Governing the family: immigrant parents’ perceptions of the controlling power of the Norwegian welfare system

ABSTRACT

Norway is a comprehensive welfare state. While these types of systems are considered attractive for supporting families, tight control of familial life and members might go with them. It is important to understand how different parents perceive and interpret interventions and measures aimed at improving their lives. This paper explores immigrant parents’ perceptions of the welfare system and examines the types of control they perceive in their parenting through involvement with Child Welfare Services (CWS) and other welfare institutions. The study draws data from interviews with 15 immigrant families, 10 of which had contact with CWS and 5 that were not involved with CWS. In our analysis, we argue that immigrant families feel disempowered through their interactions with the welfare system, which they perceive to be controlling through excessive surveillance of immigrant parents parenting practices. We argue that perceptions of CWS are not only derived from direct interaction with the services, but also from interactions with other welfare institutions and the broader society.

ABSTRAKT

Norge har en omfattende velferdsstat. Selv om` omfattende velferdsstater kan oppfattes positivt fordi den støtter samfunnsmedlemmene, kan den likevel by på utfordringer. Det er viktig å ha kunnskap om hvordan ulike foreldre tolker og erfarer tjenester og intervensjoner som er rettet mot å forbedre livene deres. Denne artikkelen utforsker innvandrerforeldres oppfatninger av velferdstjenester og undersøker opplevelser av ulik type kontroll i møte med barneverntjenesten og andre velferdsinstitusjoner. Studien er basert på intervjuer med 15 minoritetsforeldre, hvorav 10 har hatt direkte kontakt selv med barneverntjenesten. De øvrige 5 hadde ikke slik erfaring. Analysene viser at immigrantfamiliene opplever at interaksjoner med velferdstjenester fører til følelse av avmektighet. De opplever også at interaksjonen og tiltakene er svært kontrollerende og foreldreovervåkende. Vi argumenterer for at foreldrenes oppfattinger av barnevernet ikke kun er basert på egne erfaringer fra barnevernet, de er også dannet på bakgrunn av samhandling med ulike velferdstjenester og møte med storsamfunnet.

KEYWORDS:

• Governance
• welfare system
• parents’ perceptions
• welfare institutions
• immigrant parents

NØKKELORD:

• Styring
• velferdssystem
• foredlers oppfatning
• velferd institusjon
• immigranter foreldre

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Stavanger.

Notes on contributors

Memory Jayne Tembo

Memory Jayne Tembo is a lecturer at VID Specialised University, department of social studies. Her current research concerns immigrants’ experiences with the child welfare services in Norway. Her recent research and publications have focused on social work with families and emotional experiences that parents report about in child welfare as well as experiences of parenting in a new country. She has research experiences from Malawi and Norway.

Ingunn Studsrød

Ingunn Studsrød, is a professor in Social Work at Department of Social Studies, at the University of Stavanger. Her research concerns school adjustment, child welfare work, social work with families, historical abuse and redress processes. She has published books and articles in Norwegian and international journals, such as Child & Family Social Work, European Journal of Social Work, School Psychology International and Social Policy and Society. Her profile on educational experiences includes social work and social pedagogy; which has a special focus on promoting welfare and citizenship in vulnerable children and young people.

Susan Young

Dr Susan Young is a social work educator and researcher in the division of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Australia. She is also the Director of the Social Policy Practice and Research Consortium at UWA, which undertakes research and policy projects associated with issues of vulnerability and marginalisation. Susan is part of an international research network comprising colleagues from Norway and Aotearoa New Zealand, whose current research activity is community and child rights approaches to child protection. Her most recent publications concern working with Indigenous peoples using decolonising frameworks for practice.