This diploma thesis is focused on child protection in the context of divorce or separation of his parents and deals with the role of the authority of social - legal protection of children and the court in this matter. Mainly defines the terms of the applicable legislation in divorce matters (care of children after divorce, child's contact with the parents, alimony), which are usually the subject of protracted disputes between parents. The introductory section also mentions the importance of the family for the child and for society, the characteristics of the contemporary family, as well as divorce and its possible impact on the child and the wider surroundings of the family. In the empirical part, the work focuses on comparing the practices of social workers of the authority child protection offices in Prague with practices of social workers at the offices of towns in the Central Region in divorce issues, particularly in the area of investigation in the family. Next it examines also procedures of courts.

Abstract The study aimed at describing and investigating the quality and dynamics of the problem of exclusion among children and young people in the light of social care documents. The sample consisted of the documents on 990 customers of child welfare and income support services aged below 25 in 1992–1997 as descriptions of the children’s and young persons’ situations and courses of life in Finland after the depression of the early 1990’s. The attention focused especially on the various problems in the children’s and young people’s welfare as a basis for social services customership and as descriptors of their exclusion. The life situations of social services customers were generally determined by their unstable position in the labour market and the limitations of their financial resources, in addition to which various subgroups in the sample had their own problems. In child welfare, customership was often based on the mother’s alcohol/drug use or mental problems and neglect of child care or the young person’s problems with school and alcohol or drugs. In terms of income support, the need for support was most often based on the young person’s exclusion from working life and on the related financial difficulties. Important forms of support in both child welfare and income support included customer counselling and financial support. Although social services customership was related particularly to accumulated problems, the customers did not form a uniform group. The documents revealed nine types of customership based on their life control and dimensions of exclusion: life control, integration, minor customership, elimination, danger of exclusion, serious danger of exclusion, marginalisation, segregation and exclusion. The differences between them were connected with differences in the quality and degree of the customers’ welfare problems and in the customers’ power of influence and possibilities for social support. The closer to life control a person’s type of customership was situated, the more she or he could exert an influence using his/her own resources or the support of his/her close community. Moving towards exclusion, the network of control around the customer tightened and the situation was determined ever more clearly by problems, obligations and control. The various types of customership described the customers’ life situations at certain moments, but also at the various stages of the exclusion or survival process and when the life situations were viewed from different perspectives. The exclusion of children and young people was manifested in the current study above all as danger of exclusion. It was about a nightmare scenario of the postmodern society following the both/and logic which was connected not only with the various