In the early 2000s the main narrative in the field of child welfare was an optimistic one. It was believed that families could become stronger if they received help in the form of economic and social support. Child welfare professionals could work together with parents in a respectful, generous, and culturally sensitive way. It was also believed that parents could change for the better if they were offered a restorative, healing approach rather than a strict, punitive response. This approach was meant to be more helpful and supportive to families.
Although there are many who still share this view, there is also a growing condemnation of child welfare. Some view, everything about child welfare as wrong, counter-productive – even a violation of human rights. What’s even more worrying is that the abolitionist viewpoint makes an important error trying to find simple solutions for a very complex issue, namely, how to keep kids safe and their families healthy and stable within the context of the flawed national history in the US related to poverty and race. Just as the child welfare field once relied too heavily on family separation, the abolition school of thought would rid the US of its legally mandated obligation to child safety.
The child welfare system in the US has had decades of attempts toward reform, however the reforms have not gone far enough, nor have they had the widespread or deep effects that many of us want to see. Still, if we are going to abandon the current child welfare system, we must address some of the critical questions that have escaped the profession for decades and helped to drive the call for its end.
Join us for a thought-provoking seminar that delves into the pressing issues surrounding child welfare today!
Jill D. Berrick is a Distinguished Professor and the Zellerbach Family Foundation Professor of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley, and Professor II at the Department of Government, University of Bergen. Her research focuses on the child welfare system and efforts to improve the experiences of children and families touched by foster care. Her interests target the intersection of poverty, childhood development, parenting and the service systems designed to address family well-being. For over three decades Dr. Berrick has conducted a range of studies examining child welfare services for vulnerable families. She has written or co-written 112 books and numerous articles on topics relating to family poverty, child maltreatment and child welfare. https://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/people/jill-duerr-berrick
How to participate: At Jekteviksbakken 31 or Zoom.
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