Youth Oriented Development of Child Protective Services
Alanen, Emma; Knuutinen, Anna; Miettinen, Juho (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023101227334
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023101227334
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this Bachelor of Social Services functional thesis is to create participatory and youth-focused working methods that benefit the child protective services in Finland. The thesis was conducted in collaboration with a working life partner, Osallisuuden aika association, which main aim is to gain involvement of former service users of child protective services and professionals of social services.
The theoretical framework of the thesis focuses on the child welfare system and its clientship, previous research of substitute care, participation as a concept and the benefits of youth orientation. When referring to children and youth in our thesis, we mean individuals who are approximately between the ages of 13-29 years.
This functional thesis was implemented as participatory working methods with a client group. All the seven participants shared a background of child protective services and substitute care. The age of the participants ranged from 16 to 31 years old. The workshops that were created as a working method had different themes, which covered the usual events in substitute care: arriving to substitute care, everyday life in substitute care as well as after care and independence.
Based on the conversations of the workshops, the participants expressed the importance of proper ways of encountering, open conversation, having a structured everyday life and having enough skills and knowledge for independent life. Additionally, the participants considered the arrangement of services, individuality of each client and how to develop the current child welfare services.
The workshops received positive feedback from the participants and the working life partner. We believe that the working methods and contents of the workshops can be adapted and used in other contexts to promote participation.
The theoretical framework of the thesis focuses on the child welfare system and its clientship, previous research of substitute care, participation as a concept and the benefits of youth orientation. When referring to children and youth in our thesis, we mean individuals who are approximately between the ages of 13-29 years.
This functional thesis was implemented as participatory working methods with a client group. All the seven participants shared a background of child protective services and substitute care. The age of the participants ranged from 16 to 31 years old. The workshops that were created as a working method had different themes, which covered the usual events in substitute care: arriving to substitute care, everyday life in substitute care as well as after care and independence.
Based on the conversations of the workshops, the participants expressed the importance of proper ways of encountering, open conversation, having a structured everyday life and having enough skills and knowledge for independent life. Additionally, the participants considered the arrangement of services, individuality of each client and how to develop the current child welfare services.
The workshops received positive feedback from the participants and the working life partner. We believe that the working methods and contents of the workshops can be adapted and used in other contexts to promote participation.