problems of the social services customers but also with the exclusion of children and adolescents from what we see as normal growth and development. Children who were customers of the social services did not necessarily have the opportunity to be children, and young people did not necessarily grow into adults. The threats of exclusion and possibilities of survival had an impact on the children’s and adolescents’ lives on a situation-by-situation basis and also simultaneously depending on which and whose viewpoint the situation was viewed from. Light and shadow penetrated each other in their life as their life situations took shape in the dimensions of life control and exclusion. / Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata ja selvittää lasten ja nuorten syrjäytymisongelman laatua ja dynamiikkaa sosiaalihuollon asiakirjojen valossa. Tutkimusaineistona olivat 990 alle 25-vuotiaan sosiaalihuollon lastensuojelun tai toimeentulotuen asiakkaan asiakirjat vuosilta 1992–1997 kuvauksina lasten ja nuorten elämäntilanteista ja elämänkulusta 1990-luvun alun laman jälkeisessä Suomessa. Huomion kohteina olivat erityisesti lasten ja nuorten erilaiset hyvinvoinnin ongelmat sosiaalihuollon asiakkuuden perusteina ja lasten ja nuorten syrjäytymisen kuvaajina. Sosiaalihuollon asiakkaiden elämäntilanteita määrittivät yleisesti epävakaa työmarkkina-asema ja taloudellisten resurssien rajallisuus, joiden lisäksi kohdejoukon eri osaryhmillä oli omia ongelmiaan. Lastensuojelussa asiakkuutta perusteltiin usein äidin päihde- ja mielenterveysongelmilla ja lapsenhoidon laiminlyönnillä tai nuoren koulu- ja päihdeongelmilla. Toimeentulotuessa nuorten tuen tarpeen perusteena olivat puolestaan useimmiten nuorten työelämän ulkopuolelle jääminen ja siihen liittyvät taloudelliset vaikeudet. Keskeisiä tukimuotoja sekä lastensuojelussa että toimeentulotuessa olivat asiakkaan neuvonta ja taloudellinen tuki. Vaikka sosiaalihuollon asiakkuus liittyi erityisesti kasautuneisiin ongelmiin, eivät asiakkaat olleet yhtenäinen ryhmä. Asiakirja-aineistosta löytyi yhdeksän elämänhallinnan ja syrjäytymisen ulottuvuudella jäsentyvää asiakkuustyyppiä: elämänhallinta, integraatio, pikkuasiakkuus, karsiutuminen, syrjäytymisvaara, vakava syrjäytymisvaara, marginalisaatio, segregaatio ja syrjäytyminen. Niiden väliset erot liittyivät eroihin asiakkaiden hyvinvoinnin ongelmien laadussa ja asteessa sekä asiakkaiden vaikutusmahdollisuuksissa ja mahdollisuuksissa sosiaaliseen tukeen. Mitä lähemmäksi elämänhallintaa asiakkuustyyppi sijoittui, sitä enemmän asiakas pystyi vaikuttamaan asioihin joko omien voimavarojensa tai lähiyhteisön tuen turvin. Kohti syrjäytymistä siirryttäessä kontrollin verkko asiakkaan ympärillä kiristyi ja tilannetta määrittivät yhä selvemmin ongelmat, pakot ja kontrolli. Eri asiakkuustyypit kuvasivat asiakkaiden elämäntilanteita tiettynä hetkenä, mutta myös syrjäytymis- ja selviytymisprosessin eri vaiheissa ja elämäntilanteita eri näkökulmista tarkasteltaessa. Lasten ja nuorten syrjäytyminen näyttäytyi tutkimuksessa ennen muuta syrjäytymisvaarana. Siinä oli kyse myöhäismodernin yhteiskunnan sekä–että logiikkaa noudattavasta uhkakuvasta, joka liittyi paitsi sosiaalihuollon asiakkaiden erilaisiin ongelmiin, myös lasten ja nuorten syrjäytymiseen normaalina pidettävästä kasvusta ja kehityksestä. Sosiaalihuollon asiakkaina olevat lapset eivät välttämättä saaneet olla lapsia ja nuoret eivät välttämättä kasvaneet aikuisiksi. Syrjäytymisen uhat ja selviytymisen mahdollisuudet vaikuttivat lasten ja nuorten elämään tilanteittain ja myös samanaikaisesti riippuen siitä, mistä ja kenen näkökulmasta tilannetta tarkasteltiin. Valo ja varjo läpäisivät lasten ja nuorten elämässä toisiaan heidän elämäntilanteidensa jäsentyessä elämänhallinnan ja syrjäytymisen ulottuvuudella.

