Africa Knowledge Hub for Children

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex3 Jul 2025

Children’s voices in child welfare assessment. An exploratory quantitative study of children’s participation in Norwegian child welfare expert reports

In Norway, children have a legal right to participate in all child welfare decision-making processes that concern them. When such a decision concerns whether to pursue care proceedings, child welfare services often commission an assessment from an independent child welfare expert. The study draws on a quantitative content analysis of 300 Norwegian independent child welfare expert assessment reports to analyse the children’s participation. The study also compares the participation of children of different ages and with immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds. We found that around half of the involved children participated in the assessments. Children in age groups 0–2 and 3–5 experienced significantly lower levels of participation than those aged 6–8, who experienced significantly lower levels of participation than those aged 9–11. Participation was not significantly different between age groups 9–11, 12–14 and 15 and over. There were no differences in the participation of children with immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds. We found that experts talked with children about a range of issues but shared information with them less frequently. The article discusses possible reasons for and implications of these patterns of participation. This study provides valuable quantitative knowledge to the field of child participation research.

Polly Evans McGinn, Dag Øystein Nordanger, Magne Olav Mæhle et al.

Protection

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex19 Jun 2025

Children’s participation in local governance in Greece: Child and youth council members’ views and experiences

Child participation in civic life constitutes a fundamental children’s right. This qualitative study, conducting 10 focus groups, examined the views and experiences of children, adolescents and young people in Greece about the right of the child to participate in local governance. The findings show that despite the value placed on children’s right to participate in local decision-making processes, a series of obstacles, most saliently institutional and cultural barriers as well as issues of discrimination and social exclusion of specific child groups, were identified obstructing full realization of this right. Ways to promote, strengthen and implement meaningful child participation are discussed.

Sofia Dedotsi, Sofia Martinaki, Theologos Chatzipemo et al.

ParticipationGRRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex22 Dec 2022

Children’s participation in the child protection system: Are young people from poor families less likely to be heard?

Decisions in child protection affect children’s and young people’s lives substantially and sustainably. For young people to participate in these decisions is an ethical requirement, prominently coded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although awareness of the importance of child participation and research thereon have grown, predictors of child participation have not been formalized in a conceptual model and studies on the topic have primarily relied on narrative accounts or fictional vignettes rather than actual case data. This article addresses the lack of conceptual modeling by presenting an approach that takes into account three domains of downstream predictors on the degree of child participation in the decision-making process of a child protection case: (a) External constraints; (b) professionals’ willingness and ability to facilitate the child’s participation; (c) the child’s willingness and ability to participate. It further addresses the lack of actual case data in child participation research, focusing on the understudied predictor of family poverty. Analyses are based on a sample of case files of n = 264 children in five Swiss CPS agencies. Outcomes and predictors were extracted from case files with a predefined coding system. Findings suggest that the raised awareness has so far not fully trickled down to an increase in real-life opportunities of participation for young people: The child’s subjective view was documented in the case worker’s report half of the time (48.9 %). Corroborating previous evidence, adolescents were much more likely to have their views included than younger children (OR = 3.715, p =.002). Case workers were less inclined to include the child’s views if the child came from a poor family (OR = 0.326, p =.003). We conclude by suggesting options for improving child participation, highlighting that protection of young people does not have to contradict participation.

David Lätsch, Julia Quehenberger, Rahel Portmann et al.

ProtectionParticipationPractitionerCHDERead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex1 Jun 2021

‘Wishes and feelings’: Misunderstandings and missed opportunities for participation in child protection proceedings

Abstract The gathering of ‘wishes and feelings’ in UK child protection proceedings (s.53 Children Act 2004) should highlight the child's opinion of social work intervention and services provided. However, with no statutory social work guidance on participation currently in place, children frequently miss opportunities to be involved in their own child protection planning. This paper is drawn from a 3‐year study into participation in child protection social work. It includes findings from qualitative interviews, and one focus group, with social workers, parents, children and participation workers, from three local authorities in the United Kingdom. The findings revealed some examples of significant gaps in service provision, particularly from the perspective and understanding of the child. The skewed translation of wishes and feelings legislation, along with its subsequent (and often inadequate) application to practice, prevents children from understanding and responding to social work intervention and can lead to idiosyncratic practice. This paper provides recommendations for a practical response to practitioner dilemmas regarding wishes and feelings and bridges the gap between research and practice.

Jo Dillon

ProtectionParticipationGBRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex11 Jul 2018

Space, Voice, Audience and Influence: The Lundy Model of Participation (2007) in Child Welfare Practice

According to Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children and young people have a legal right to have their views heard and acted upon as appropriate. The Lundy model of participation (2007) was developed to aid practitioners to meaningfully and effectively implement a child’s right to participate by focusing attention on the distinct but interrelated elements of Article 12. While Lundy’s conceptualisation has been widely welcomed in research, policy and practice, there is a dearth of examples in the literature regarding how the concepts of space, voice, audience and influence can be operationalised. The purpose of this article is to share examples of how practitioners working in Ireland’s child protection and welfare services implement these concepts in practice. Drawing on practitioners’ personal testimonies and a selection of reports published by Ireland’s social care inspectorate, it sets out illustrative examples of approaches taken by professionals when seeking to create a safe and inclusive space for children and young people to express a view, approaches to supporting them to express that view and to ensuring it is listened to and acted upon as appropriate.

