Summary

Children of social service users are at risk for developing mental health problems as well as social and behavioral problems. Social service counselors should therefore be aware of service users’ children and provide support for them. In fact, they are obligated by law to consider children's views and their best interests in cases affecting them. Despite this, little is known about social service counselors’ child focus in their practice. In this study, self-reported survey data from 93 counselors working for the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration (NAV) were analyzed to explore their child focus.

Findings

Findings suggest that a particular focus on children is no part of common practice among NAV counselors; nor is use or knowledge of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Knowledge and use of the CRC may be a predictor of child-focused practice. The results showed a significant difference of medium effect size between NAV counselors who ask about children and NAV counselors who do not when it comes to knowledge and use of the CRC.

Applications

Policy makers and practitioners should utilize NAV's potential as a preventive arena. For NAV counselors to be aware of and support children of social service users they need a stronger focus on children and hence know and use the laws concerning children's rights. Incorporating children's rights into social workers’ education and internal training may strengthen the focus on children in NAV counselors’ practice.

中文翻译：

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挪威成人社会服务中以儿童为中心的实践

总结

社会服务使用者的孩子面临出现心理健康问题以及社会和行为问题的风险。因此，社会服务顾问应该了解服务使用者的孩子并为他们提供支持。事实上，法律规定他们有义务在影响儿童的案件中考虑儿童的意见和他们的最大利益。尽管如此，人们对社会服务顾问在实践中的儿童关注点知之甚少。在这项研究中，分析了 93 名在挪威劳动和福利管理局 (NAV) 工作的顾问的自我报告调查数据，以探索他们对儿童的关注。

调查结果

调查结果表明，在 NAV 顾问中，特别关注儿童并不是普遍做法的一部分；联合国儿童权利公约 (CRC) 的使用或知识也不是。CRC 的知识和使用可能是以儿童为中心的实践的预测指标。结果表明，在 CRC 的知识和使用方面，询问儿童的 NAV 顾问和不询问儿童的 NAV 顾问之间的中间效应大小存在显着差异。

应用

政策制定者和从业者应该利用 NAV 作为预防领域的潜力。为了让 NAV 顾问了解和支持社会服务使用者的孩子，他们需要更加关注儿童，从而了解和使用有关儿童权利的法律。将儿童权利纳入社会工作者的教育和内部培训可能会加强 NAV 辅导员对儿童的关注。