This study examines how the unprecedented placement of blame on social workers in B.C., following the Report of the Gove Commission into Child Protection in 1995, has affected those workers, by exploring the phenomenon from the point of view of the social workers themselves. By using structural social work theory, with a feminist perspective, the conceptual context is explored in terms of how risk and blame have been constructed and how the relationship between clients and workers, and the treatment of social workers by management have been impacted by that construction. Purposeful criterion sampling was used, applying a snowball approach of recruitment. Ten social workers participated who are or have been recently employed by the Ministry for Children & Families. Data collection occurred through one focus group session as well as individual interviews. Transcripts of the interviews were made from audiotapes. Categorical and holistic content analysis led to identification of participant themes. Findings confirmed fear of blame as a significant contributor to high stress levels but, surprisingly, social workers expressed their belief that a similar fear was frequently behind management decisions. This research provides unique insight into the factors which motivate individuals to do the difficult work of child protection. It also offers an explanation for the ongoing difficulty which government experiences in recruiting and retaining skilled, trained staff, which, if unaddressed, is a serious impediment to the effective delivery of child welfare services in B.C. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Contexte: La supervision de visites représente une pratique complexe pour l’intervenant qui doit composer avec la souffrance des enfants, des parents et des parents d’accueil, en plus de composer avec les défis et contraintes associés au contexte de visites supervisées et aux conditions de pratique plus larges de la protection de l’enfance. À ce jour, les études se sont surtout intéressées à l’expérience subjective des parents, des parents d’accueil et des enfants. Elles ont permis d’identifier certaines limites dans les services offerts aux jeunes et à leur famille, de même que certains défis dans le travail des intervenants qui œuvrent auprès des enfants dans ce contexte. En contrepartie, nous en connaissons peu sur la pratique des intervenants entourant les visites supervisées et les stratégies mobilisées dans l’accompagnement des enfants. Objectif : L’objectif du présent mémoire de maîtrise est de documenter, à partir de leur discours, la pratique professionnelle des intervenants de la protection de la jeunesse dans l’accompagnement offert aux enfants qui vivent des visites supervisées avec leur(s) parent(s). Plus précisément, il vise à mieux comprendre, comment ceux-ci préparent et soutiennent les enfants aux différents moments des visites supervisées et quels gestes concrets sont posés pour y parvenir. Les retombées du recours à un outil destiné à l’accompagnement de l’enfant dans l’exercice de la pratique de supervision ont également été abordées. Méthode : Des entrevues semi-dirigées ont été réalisées auprès d’intervenantes (N=10) du CIUSSS CSSMTL issues des équipes enfance. Les entretiens réalisés ont été soumis à une analyse de contenu thématique. Résultats : Les résultats de la recherche révèlent que la pratique d’accompagnement en contexte de visites supervisées se construit à partir d’une interaction entre différents facteurs comme la nature de l’accompagnement offert, la posture de l’intervenant et sa compréhension de l’expérience de l’enfant (en termes de vécu et de besoins). Ainsi, les intervenantes ont généralement rapporté avoir recours à une pratique diversifiée aux multiples visages afin de répondre aux particularités des situations rencontrées et aux besoins identifiés chez les enfants qu’elles accompagnent. L’analyse