Danielle Kennan, Bernadine Brady, Cormac Forkan

ParticipationProtectionIERead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex11 Jan 2021

Children’s Participation in Decision Making From Child Welfare Workers’ Perspectives: A Systematic Review

This article explores child welfare workers’ experiences of children’s participation in decision making in the child protection system. The systematic review follows the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement and includes 12 peer-reviewed articles published in academic journals from 2009 to 2019. Findings indicate that children’s participation in decision making is generally limited or nonexistent. The age of the child is an important determining factor concerning whether the child is given the opportunity to participate in decision making. Potential harm for children that may result from participation is considered when deciding on whether to include a child in the decision-making process.

Karmen Toros

ParticipationProtectionEERead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex20 Mar 2018

Meaningful participation for children in the Dutch child protection system: A critical analysis of relevant provisions in policy documents

Policymakers are increasingly focusing on the participation of children in the child protection system (CPS). However, research shows that actual practice still needs to be improved. Embedding children's participation in legislation and policy documents is one important prerequisite for achieving meaningful participation in child protection practice. In this study, the participation of children in the Dutch CPS under the new Youth Act 2015 is critically analyzed. National legislation and policy documents were studied using a model of "meaningful participation" based on article 12 of the UNCRC. Results show that the idea of children's participation is deeply embedded in the current Dutch CPS. However, Dutch policy documents do not fully cover the three dimensions of what is considered to be meaningful participation for children: informing, hearing, and involving. Furthermore, children's participation differs among the organizations included in the child protection chain. A clear overall policy concerning the participation of children in the Dutch CPS is lacking. The conclusions of this critical analysis of policy documents and the framework of meaningful participation presented may provide a basis for the embedding of meaningful participation for children in child protection systems of other countries.

Helen Bouma, Mónica López López, Erik J. Knorth et al.

ProtectionParticipationNLRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex22 Feb 2022

An Intersectional Analysis of Child and Adolescent Inclusion in Local Participation Processes

Educational and social initiatives promoting participation among children and adolescents struggle with the widely‐held notion that non‐adult stages of life are merely transitory and that, therefore, non‐adults’ views on public life are of less value. Apart from this hurdle of adult‐centrism, there are other obstacles to the full participation of this segment of the population. The present study analyses the inbuilt structures that help or hinder children and adolescents’ participation in the local arena. Being ascribed to one or other of the social categories (gender, origins, racialisation, economic status, functional diversity, physical and mental health, gender identity), in addition to being a child or adolescent, involves a further difficulty in exercising one’s rights in general and the right of participation in particular, and this weakens young people’s social inclusion and exercise of citizenship, deepening their social vulnerability. This is where the intersectional approach can help us avoid the exclusion of children and adolescents with added social barriers. In this article, we survey 191 local youth workers to determine their perceptions of inclusivity in child participation bodies in their municipality. The specific measures in place are also discussed. Lastly, we identify the challenges to children’s inclusion in local participation processes and some strategies for advancing towards the creation of more diverse and inclusive arenas of participation.

Noemi Laforgue-Bullido, Marta Sabariego, Antonio Ruíz et al.

ParticipationESRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex16 Sept 2020

Participation of Children Involved in the Child Protection System – Validation of the Meaningful Participation Assessment Tool (MPAT)

Abstract Children have the right to participate in child protection investigations. Although research suggests that participation is related to positive outcomes of children in the child protection system, children’s participation is not always facilitated in practice. Therefore, it is important to validate tools that can be used to further investigate children’s participation. We examined the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, internal validity, and external validity) of the Meaningful Participation Assessment Tool (MPAT), which measures the degree in which child protection professionals enable children’s participation in child protection investigations. The MPAT is based on the Model of Meaningful Participation (Bouma et al. 2018) and distinguishes three domains of children’s participation in child protection: 1) informing, 2) hearing, and 3) involving in decision-making. It consists of 13 items. We validated the MPAT based on data from 292 child protection cases. We concluded that the MPAT was reliable, internally valid and externally valid. The MPAT’s reliability was reflected by substantial Cohen’s Kappa coefficients ranging from .63 to .92. The Mokken scale analysis revealed a strong scale of 8 items (H = .70, Rho = .89). Items on seeing and hearing children about child protection topics seemed relatively more easy to achieve compared to items on providing children with information, which suggests that child protection workers may struggle most with informing children. Lastly, we concluded that the MPAT might be externally valid because we found higher MPAT scores for subgroups based on child protection institution, age, and gender, which was in line with our expectations.

Floor Middel, Wendy J. Post, Mónica López López et al.

ProtectionParticipationNLBERead at source

Peer-reviewed articleOpenAlex1 Jan 2019

Child poverty and participation

En Belgique, 15,9 % de la population vit sous le seuil de pauvreté. D’après les chiffres EU-SILC 2017, le taux grimpe jusqu’à 17,9 % pour les enfants. La Fondation Roi Baudouin en 2014 et le rapport sur la pauvreté infantile et juvénile en Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles en 2016 soulignent que les mineurs sont moins bien lotis que la population générale, et ce quel que soit l’indicateur privilégié. Cette contribution propose quelques réflexions concernant la notion de participation des enfants en situation de pauvreté, en prenant appui sur une recherche réalisée de manière conjointe par l’université de Mons et l’université de Gand dont l’objectif était d’identifier quarante « pratiques inspirantes » en matière de lutte contre la pauvreté infantile dans les grandes villes de Belgique.

Émilie Charlier

SurvivalDevelopmentParticipationBERead at source

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