Conventions safeguarding children such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children require that every child has a right to live with their biological parents. However, in Ghana, different factors such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, parental and child disability, often lead to children becoming separated from their parents. As part of the current childcare reform, the system is focusing on preventing the institutionalization of children through family support services. However, there is little research evidence on the provision of family support services in Ghana and other lower-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Using a qualitative design, I interviewed 12 social workers to explore the benefits of family support services and challenges that inhibit the gains from the services. The findings of the study suggest that the provision of family support builds up the capacity of vulnerable families to care for children, promotes children’s wellbeing and academic outcomes. Challenges that inhibit the impact of the family support services include inadequate funding, clients’ attitudes and poor interagency collaboration. Implications of the findings for practice are discussed.

中文翻译：

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儿童保育改革背景下的家庭支持服务：加纳社会工作者的观点

《联合国儿童权利公约》等保护儿童的公约要求每个儿童都有权与其亲生父母住在一起。然而，在加纳，贫困、艾滋病毒/艾滋病、父母和儿童残疾等不同因素往往导致儿童与父母分离。作为当前儿童保育改革的一部分，该系统的重点是通过家庭支持服务防止儿童被收容。然而，关于在加纳和其他中低收入国家 (LMIC) 提供家庭支持服务的研究证据很少。使用定性设计，我采访了 12 位社会工作者，以探讨家庭支持服务的好处以及阻碍服务收益的挑战。研究结果表明，提供家庭支持可以增强弱势家庭照顾儿童的能力，促进儿童的福祉和学业成绩。抑制家庭支持服务影响的挑战包括资金不足、客户的态度和机构间合作不畅。讨论了研究结果对实践的影响。