a également permis de faire émerger le thème de la place occupée par les enfants dans la pratique professionnelle en protection de la jeunesse dans un contexte qui tend à les occulter. Des éléments liés aux caractéristiques personnelles des intervenants et aux aspects cliniques et organisationnels du métier ont émergé du discours des répondantes. Discussion : Cette recherche apporte une meilleure compréhension de la pratique professionnelle des intervenantes qui accompagnent des enfants dans leurs visites supervisées avec leur(s) parent(s). Elle offre des pistes de réflexion pour développer une pratique d’accompagnement et des outils cliniques qui répondent davantage aux besoins des jeunes et qui font sens pour eux. Elle soutient également la pertinence de s’intéresser davantage à la place des enfants dans le travail direct auprès d’eux en protection de la jeunesse et de leur redonner la parole dans la recherche future. / Background: Supervised visits represent a complex practice for caseworkers who have to deal with the suffering of the child, the parents and the foster parents, as well as dealing with the challenges associated with the context of supervised visits and the broader conditions of practice in the child protection services. To date, studies have mainly focused on the subjective experience of parents, foster parents and children. They have identified certain limits in the services offered to young people and their families, as well as challenges in the work of those who accompany children in this context. On the other hand, we know little about the professional practice of caseworkers during supervised visits and the strategies they use to support children in that setting. Objective: The objective of this Master's thesis is to document, from their discourse, the professional practice of caseworkers who support children experiencing supervised visits with their parent(s) in the context of child protection services. More specifically, it aims to better understand how they prepare and support children at different moments of supervised visits, as well as explore what concrete actions are taken in order to achieve those tasks. The outcomes of using a tool designed to support children in foster care experiencing supervised visits with their parent(s) was also discussed. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 caseworkers from the CIUSSS CSSMTL. The interviews were subjected to a thematic analysis. Results: Results reveal that the practice of accompaniment of the child in the context of supervised visits is built from an interaction between different factors such as the nature of the support offered, the caseworker’s attitude and their understanding of the child's experience (in terms of general experience and needs). Overall, caseworkers reported using a diversified practice in order to respond to the particularities of the situations encountered and the needs identified in the children they support. The data analysis also brought out the theme of the place occupied by children in the youth protection system, in a context where practice tends to overshadow them. Elements related to the personal characteristics of the caseworkers and to the clinical and organizational aspects of the profession emerged from interviews. Discussion: This research provides a better understanding of the professional practice of caseworkers who accompany children in their supervised visits with their parent(s). It offers food for thought in order to develop a professional practice and clinical tools that better meet the needs of young people in a way that makes sense for them. It also supports the relevance of taking more interest in the place of children in the youth protection services and in giving them a voice in future research. Keywords: professional practice, direct work with children, caseworkers discourse, supervised visits, child protection.

