![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
Abstract
Although a few cross-national comparative studies have shed light on variation in parenting support policies, none specifically concentrates on perceptions of parenting within child protective services. This article examines Norwegian and French child welfare workers’ accounts of parenting in home-based interventions. The aims of the article are twofold: (i) to compare child welfare workers’ accounts of home-based interventions and (ii) to learn about the underlying basis of cross-national differences in these accounts. The central issues explored in the article involve the similarities and cross-national differences in social workers’ perceptions of parenting in home-based interventions. Drawing on 37 interviews with child welfare workers, the article sheds light on two distinct ‘dispositifs’ of parenting: the Norwegian emphasizes changing the parent, whilst the French stresses giving support for parenting. The findings thus reflect two distinct ways of conceptualizing and talking about child rearing and the parent–child relationship.
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank the social workers who participated in the study for their insights. Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the helpful comments I received from Professor Nicole Hennum and from the anonymous reviewers.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. The French term pouponnière refers to an institution in charge of caring round-the-clock for those children under age 3 living outside their biological families and who cannot stay in a foster home (Pioli Citation2006).
2. I use the translation of Réseaux d’écoute, d’appui et d’accompagnement des parents provided by Join-Lambert Milova and Sohre (Citation2011).
3. A comprehensive analysis of these terms is beyond the scope of this paper.