‘Because I'm a kid …’: The struggle for recognition of children and young people involved in child and family social work

Abstract

Children's participation in decision‐making remains a key focus of social work practice. Yet the protection and participation of children in our society remains a setting of tension for children, families and practitioners. Drawing on evidence from a retrospective qualitative study on Family Group Conferencing, this paper uses the lens of recognition theory to highlight the experiences of young people more broadly in the social work system. The study found social workers' attitudes affected children and young people's capacity to be ‘partners’ in decision‐making. Feelings of misrecognition can create barriers for how children and young people perceive and interact with social work professionals. While small, this study sheds light on the experiences of young people's struggles for recognition when involved in the social work system. Further research is needed on this topic to fully understand the implications of (mis)recognition in social work practice.

“They Finally See Me, They Trust Me, My Brother’s Coming Home” Recognising the Motivations and Role of Siblings Who Become Kinship Carers

“…In particular, the third group of carers illustrates how it is possible that a young person with a major role in the care of young children without disabilities may not be viewed as a kinship carer or within other definitions of 'carer', and therefore may not be deemed eligible for support. Understanding the impact of recognition and misrecognition can be an important starting point for practitioners involved in assessing and supporting sibling kinship carers [39]. Where the role of sibling carers has not been sufficiently recognised, this could impact their willingness to seek support when it is needed.…”

Children's Human Rights to ‘Participation’ and ‘Protection’: Rethinking the relationship using Barnahus as a case example

“…Gallagher et al, 2012). Mitchell (2022) explores the micro interactions of social work practice. She argues that, from a young person's perspective, social workers' perceptions of children and young people can affect their engagement in decision‐making processes and their ability to speak about their issues and problems.…”

“…She argues that, from a young person's perspective, social workers' perceptions of children and young people can affect their engagement in decision‐making processes and their ability to speak about their issues and problems. ‘Lack of participation by children in social work processes can influence safeguarding decisions being made about the protection of children and young people’ (Mitchell, 2022, p. 3). The lack of children's participation on an individual and collective level has consequences for the individual child, their family/carers and more broadly, the quality of the service being provided to children.…”

Critical Child Protection Studies

“…The field of child protection has long considered child protection practices and policies as straightforward responses to child abuse and neglect, but has recently been moving away from this view, acknowledging that these practices and policies have their own dynamics and determinations (Parton 2022) that can produce intrinsic tensions and ambivalence at different levels. Such fundamental tensions occur because child protection authorities have a seemingly contradictory double mandate of care and control (Böhnisch and Lösch 1973;Featherstone et al 2014;Mitchell 2022) or, in other words, of care and intervention. This means that authorities have the duty to intervene in families by using potentially coercive measures and restricting parental rights in order to protect children from abuse and neglect and ensure their wellbeing.…”