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Children’s Participation in the Decision-Making Process in Child Protection Services in Iceland: The Role of Spokespersons
Hervör Alma Árnadóttir ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This chapter looks at how children take part in decisions made by child protection services in Iceland. Icelandic law allows a spokesperson to be appointed for children who are considered unable to take part directly in their own cases. The authors examined spokespersons' reports to see how children's wishes were reflected and how the spokespersons' provisions and work practices support participation. In many cases children's wishes were not represented, so their participation was not visible in the process. The authors say children need more time and a wider range of ways to express their views and wishes.
Key points
- Children's right to participate in decisions affecting their lives is set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Icelandic law provides for appointing a spokesperson for children considered unable to participate directly in their own matters.
- In many cases children's wishes were not represented in the spokespersons' reports.
- Children's participation was therefore not visible in the decision-making process in many cases.
- Children need more time and should be offered a wider range of ways to express their views and wishes.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, so the sample size, methods and how the reports were analysed are not known. It describes existing practice in Iceland and cannot show whether the spokesperson role improves outcomes for children or whether the findings apply elsewhere.
Abstract
Abstract There has been growing interest in upholding children’s rights to participate in decisions affecting their lives, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. These emphases have been incorporated into the Icelandic Child Protection Service and are reflected in the legal provision of appointing a spokesperson for children who are deemed unable to participate directly in their own matters. This chapter explores how the spokespersons’ reports in child protection services in Iceland enhance children’s participation in the decision-making process, resulting in the following research questions: How are children’s wishes reflected in the reports? And how do spokespersons’ provisions and work practices support children’s participation? The results indicate that in many cases children’s wishes were not represented and children’s participation was therefore not visible in the process, and that children need more time and should be offered a wider range of ways to express their views and wishes.