Peer-reviewed article
Co-creating participation tools with children within child protection services: What lessons we can learn from the children
Ganna G. van Bijleveld, Marjonneke de Vetten-Mc Mahon, Christine W. M. Dedding ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how children can meaningfully participate in child protection proceedings by asking children themselves what tools would help them be heard. Children, working with an industrial designer, created several participation tools focused on managing who speaks, when, and how in family meetings. The research shows that children's views on what enables their participation differ from what professionals and literature suggest, highlighting the importance of involving children in developing solutions.
Key points
- Children identified barriers to participation in child protection proceedings, with attitude and relationships with case managers being important factors
- Children co-designed participation tools focused on managing communication dynamics (who talks, when, and how) rather than content (what to say)
- The tools children created address different aspects of participation than those emphasized in literature and by child protection professionals
- Involving children in creating solutions reveals needs that professionals might otherwise miss
Limitations
The document does not specify the number of children involved, the geographical scope beyond the Netherlands, or the outcomes of implementing the tools children created. It also does not evaluate the effectiveness of the co-created tools in practice.
Abstract
Nowadays, the question no longer is whether children should participate in the decision-making process of issues that affect their lives; the focus lies, instead, on how to ensure that children can participate in a meaningful way. Participation in child protection proceedings has proved difficult to achieve. Where children indicate that the attitude and relationship with the case manager is an important barrier, case managers refer to their responsibility to protect vulnerable children. They feel they miss tools to facilitate child participation within such a complicated process. Instead of developing participation tools with case managers, we decided to start by asking children what they believed would be helpful to make themselves heard. Children, with the help of an industrial designer, developed several tools that they believe can facilitate participation in family meetings. Interestingly, the tools the children designed were all directed at who is talking when, to whom and how, and not at what they want to say. This shows that the conditions children say they need for effective participation comprise different aspects than the conditions mentioned in literature and by professionals, underpinning the value of involving children in creating solutions.