The accommodation and support of unaccompanied refugee minors in Belgium: factors that complicate interprofessional collaboration

ABSTRACT

Drawing on in-depth interviews with representatives from 17 organisations, this paper focuses on patterns of collaboration between different actors involved in the pre- and post-adulthood trajectories of youngsters arriving in Belgium as unaccompanied refugee minors. First, we clarify that the Belgian support system for these minors is characterised by fragmentation. In order for this fragmented system to benefit minors, different actors need to collaborate closely. Our qualitative analysis reveals that there is room for progress, specifically when concerning information exchange, case transfer and case coordination among different organisations. We identify five different but interrelated factors that engender interprofessional collaboration: timely and adequate diagnoses; knowledge of all service providers; sufficient capacity; informal trust relationships between professionals; and cultural competence of social workers and other professionals. While some of these issues can be addressed at the level of individual organisations, many are also embedded in a structural context of time pressure, understaffing, increased stress levels and high personnel turnover.

SAMENVATTING

Op basis van diepte-interviews met 17 professionals van uiteenlopende organisaties, bestudeert dit artikel samenwerkingspatronen tussen verschillende actoren die betrokken zijn bij de pre- en post-meerderjarigheidstrajecten van jongeren die aankomen in België als niet-begeleide minderjarige vluchtelingen. In eerste instantie illustreren we dat het Belgische opvang- en begeleidingssysteem voor deze jongeren gekenmerkt wordt door fragmentatie, en dat deze gefragmenteerde opzet – ten bate van de doelgroep – een dichte samenwerking tussen de betrokken actoren vereist. Onze kwalitatieve analyse toont vervolgens aan dat er ruimte is voor verbetering op het vlak van informatie-uitwisseling, doorverwijzingen en dossiercoördinatie tussen de verschillende organisaties. Tenslotte wijzen we op vijf verschillende, maar onderling gerelateerde factoren die interprofessionele samenwerking in de hand werken: tijdige en adequate diagnoses; kennis van de sociale kaart; toereikende capaciteit; vertrouwensrelaties tussen professionals; en culturele competentie van maatschappelijk werkers en andere professionals. Daar waar sommige van deze thema’s geadresseerd kunnen worden op het niveau van de individuele organisaties, zijn vele ook ingebed in een structurele context van tijdsdruk, personeelstekort, verhoogd stressniveau en hoog personeelsverloop.

KEYWORDS:

• