige foreldre-og familieforhold. Noen foreldre (22,8%) mente at årsaken til meldingen var barnets vansker, mens noen få (13,3%) mente at det var en kombinasjon av foreldrenes egne vansker, familienes vansker og barnas vansker, som utløste bekymringsmeldingen. Funnene viste dessuten at nesten halvparten (46,4%) av foreldrene mente at grunnen til at det ble sendt en melding, var at melderen ønsket at barnet, foreldrene og familien skulle få hjelp. Noen foreldre (36,5%) så på meldingen som en rutine av offentlige meldere med meldeplikt. En liten gruppe foreldre (6%) mente at meldingen var sendt for å sjikanere dem eller deres barn. Implikasjoner av resultatene blir diskutert.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Background and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

When the Norwegian child-welfare services get involved: parents making sense of referrals

Studsrød

Ellingsen

Willumsen

2015

European Journal of Social Work

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“…The only database for child abuse that is accessible is the police register of reported crimes. There is no national register concerning reports of child abuse or of children who are in trouble and no child protection register concerning evaluated cases of severe abuse (Cocozza et al 2007). The alternative source that was chosen in the present study was information obtained by examining the files of a number of known cases reported to the police.…”

Section: Research On Child Abuse In Sweden-methodological Aspectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, preventive measures are given first priority after a report, and the rights of the parents may be given priority over the rights of the children (Cocozza et al 2007;Gilbert 1997). This leads to interventions that provide compensation for the family's weaknesses rather than to interventions to protect the child (Wiklund 2007).…”

Section: Interventions From Authoritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristic Features of Severe Child Physical Abuse—A Multi-informant Approach

2009

Self Cite

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“…The question raised is whether this system, with its double mandate of support and control, does not tend to miss the very young children who are neglected and abused. One argument for why young children are not investigated is the pressure on social workers to deal with a continuing increase in adolescents' disorder problems (Cocozza et al, 2007). Another argument is that Swedish social workers identify themselves primarily as child welfare workers aiming to support families in their parenting role, with the risk of not focusing enough on child protection procedures and leading to a lack of competence in child protection matters (Khoo, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using 'Consensual Ideology': A Way to Sift Reports in Child Welfare

Östberg

2012

British Journal of Social Work

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Who suspects and reports child maltreatment to Social Services in Sweden? Is there a reliable mandatory reporting process?

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

When the Norwegian child-welfare services get involved: parents making sense of referrals

When the Norwegian child-welfare services get involved: parents making sense of referrals

Characteristic Features of Severe Child Physical Abuse—A Multi-informant Approach

Using 'Consensual Ideology': A Way to Sift Reports in Child Welfare

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