The role of a family group conference in child foster care from a social work perspective : doctoral dissertation

Horvat, Gordana (author), Mali, Jana (mentor), Flaker, Vito (comentor)

The lack of methods for working with all participants in the foster care system and the bureaucratisation of the system show that social work has no answer to the complexity of the foster care system and the risk of increasing institutionalisation of children. The family group conference is based on the principles of participation and emancipation through the form of group work. The aim of the dissertation is to combine a family group conference with an analysis of the practise of foster care and the possibilities of this method's contribution to the non-institutional placement of children. The research was conducted using an action research approach in which an action group of social workers implemented changes in practise and regularly examined the problem. The results were analysed by triangulating the research methods and findings. The findings of the dissertation show that the method can be used in different stages of the foster care system and contributes to placing more children with relatives, transferring fewer children from the foster care system to an institution and returning the child to the primary family. Systemic changes are needed to introduce the method into the statutory framework or local authority services. In the practise of foster care in Croatia, participation and emancipation as well as group work are not sufficiently taken into account. A new grounded theory for working with the family, the theory of emancipation and inclusive participation in foster care, is based on the dissertation and involves all participants according to the principle of balance of power through joint work that respects the family's right to make decisions about their own lives.

• Language: English
• Keywords: deinstitutionalisation, emancipation, participation, group work, family, empowerment
• Work type: Doctoral dissertation
• Typology: 2.08 - Doctoral Dissertation
• Organization: FSD - Faculty of Social Work
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: [G. Horvat]
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 339 str.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-162370
• UDC: 364-786.2:364-782.42(043.3)
• COBISS.SI-ID: 211536643
• Publication date in RUL: 21.09.2024

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Vloga družinske skupinske konference pri rejništvu otrok z vidika socialnega dela : doktorska disertacija

Abstract

Pomanjkanje metod za delo z vsemi udeleženci v sistemu rejništva in birokratizacija sistema kažeta, da socialno delo nima odgovora na zapletenost sistema rejništva in nevarnost vse večje institucionalizacije otrok. Družinska skupinska konferenca temelji na načelih sodelovanja in emancipacije skozi obliko skupinskega dela. Cilj doktorske disertacije je združiti družinsko skupinsko konferenco z analizo prakse rejništva in možnosti prispevka te metode k neinstitucionalni namestitvi otrok. Raziskava je bila izvedena z uporabo akcijskega raziskovalnega pristopa, v katerem je akcijska skupina socialnih delavcev izvajala spremembe v praksi in redno preverjala problematiko. Rezultati so bili analizirani s triangulacijo raziskovalnih metod in ugotovitev. Ugotovitve disertacije kažejo, da se metoda lahko uporablja v različnih fazah sistema rejništva in prispeva k namestitvi več otrok pri sorodnikih, premestitvi manjšega števila otrok iz sistema rejništva v institucijo in vrnitvi otroka v primarno družino. Za uvedbo metode v zakonski okvir ali storitve lokalnih organov so potrebne sistemske spremembe. V praksi rejništva na Hrvaškem se sodelovanje in emancipacija ter skupinsko delo ne upoštevajo dovolj. Nova utemeljena teorija za delo z družino, teorija emancipacije in vključujoče participacije v rejništvu, temelji na disertaciji in vključuje vse udeležence po načelu ravnovesja moči s skupnim delom, ki spoštuje pravico družine do odločanja o lastnem življenju.

• Keywords: dezinstitucionalizacija, emancipacija, participacija, skupinsko delo, družina, krepitev moči