Précédée par le tumulte de multiples scandales médiatiques ayant dévoilé des faits de maltraitances, ignorés ou provoqués par le dispositif de la protection de l'enfance, la loi du 5 mars 2007 se voulait remédier à des dysfonctionnements intrinsèques au service de protection en restructurant sémantiquement et formellement le fonctionnement, la mission et le champ définitionnel recouvrant l'ensemble du dispositif. S'enracinant autour d'une mission de « prévention » des risques de maltraitance et de « soutien à la parentalité », de nouveaux vocables (« risque de danger », « danger »), instruments (« Informations Préoccupantes », « Projet Pour l'Enfant ») et de nouvelles instances (« Cellule de Recueil des Informations Préoccupantes », « Observatoire ») ont accompagné le caractère réformateur de la loi. Au-delà du simple changement et renouvellement sémantique, cette constellation de mots et de syntagmes n'était pas sans produire de profondes altérations dans l'agencement des rôles, des fonctions et des identités de chaque acteur pris dans le réseau énonciatif du dispositif. À partir d'un ensemble d'énoncés prescriptifs, la loi façonnait et engageait les professionnels à faire-avec un nouveau paradigme général sur la représentation du lien parent-enfant. Il ne s'agissait plus pour les professionnels, à l'intérieur de cette vision, de sanctionner un parent potentiellement « carencé », ou de couper un lien jugé « toxique » pour protéger un enfant, mais de permettre au sujet parental de se découvrir (« s'éliciter ») et d'investir son rôle de parent. Soutenu par une médiation institutionnelle, le parent se voyait en cela potentiellement désigné, depuis l'article 375 du Code civil, comme un actant responsable du bon « développement physique, affectif, intellectuel et social » de l'enfant. Réagençant les linéaments sur lesquels reposait la prise en charge d'un usager, la loi réorganisait en profondeur la structure du comportement des différents acteurs. S'interrogeant sur ces diverses modifications normatives, ce travail de recherche se propose de saisir les « effets » opérés par la loi du 5 mars 2007 sur les pratiques, la pensée et les relations entre professionnels, usagers et institutions. À travers les analyses des dossiers de la protection de l'enfance, des évolutions législatives, institutionnelles, discursives et d'entretiens réalisés avec des travailleurs sociaux, nous chercherons à comprendre comment se sont redessinés les rapports de pouvoir entre des familles et des professionnels porteurs d'une intervention « parentaliste ». Se rapportant aux répercussions du discours d'un dispositif de régulation sociale sur des sujets, cette étude empruntera une lecture et une analyse similaire, dans ses principes et ses méthodes, à celles que M. Foucault a effectuées sur la prison ou la sexualité. À l'issue de l'analyse critique, et ce pour dépasser les difficultés rencontrées autour de nouvelles pistes de réflexion, la recherche donnera lieu à la formalisation de préconisations. / Preceded by the tumult of multiple media scandals having unveiled the facts of abuse, ignored or provoked by the child protection system, the law of March 5, 2007 was intented to remedy to intrinsic failures in the protection service by semantically and formally restructuring the operation, the mission and the definitional field covering the entire device. Rooting around the abuses risk « prevention » mission and « parentality support », a few new vocables (« Danger Risk », « Danger »), instruments (« Worrying Information », « Project For the Child ») and new instances (« Cell Collecting Information of Concern », « Observatory ») have accompanied the law's reformist character. Beyond the simple change and semantic renewal, this constellation of words and sentences was not without producing profound alternations in the arrangement of roles, functions and identities of each actor caught in the enunciative network of the device. From a set of normative statements, the law shaped and committed professionals to do-with a new general paradigm on the representation of the parent-child link. It was no longer for the professionals, inside of this vision, to punish a parent potentially « deficiencied », or to cut off a link judged « toxic » to protect a child, but to allow the parental subject to discover itself (« to elicit ») and invest its role of parent. Supported by an institutional mediation, the parent was potentially designated, since Article 375 of the Civil Code, as an protagonist for the good « physical, emotional, intellectual and social development » of the child. Reordering the elementary lines on which was based the care of a user, the law reorganized in depth the behavior's structure of the various actors. Wondering about these various normative changes, this research work offers itself to seize the operated « effects » by the law of March 5, 2007 on practices, the thought and the relationships between professionals, users and institutions. Through analyzes of child protection files, legislative, institutional, discursive evolutions and interviews with social workers, we will seek to understand how did the power reports between the relatives and the professionals carriers of « parentalist » intervention. Referring to the repercussions of the speech of a social regulation device on topics, this study will borrow a similar reading and analysis, in its principles and methods, to what Mr. Foucault has done on prison or sexuality. At the end of the critical analysis, and to overcome the difficulties encountered around new lines of thought, the research will lead to the formalization of recommendations.

No description available.

The diploma thesis aims to describe the process of family strengthening of two services provided by Regional Caritas Jičín. It also compares the services using a good practice approach, which is defined by multidisciplinary cooperation and a network of activities of various organizations. The theoretical part of the thesis describes the process of family strengthening and explains terms such as family and its functions, multi-problem family, the vulnerability of contemporary family, family typology, or various socio-pathological phenomena. In this part, the objectives, principles, and legal framework of family strengthening are described. Two researched social activation services providing family strengthening are introduced. The setting of the system of care in Czechia is outlined, including its current issues and the ongoing transformation. Moreover, the innovative concepts of cooperation and methods of social work are introduced, i.e. multidisciplinary teams, child protection conferences, family conferences, or the Cochem model. The practical part of the thesis sets out three research objectives and describes the approach to the research, including its ethics, the researchers' position, and the method used for data collection - the semi-structured interview. Furthermore, the research analysis is...

