Riitta Vornanen

Children's Participation in Child-protection Processes as Experienced by Foster Children and Social Workers

Children in foster care often have no means of influencing matters that concern them, and can easily become outsiders in their own lives. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the rights of capable children to express their views freely in matters affecting them and to be heard in any judicial or administrative proceedings concerning them. The aim of this study is to analyse foster childrens participation in child welfare processes in different time periods and contexts from the perspective of children and social workers. The data comprise semi-structured interviews of eight children and young people aged seven to 17 in family foster care, as well as interviews of four child welfare social workers. Ethical questions were taken carefully into account. The results suggest that participation in matters concerning them is very significant to children, although they do not always want be active participants (e.g. in meetings). The children hoped that social workers would take a genuine interest in them, listen to them and take their opinions and wishes into consideration. Children sought true and essential information about the reasons for placements and the plans for their future. They felt they were better heard and more able to influence their own affairs after being placed in a foster home than during earlier phases of services. The study identifies many obstacles in childrens participation at different systemic levels. Childrens loyalty to their parents may prevent them from expressing their opinions. According to social workers, the most serious obstacles in participatory work with children are related to a lack of human and time resources. Social workers need time, work practices, skills and practical wisdom through which childrens personal experiences, opinions and wishes can be better heard. They also seek support in handling the emotional aspects of child-protection work and suggest some other measures to develop their work.

Insecurity of young people

This article critically examines the concept of insecurity as experienced by young people in Finland. Young people’s own definitions of insecurity show how 13–17-year-olds assess their lives and ontological insecurities and threats in the world. The topic is analyzed from a social sciences perspective and interpreted within the theoretical framework of risk society by Ulrich Beck (1996; 2001), Anthony Giddens (1991) and Franz-Xavier Kaufmann (1970). The data was collected from schools in five regions in Finland. A total of 922 respondents aged 13 to 17 completed a questionnaire in classroom settings. This article analyzes only the data elicited by open-ended questions, which were answered by 683 young people. Young people’s experiences of insecurity were classified into 16 categories, which were then divided under three headings: (i) the inner circle, that is, insecurity related to personal emotions and inner experiences; (ii) the social circle, that is, insecurity related to social interaction; and (iii) the outer circle, that is, insecurity related to external realities. Young people’s definitions of insecurity reveal their perspective on risk society in which everyone is vulnerable to certain risks.The answers disclose a set of contradictory risks, which are at the same time personal, local and global. First, they connect insecurity to their inner feelings and emotions. Second, they interpret the social relationships and the everyday life experiences in connection with insecurity. Third, insecurity is defined by young people by external realities, such as socio-economic ill-being, violence and war. In the future, more empirical and qualitative research on risk society and how it is experienced by young people in the everyday life is needed. How do young people connect close and distant security issues and insecurity to their everyday life?

Young People Leaving Care: Participatory Research to Improve Child Welfare Practices and the Rights of Children and Young People

Abstract This paper discusses participatory research with young people who are leaving public care in Finland to begin independent lives. The aim of the research, organised by SOS Childrens Villages International, was to bring about change in alternative care arrangements, particularly those involving young peoples transition to independence. The project used a participatory research design based on employing care-leaving peers as co-researchers. This paper adheres to the methodological principles of empowerment in analysing the personal experiences of young people leaving alternative care with the goal of informing good practice. The findings suggest that the peer research method can be an effective means of empowering young people to develop research skills and to be involved in knowledge production, as well as serving as a means of promoting improved services for “care-leavers”, those young people who are leaving either foster care or institutional care. The participatory and peer research method challenges the traditional understandings of expertise and knowledge production. Although the hierarchy between adult researchers and young people as co-researchers is still evident, the method provides possibilities for better understanding the social- and health-service systems and their challenges and pitfalls from a users perspective.

Critical factors of intensive family work connected with positive outcomes for child welfare clients

Mechanisms producing positive change in troubled families were analysed. The study aimed to answer the questions: What kind of case and client outcomes does intensive family work (IFW) produce for child welfare clients? From the perspective of family workers, what kind of critical factors for positive child, parent and family outcomes can be identified? The study used child welfare case files of 35 families with 93 children from one social office and interviews with 20 family workers and IFW managers in 5 municipalities in Finland. The shades of worries scale was used in evaluating the change in each familys situation. The case outcome measures for children included changes in the childs status in open care, short-term placement or foster care. During IFW, positive changes took place in 23 families out of 35 (66%). Twenty-seven children from 16 families did not continue as child welfare clients. Eleven children were placed into foster care during IFW and two years after it. The critical processes for outcomes included time, trust building and engagement, practical help, facilitating communication and guaranteeing the best interest of the child. IFW was considered effective for positive outcomes for the majority of families with complex needs.

The Conceptualising of Insecurity from the Perspective of Young People

Security is one of the basic needs; it can also be seen as a basic value in Western societies (Niemela, 2000), where more and more systems are developed to guarantee security. Security is a highly valued goal, which may be difficult to reach because of different threats and risks in personal lives and in near and global environments. One indicator of the collective quest for security is evident in the literature and studies on different risks. Over a decade ago, Furedi (1997) wrote about the increase in the use of the word “risk” in literature and scientific research. This article participates in the discussion of insecurity and risks by focusing on the experiences of young people.