Family support services buffer the effect of child welfare notifications on child removals

Previous studies have found mixed results about the effects of family support services within the child protection system. The purpose of the study is to examine whether family support services are associated with the need for child removals at the community level. The material of the study consists...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child & family social work 2023-05, Vol.28 (2), p.372-382
Main Authors: Toikko, Timo, Seppälä, Piia, Häkkilä, Laura, Hietamäki, Juulia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child Abuse
child protection
child removals
Child Safety
Child welfare
Children
Cities
Family Involvement
Family support
family support services
Finland
Municipalities
Protection
Regression analysis
Social support
social work
Support services
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Summary:Previous studies have found mixed results about the effects of family support services within the child protection system. The purpose of the study is to examine whether family support services are associated with the need for child removals at the community level. The material of the study consists of Finnish municipalities (N = 292) and their child protection indicators. Linear regression analysis was conducted to analyse the associations between the dependent variable (child removals) and the main predictors (child welfare notifications and family support services). It was found that family support services are associated with child removals. The more children there are in family support services, the more there are also child removals in a municipality. The key finding of the analysis is that a higher rather than lower proportion of clients in family support services buffers the increased effect of demand (child welfare notifications) on child removals better. In this sense, the demand for child removals is not only associated with the characteristics of children and families but may be partly explained by the role of family support services in a municipality. The present study underlines the significance of a system‐level approach to child protection.
ISSN:1356-7500
1365-2206
DOI:10.1111/cfs.12969