Peer-reviewed article
Predictors of child participation in child welfare emergency placements—A Norwegian case file study
May Gresdahl, Halvor Fauske, Anita Skårstad Storhaug ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This Norwegian study examined how often children participate in decisions about emergency placements in child welfare services by reviewing 148 case files. It found that 39% of children were not involved in these decisions at all, though older children and those from minority backgrounds were more likely to participate. Age and minority background emerged as significant predictors of child participation, while prior contact with child welfare services did not predict involvement.
Key points
- 39% of children in emergency placements were not involved in decision-making processes
- Advancing age significantly increased the probability of child participation (p < 0.001)
- Children with minority backgrounds were more likely to be informed and have their opinions weighted (p = 0.010)
- Prior contact with child welfare services did not predict child participation
- The degree of participation varied considerably even among children who were involved
Limitations
The study is based on case file documentation which may not fully capture actual participation practices, and findings are specific to Norwegian municipalities and may not generalise to other contexts or emergency welfare settings.
Abstract
Abstract Background Although child participation has attained significant awareness in child welfare research, little is known about how this right is upheld in emergency cases. Therefore, the various degrees to which children participate in child welfare services' emergency cases and factors predicting such participation were explored. Method Degrees of participation found in 148 case files (Mage = 11–12 years old, range; 3–18 years; 59% girls, 48% with minority backgrounds) from four Norwegian municipalities were regressed on 15 independent variables in a multinomial logistic regression. Results The children's advancing age increases their probabilities of involvement in the decision‐making processes regarding emergency placements (p < 0.001). The children's minority backgrounds enhance their likelihood of being informed of the placement and having their opinions given weight in decision‐making processes (p = 0.010). The study, nevertheless, revealed that 39% of children in emergency placements are not involved in these processes. Conclusions Case file documentation indicates inadequate involvement of children in emergency cases. Nevertheless, older children and those with minority backgrounds are more likely to participate, although the degree of their involvement varies. The study did not find a correlation between prior contact with child welfare services and child participation.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Child participation processes in child welfare emergency placement decision-making
- Population
- 148 children aged 3-18 years (mean 11-12 years, 59% girls, 48% with minority backgrounds) from four Norwegian municipalities in emergency child welfare placements
Key finding
39% of children were not involved in emergency placement decision-making processes