The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in Norway

This article discusses contact and interaction between children, siblings and parents after a care order. We have collected and analyzed audio recordings of discussions between child welfare employees in Norway. In these meetings, the employees discuss and decide the extent and organization of visit...

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Main Authors: Hilde Anette Aamodt, Marianne Buen Sommerfeldt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/3/173
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author Hilde Anette Aamodt
Marianne Buen Sommerfeldt
author_facet Hilde Anette Aamodt
Marianne Buen Sommerfeldt
author_sort Hilde Anette Aamodt
collection DOAJ
description This article discusses contact and interaction between children, siblings and parents after a care order. We have collected and analyzed audio recordings of discussions between child welfare employees in Norway. In these meetings, the employees discuss and decide the extent and organization of visits and contact between parents and children under public care. Visitation mainly emerges as a risk in the discussions and thus as something that must be limited. This article shows how this risk can be seen in the context of a political or moral discourse in which these parents are given an identity and a position as “dangerous”. However, there are some exceptions. In these exceptions, parents emerge as significant and important, and contact is seen as an opportunity for the child. Here, it is the risk of not having contact that stands out.
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spelling doaj-art-9f3ef35e1d1b4b87b361e5d8111d223e2025-08-20T02:43:07ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602025-03-0114317310.3390/socsci14030173The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in NorwayHilde Anette Aamodt0Marianne Buen Sommerfeldt1Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy OsloMet—Oslo Metropolitan University, 0167 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy OsloMet—Oslo Metropolitan University, 0167 Oslo, NorwayThis article discusses contact and interaction between children, siblings and parents after a care order. We have collected and analyzed audio recordings of discussions between child welfare employees in Norway. In these meetings, the employees discuss and decide the extent and organization of visits and contact between parents and children under public care. Visitation mainly emerges as a risk in the discussions and thus as something that must be limited. This article shows how this risk can be seen in the context of a political or moral discourse in which these parents are given an identity and a position as “dangerous”. However, there are some exceptions. In these exceptions, parents emerge as significant and important, and contact is seen as an opportunity for the child. Here, it is the risk of not having contact that stands out.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/3/173governancepolitical discoursefoster caresocial work
spellingShingle Hilde Anette Aamodt
Marianne Buen Sommerfeldt
The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in Norway
Social Sciences
governance
political discourse
foster care
social work
title The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in Norway
title_full The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in Norway
title_fullStr The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in Norway
title_full_unstemmed The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in Norway
title_short The Discourse on the “Dangerous Child Welfare Parent”—How Contact with Parents Is Constructed as a Risk for Children Under Public Care in Norway
title_sort discourse on the dangerous child welfare parent how contact with parents is constructed as a risk for children under public care in norway
topic governance
political discourse
foster care
social work
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/3/173
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