Parents' involvement in care order decisions: a cross-country study of front-line practice

This article examines parents’ involvement in care order decision-making in four countries at one particular point in the care order process, namely when the child protection worker discusses with the parents his/her considerations regarding child removal. The countries represent different child welfare systems with Norway and Finland categorized as ‘family service systems’ and the US as a ‘child protection system’, with England somewhere in between. The focus is on whether the forms and intensity of involvement are different in these four countries, and whether the system orientation towards family services or child protection influences practice in the social welfare agencies with parents. Involvement is studied in terms of providing information to parents, collecting information from parents and ensuring inclusion in the decision-making processes. A vignette method is employed in a survey with 768 responses from child protection workers in four countries. The findings do not show a consistent pattern of difference regarding parental involvement in care order preparations that align with the type of child welfare system in which staff work. The goal in each child welfare system is to include parents, but the precise ways in which it is done (or not) vary. Methodological suggestions are given for further studies

Amine BEYHOM : Théories byzantines de l’échelle et pratiques du chant byzantin arabe : une approche comparative et analytique proposant une solution inédite pour le système théorique de Chrysanthos le Madyte

Ce volumineux nouvel ouvrage d’Amine Beyhom est exhaustif sur la période du XIXe au XXe siècle, qui concerne les deux théories issues des réformes patriarcales, celle de Chrysanthos Madytos (1814-1818) et celle (en 1881) de la Commission de musique du patriarcat œcuménique de Constantinople. L’auteur nous avait déjà gratifié, dans son premier livre sur la musique arabe (2010) d’un nombre de pages équivalent. Mais le format de ce deuxième opus est nettement plus grand (28 x 21,5) et le contenu..

Issue 1: “It’s Better Late Than Never”: A Community-Based HIV Research and Training Response to Supporting Mothers Living with HIV Who Have Child Welfare Involvement (Part I)

Grounded in community-based research (CBR) principles and an anti-oppression framework, the Positive Parenting Pilot Project (P4) aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate an HIV education and training module to enhance the provision of support for families affected by HIV and who are at risk of or already involved with child protection services. We set out to strengthen the ability of Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) in Ontario to provide anti-oppressive services to families affected by HIV from diverse communities by increasing the capacity of social workers who support these families. Applying the principles of CBR, we increased communication and forged new collaborative relationships within and between CAS agencies, the HIV service sector, parents living with HIV, and researchers in order to better address family needs at societal and structural levels. The goal of this project was to develop, provide, and evaluate a framework for an anti-oppressive education and training module related to the multiple layers of oppression that are experienced by families living with HIV including HIV-related stigma and discrimination, racism, sexism, violence and poverty. This paper presents the qualitative analysis of pre- and post- focus groups with CAS workers who participated in P4 and the emerging practice implications for working with families living with and affected by HIV

Cognitive Impairment in Adult Inflammatory Bowel Disease:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: People living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are exposed to multiple risk factors for cognitive impairment and frequently report cognitive difficulties. However, the presence of cognitive impairment in IBD has not been systematically reviewed. Methods: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, we performed a systematic multidatabase search for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies comparing adults with IBD versus healthy controls for domain-specific cognitive function or scores on multidomain cognitive screening tools. For any domain reported by 3 or more studies, we conducted random-effects meta-analysis to calculate the standardized mean difference between groups; lower scores reflected poorer performance. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed using the I 2 statistic and study quality assessed using an IBD-modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Results: Of 8302 articles screened, 12 studies (n = 687) were included in the qualitative synthesis and 11 in meta-analyses. All studies were cross-sectional. Studies generally excluded people with active IBD and older adults. Despite no significant differences on multidomain screening tools such as the Mini Mental State Examination (−0.27 [95% confidence interval −0.68, 0.08], P = 0.14), people with IBD showed significant deficits compared with healthy controls in attention (standardized mean difference −0.36 [−0.60, −0.12], P = 0.003, I 2 = 0%), executive function (standardized mean difference −0.45 [−0.77, −0.13, P = 0.005, I 2 = 42.5%), and specifically in working memory (standardized mean difference −0.58 [−0.85, −0.30], P &lt; 0.001, I 2 = 0%). Deficits in learning and recall were nonsignificant (P = 0.089) and other domains insufficient for meta-analysis. Conclusions: People with IBD show deficits in attention and executive function, particularly in working memory, suggesting that cognitive impairment is a potential extraintestinal manifestation of IBD. </p

Good professional practices for promoting positive parenting and child participation in reunification processes

Professional support of families that are under temporary protection, with the goal of reunification, is necessary for helping families re‐establish their family dynamics. Without this support, the conditions that contributed to child abuse and neglect will likely persist. In this context, the attitude of professionals towards positive parenting and child participation is a decisive factor. The quantitative study presented here contributes knowledge regarding these 2 variables. The study was conducted with 106 professionals who work in the child protection system. The results show a high degree of consensus among professionals regarding the following practices: (a) incorporating positive parenting into family reunification processes; (b) training the biological parents in parenting skills; and (c) promoting the active participation of children in foster care and reunification. Regarding the latter point, the study found that older and more experienced professionals are more open and inclined to promote participation in family reunification processes. The practical implications of the results invite us to review attitudinal competencies training for professionals working in child protection services, focusing on encouraging a positive attitude towards the parental competencies of the biological family and the active participation of children in foster care and reunification. These professionals' attitudes are a key factor in mediating the process of family reunificatio

Ethical Considerations for Committees, Supervisors, Student Researchers Conducting Qualitative Research with Young People in the United Kingdom

When investigating issues surrounding young people it is necessary to involve them in the discussion of the topic. It is also necessary that the inexperienced or student researcher is equipped with the skills needed to navigate ethical quandaries that may arise. This article considers some of the ethical issues that can arise for novice researchers in institutions that do not have a firmly established qualitative research tradition, with particular reference to research with young people and in some instances sensitive topics. Examples of how the embedding of particular research practices into an ethical framework can navigate these quandaries are made. These include Training & Skills, Recruitment & consent, Breaking the ice, disclosures and endings. Recommendations for updates to ethical procedures for qualitative psychological research are mad