‘They didn't tell me anything; they just sent me home’: children's participation in the return home

Abstract

The reality of child protection systems typically demonstrates a lack of attention to the voices of children. There are studies that confirm this fact and offer evidence of the benefits of participation, but gaps remain regarding the elements and processes that favour it. This qualitative study attempts to contribute to knowledge in this area through a detailed analysis of the perspectives of the actors involved and the role that children play in the return home. This article analyses the elements involved in the participation of the children when a return home is proposed after a period of family or residential foster care. As part of the study, 18 semi‐structured interviews were conducted and 22 discussion groups were created with a total of 135 participants (63 child protection services workers, 42 parents and 30 children and adolescents). The data were analysed using a content analysis process and underwent a peer review process in Atlas.ti. The results indicate that the participation of children and adolescents in the return home centres around (i) understanding the return home, (ii) strategies and emotional processes and (iii) social support.

The Challenges Facing Children Reunified With Their Families From an Orphanage in Ghana

“…Evidence suggests that involving a child's wishes in decisions about their reunification after out‐of‐home care placement enhance their motivation, cooperation and faith in the future (Minkhorst and others, ). However, evidence from the study shows that the social workers failed to consider the children's wishes during their reunification, consistent with the findings of other studies (Balsells and others, ; Mahuntse, ; Mateos and others, ). When referring to their experiences of the reunification, the children used words such as ‘us’ and ‘we’, suggesting that they were treated in the same way in the reunification process.…”

Social workers' perceptions of children's right to participation

“…Influenced by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), children's participation in various spheres of life has become the norm in many countries around the globe (Tisdall, ). Special attention has been given to children's participation in child welfare services, and over the last two decades, a number of countries have incorporated participation rights into their child protection legislation and policies (Fuentes‐Peláez, Amorós, Balsells, Mateos, & Violant, ; Mateos, Vaquero, Balsells, & Ponce, ).…”

Good professional practices for promoting positive parenting and child participation in reunification processes

“…The existing research literature in this field reveals the importance of incorporating into professional practice a favourable attitude towards positive parenting (Arad‐Davidzon & Benbenishty, ; Balsells et al, ; Balsells, Fuentes‐Peláez, et al, ; Balsells, Pastor, Mateos, et al, ; Cheng, ; Portwood, ) and child participation (Balsells, ; Mateos et al, ) in processes of family reunification. These two dimensions are critical for good professional practice in these types of child protection processes.…”

“…Rigorous studies that identify age (Cossar et al, ; Holland & O'Neill, ), support (Lee, Hwang, Socha, Pau, & Shaw, ; Lietz, Lacasse, & Cacciatore, ), and emotional management (Balsells, Pastor, Mateos, et al, ; Mateos et al, ; Nybell, ) as variables to consider in encouraging this participation in family reunification processes are emerging.…”

“…By the same token, the family (parents and children) must be familiar with and participate in the process (Balsells et al, 2014;Mateos, Vaquero, Balsells, & Ponce, 2017). Family reunification is possible after the family has undergone sufficient change to allow the children to return home.…”