Barnevernets legitimitet i det senmoderne samfunn

I denne artikkelen drøftes sentrale tankemåter, forestillinger og idéer som ligger til grunn for velferdsstatens tjenester generelt og for barnevernet spesielt. Velferdsstaten ble utformet som en løsning på sosiale problemer, men for å forstå hvorfor løsningene fikk den utformingen og de begrunnelsene som de gjorde, er det nødvendig å undersøke de grunnleggende politiske og vitenskapelige oppfatninger som var dominerende i den perioden velferdsordningene ble etablert. En slik analyse vil kunne bidra til en forståelse av de utfordringer som dagens velferdstjenester står overfor. Utfordringene er dels knyttet til at nye problemer oppstår, men minst like viktig er endringer i samfunnets struktur og kultur. Siden synet på barnets interesser og behov, hvilke rettigheter og plikter individet og familien har, og hva det offentlige kan gjøre med enkeltindivider og familier, har endret seg betydelig siden barnevernet ble etablert, må en anta at kravene til barnevernarbeidet har endret seg. I artikkelen drøftes det hvordan standardene for godt barnevernarbeid og oppfatningene av hva barneverntjenesten legitimt kan gjøre, har endret seg. Det konkluderes med at tiltakene for å løse sosiale problemer i større grad enn tidligere må legitimeres i relasjonen mellom profesjonsutøver og bruker, og at det krever nye måter å arbeide på, og ny kompetanse hos dem som står for tjenesteproduksjonen

Motherhood in context—life course interviews with young mothers in contact with child welfare

Background: The purpose of this article is to explore how a sample of young mothers in contact with child welfare services in Norway narrate their transition to motherhood and their relation with child welfare services. Methods: The article is based on life-course interviews with the mothers, on which we have conducted a content analysis inspired by narrative theory. Results: Results show that whereas the mothers deviated from common expectations of predictability and orderliness before they became mothers, they strived to provide a “good enough” situation for their children in line with expectations in larger society ever after. Nevertheless, the complex disadvantages that the mothers said they had in several life domains concerning social networks and family support, education, working life, housing, and that were apparently already in their transition to adulthood, were likely to increase even after the mothers had decided to enter the mothering role in socially acceptable ways. Conclusions: The article concludes that child welfare services may contribute positively by acknowledging the complexity of young mothers’ living context when assessing mothering practices.publishedVersio

Which participation practices can be found in child welfare service records?

Several studies show insufficient practices regarding children’s participation in child welfare cases. This article is based on document analysis of 216 child welfare records from four Norwegian Child Welfare Services. Our study aims to investigate whether varying degrees and forms of participation are found in different phases of child welfare work: investigation, supportive measures, and in care. With whom the child talks, the topic, and the phase of the process are crucial for whether participation is documented. Individual conversations with the child welfare worker regarding child welfare topics enhance the probability of the child’s views being documented in their records.acceptedVersio

Predictors of child participation in child welfare emergency placements—A Norwegian case file study

Background:Although child participation has attained significant awareness in childwelfare research, little is known about how this right is upheld in emergency cases.Therefore, the various degrees to which children participate in child welfare services'emergency cases and factors predicting such participation were explored.Method:Degrees of participation found in 148 case files (Mage=11–12 years old,range; 3–18 years; 59% girls, 48% with minority backgrounds) from four Norwegianmunicipalities were regressed on 15 independent variables in a multinomial logisticregression.Results:The children's advancing age increases their probabilities of involvement inthe decision-making processes regarding emergency placements (p< 0.001). Thechildren's minority backgrounds enhance their likelihood of being informed of theplacement and having their opinions given weight in decision-making processes(p=0.010). The study, nevertheless, revealed that 39% of children in emergencyplacements are not involved in these processes.Conclusions:Case file documentation indicates inadequate involvement of childrenin emergency cases. Nevertheless, older children and those with minority back-grounds are more likely to participate, although the degree of their involvementvaries. The study did not find a correlation between prior contact with child welfareservices and child participationPredictors of child participation in child welfare emergency placements—A Norwegian case file studypublishedVersio

Education and employment status among young adults three years after entering residential substance use treatment. A longitudinal data-linkage study

Aims This study aims to investigate three-year follow-up among young adults who entered residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment with regard to outcomes related to education, work and mortality. Methods Participants who entered residential SUD treatment between 2011 and 2016 aged 16–29 years were included in the study. In this study, we used data from the electronic health records of the treatment facility of the participants and linked these with data from nationwide registries. The data included de-identified, person-level information on patient demographics, crime, treatment use and socioeconomic factors. The primary outcome was education and employment status, analyzed using logistic regression. Results At the follow-up, two-fifths of the sample were in education or employment, half were receiving welfare benefits and the annual income level was low. 3.6% of the sample had died. Those who were in education or work were less likely to have post-treatment convictions and to use residential SUD treatment services than those who were not. Conclusion Being in education or employment and not engaging in crime or severe substance use can create a life situation that helps to sustain recovery. There is a need to establish SUD treatment for young adults that includes education- and employment-focused interventions.Education and employment status among young adults three years after entering residential substance use treatment. A longitudinal data-linkage studypublishedVersio

Family involvement in child welfare services: The association between socio-economic status and self-reported parenting practices