Since the turn of the millennium, Zimbabwe has witnessed a raft of socio-economic and political problems characterised by hyper-inflation; shortage of basic commodities; dwindling fiscal reserves; ballooning domestic and foreign debt; falling standard of living and high levels of migration. The devastating effects of the Aids pandemic have not helped the situation. With estimates indicating that there are more than million orphaned children, social security programmes have been overstretched resulting in the State failing to adequately provide for the needs of these orphans in the country. It is against this background that the study sought to explore the community level initiatives that communities are taking to meet the needs of orphans through community based programmes. The goal of the study was to explore the contribution of social entrepreneurship in meeting the needs of orphans in the Mberengwa district, Zimbabwe. The study was conducted using a qualitative research approach. The study was exploratory and the type of research was applied. The collective case study design was utilised. A total of twenty participants took part in the study; including six children who were benefiting from the income generating projects, four key informants who work closely with the projects as well as ten villagers who were involved in the day to day running of the projects. The participants were selected from two villages that have the projects benefiting orphans. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. Data was collected from the children and key informants by way of interviews and from the villagers through focus group discussions. The findings show that the government of Zimbabwe lacks capacity to meet the needs of orphans due to the socio-economic and political challenges and as a result, communities in Mberengwa district have taken the initiative to care for the orphans in their area through income generating projects. The income generating projects are social entrepreneurial ventures in that they aim at generating profits which are channelled towards meeting the needs of the orphans. Through the income generating projects, the orphans in Mberengwa district are able to access their needs which include food, education, clothing, shelter, birth registration and protection from abuse. Findings also indicated that in the Mberengwa district, orphan care is viewed as a community, rather than individual responsibility. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the communities in Mberengwa have inherent strengths which make it possible for them to work together in achieving common objectives. Consequently, their social ties and close social relations enable them to work together to deal with problems confronting them collectively. vi projects benefiting orphans. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. Data was collected from the children and key informants by way of interviews and from the villagers through focus group discussions. The findings show that the government of Zimbabwe lacks capacity to meet the needs of orphans due to the socio-economic and political challenges and as a result, communities in Mberengwa district have taken the initiative to care for the orphans in their area through income generating projects. The income generating projects are social entrepreneurial ventures in that they aim at generating profits which are channelled towards meeting the needs of the orphans. Through the income generating projects, the orphans in Mberengwa district are able to access their needs which include food, education, clothing, shelter, birth registration and protection from abuse. Findings also indicated that in the Mberengwa district, orphan care is viewed as a community, rather than individual responsibility. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the communities in Mberengwa have inherent strengths which make it possible for them to work together in achieving common objectives. Consequently, their social ties and close social relations enable them to work together to deal with problems confronting them collectively. It was concluded that income generating projects based on social entrepreneurial principles are a critical poverty alleviation and social protection mechanism for orphans in the Mberengwa communities as they lead to meeting their needs and furthermore, alleviate social problems in the community. In order to respond to the gap created by the government’s lack of capacity to care for the orphans, social entrepreneurship through income generating projects can be utilised to achieve social protection and poverty alleviation goals more so in the country’s quest to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Recommendations include the need to review the legal and policy framework governing the care and protection of orphans in the country to include community-based programmes. Furthermore, it is recommended to strengthen traditional orphan care structures in facilitating income generating projects based on social entrepreneurial principles as they have the propensity to help meet the needs of orphans at the community level. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

The theses is focused on the work with deprivated families with concentration on the method of family cure an its application in the City of Most. It is work which is based on combination of theoretical and empirical access to the problem which leads to proposal of practical application of the method in praxis. The document is structured in six chapters. The first chapter follows the term "family" as the basic cathegory of the issue. The second chapter deals with the theme of deprivated family, which represents the target group of the cure process. Besides the basic terms explanation this chapter includes also analysis of the present state of the work with family in our country and in some other european countries. The third chapter is already focused on the term family rescue. Besides of term definition it is concentrated on aims, processes and methods in use and on the legislative framework. The fourth chapter analyses situation in the field of family rescue method and its application in current system of work with deprivated families and introduces to reader modern methods promising for the future. The fifth chapter concerns on social services system which is on disposal with family rescue with emphasis on services of social actuation for families with children. The last chapter represents the project...

Child protection is one of the most demanding fields of social protection and requires comprehensive solutions which have a major impact on the lives of children and their families. It also includes the agenda of parental conflicts and related child custody proceedings. The thesis deals with the practice of child protection social workers at the municipal authorities with extended powers in the Czech Republic in solving parental disputes. The theoretical part introduces legal, educational and competence framework of child protection and sets it into the context of specific aspects and pitfalls associated with the profession and approach of child protection social workers to solving parental conflicts. It also provides recommendations on how to solve parental conflicts followed by a case study of child protection department at the Prague 8 Municipality District Authority. It identifies attributes of best practice that contribute to the best interests of the child, including participation of families, multidisciplinary cooperation, transparency of processes and neutrality, professionalism and reflexivity of child protection social workers. The empirical part focuses on the understanding of working conditions and attitudes of child protection social workers at the municipal authorities with extended...