Peer-reviewed article
A qualitative study of youth and child participation in Norwegian specialist child welfare services support measures: dilemmas, ideals, and outcomes
Stian Thoresen, Gro Ulset, Lena Catherine Lossius Westby, Rebekka Bruteig, Regine Ringdal et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study examines how children and young people participate in Norwegian child welfare services, focusing on three therapeutic interventions: Multisystemic Therapy, Parent Management Training, and Functional Family Therapy. The research included 78 participants: 21 children and youth, 27 parents or carers, and 30 therapists or child welfare workers. While Norwegian law and policy require child participation in welfare services, the study found that actual involvement of children and youth remains limited. The researchers identified a tension between the ideal of meaningful participation and the risk that participation procedures become merely procedural rather than genuine.
Key points
- Youth and child participation is a legal right in Norwegian child welfare services grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the constitution, and the Child Welfare Act
- Children and youth are increasingly being consulted but meaningful involvement in their own support measures remains limited
- The study examined three evidence-based interventions: Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Parent Management Training–Oregon (PMTO), and Functional Family Therapy (FFT)
- A key dilemma identified is that models designed to facilitate participation risk becoming procedural rather than genuinely participatory
- Findings were analysed thematically across different therapeutic measures and from the perspectives of children, youth, parents, and professionals
Limitations
This is a descriptive qualitative study that identifies dilemmas and outcomes but does not test whether specific changes to participation practices improve children's well-being or engagement. The study describes what is currently happening rather than evaluating the effectiveness of any particular intervention to increase participation.
Abstract
Child welfare services in Norway aim to provide a comprehensive and holistic policy and practice approach. This includes a range of in-home support measures to support parents and their children to resolve challenges. Youth and child participation are basic rights within the Norwegian Child Welfare Services (CWS) context, grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the constitution, and the Child Welfare Act. While recent research has identified youth and children more often being consulted, the involvement of youth and children in their own child welfare services measures is limited and more should be done to facilitate meaningful participation. This article presents findings from a recently completed qualitative study in Norway focusing on child and youth participation in the specialist CWS measures Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Parent Management Training – Oregon (PMTO), and Functional Family Therapy (FFT). A total of 78 participants contributed to this study (21 children and youth, 27 parents/care givers, and 30 therapists/CWS workers). Findings are analysed thematically across measures and different informant groups. While the ideal is for children and youths to fully participate in all aspects of their CWS measures, the dilemma is that models developed to facilitate this risk becoming procedural.