In child welfare policies, as in contemporary society in general, great attention has been given to parenting roles and investing in ‘positive’ parenting practices. Several studies have suggested that socio-economic factors frame parenting practices. There is broad evidence of a significant correlation between socio-economic inequalities and child welfare intervention rates. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated parenting practices in a child welfare population. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between socio-economic status (SES) and parenting practices in a Norwegian child welfare population. The study was based on a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2018–2019. The sample consisted of 256 parents (71.5% females). Linear regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounding and intermediate factors, was conducted. Lower SES was associated with higher levels of positive parenting/involvement practices (b = 0.146, CI: 0.026–0.266, P = 0.018), indicating an inverse pattern compared with the general population. When adjusting for symptoms of anxiety and depression, the association was slightly attenuated but remained statistically significant. No significant association was found between SES and inconsistent discipline/other disciplinary practices. The present study offers insights that should be useful in practice and further large-scale studies.publishedVersio

Omsorgstjenestens mange mellommenneskelige møter - en kartleggingsstudie i fem regioner om omsorgstjenestens møte med mennesker med innvandrerbakgrunn

Published versio

Invisible children, untouchable cases? States’ legal obligation to protect diplomat children

This article discusses the scope of legal obligation for contracting states to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to realise children’s right to protection from all forms of violence in diplomat families, while simultaneously acknowledging diplomatic immunity. Based on an in-depth, qualitative study consisting of 43 written and oral accounts of former Norwegian Foreign Services children from 2015 to 2019, we show that children growing up in diplomat families experience infringement of their rights with little attention being paid to their situation by public authorities, neither in a receiving nor a sending state. The effect of being invisible to the authorities of either state is intensified by the legal framework of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations granting diplomat families and their children immunity from jurisdiction in a receiving state. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, however, requires that measures are taken by contracting states. We suggest certain types of actions by the receiving and sending state that are in line with the legal status of immunity of diplomat families while still supporting the realisation of human rights of diplomat children.acceptedVersio

Invisible children, untouchable cases? States’ legal obligation to protect diplomat children

This article discusses the scope of legal obligation for contracting states to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to realise children’s right to protection from all forms of violence in diplomat families, while simultaneously acknowledging diplomatic immunity. Based on an in-depth, qualitative study consisting of 43 written and oral accounts of former Norwegian Foreign Services children from 2015 to 2019, we show that children growing up in diplomat families experience infringement of their rights with little attention being paid to their situation by public authorities, neither in a receiving nor a sending state. The effect of being invisible to the authorities of either state is intensified by the legal framework of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations granting diplomat families and their children immunity from jurisdiction in a receiving state. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, however, requires that measures are taken by contracting states. We suggest certain types of actions by the receiving and sending state that are in line with the legal status of immunity of diplomat families while still supporting the realisation of human rights of diplomat children.acceptedVersio

Distributed Optimization Based Adaptive Underwater Communication Schemes

Denne bacheloroppgaven presenterer utviklingen av et kommunikasjonssystem for EvoLogics modemer som bruker standardprotokollen JANUS for undervannskommunikasjon. Det blir også integrert en optimaliseringsalgoritme for Subnero modemer ved bruk av ROS 2 (Robot Operating System) som rammeverk. Algoritmen for optimalisering er basert på en robust og asynkron Newton-Raphson konsensus (ra-NRC), som kombinert med undervannsmodemer og ROS 2 skal ta stilling til utfordringer ved undervannskommunikasjon. Dette ønskes å oppnås ved å forbedre effektiviteten og nøyaktigheten av sending av data ved bruk av konveks optimalisering. Et av hovedpunktene i oppgaven ligger i utviklingen av programvare som etablerer mulighet for kommunikasjon mellom undervannsmodem fra EvoLogics og Subnero. Denne kommunikasjonen er basert på ANEP-87 standard, og er en standard brukt av NATO for undervannskommunikasjon ved bruk av akustiske signaler. I tillegg er bruken av SDMSH og JANUS bibliotekene med EvoLogics modemene forenklet. Til slutt ønskes disse aspektene å bli integrert sammen for å oppnå optimalisert kommunikasjon mellom forskjellige typer undevannsmodem. Optimaliseringen av parametre for effektiv undervannskommunikasjon har ikke blitt implementert enda. Imidlertid har det blitt testet at konveks optimalisering fungerer mellom virtuelle modem ved bruk av simulering i UnetStack. Videre har diverse løsninger blitt brukt for å oppnå et modulært og forståelig system, med en mulighet for en videreutvikling som kan tilpasses spesifikke behov.This thesis presents the development of a communication mechanism for the EvoLogics modems using the JANUS protocol, an underwater communication standard, and the integration of an optimization algorithm with the Subnero modems using ROS 2 (Robot Operating System) as the framework. The optimization algorithm, based on a robust and asynchronous Newton-Raphson consensus, ra-NRC, combined with underwater modems and ROS 2, aims to address the challenges faced in underwater communication schemes, by improving the efficiency and accuracy of data transmission by using convex optimization. The other key aspect lies within the development of software, meant to establish the possibility of mixed subsea communication with the EvoLogics and Subnero underwater modems. This communication is based on the ANEP-87 standard, the standard for underwater communication for NATO, an international standard for subsea communication using acoustic waves. Additionally, the use of SDMSH and JANUS for EvoLogics modems has been simplified. Finally, these aspects are integrated together to achieve optimized mixed-vendor modem communication. The optimization of communication parameters to achieve efficient communication has yet to be applied. However, it has been tested through a UnetStack simulation that the convex optimization works between two virtual modems. Various tools are used to achieve a modular and comprehensive system, with the possibility to be built further for custom needs