Children's participation in child protection-How do practitioners understand children's participation in practice?

Children's participation is essential to achieve good outcomes for children involved in child protection systems. Despite this, research has consistently found children report low levels of participation, are poorly consulted and feel inadequately involved in decisions about their lives. To explore how practitioners understand children's participation, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with statutory child protection practitioners in Australia. The interviews explored the ways child protection practitioners understand children's participation. Our findings show practitioners conceptualize children as rights holders and believe it is essential to hear directly from children about their needs and wishes to keep them safe. Practitioners identified the importance of transparent processes and decisions. Different understanding of participation emerged, with some participants talking about children as their central focus but not discussing meaningful participation of the child. It appeared that children's participation relied largely on the views and skills of individual workers, as well as their ability to incorporate meaningful participation in limited time and in complex practice environments where children's safety is a primary concern. Systemic changes to address time barriers, training practitioners to understand and implement participatory practice, and seeking children's input into service design, will support consistent and meaningful participation.

Automated summary

Children's participation in child protection systems is crucial, but research shows that their level of participation is low, and they are not adequately consulted in decision-making about their lives. This study explores how practitioners understand children's participation and found that they see children as rights holders and believe in the importance of directly hearing from children. However, there are differing perspectives on meaningful participation, and individual workers play a significant role in facilitating children's participation. Systemic changes, training, and seeking children's input are important for consistent and meaningful participation.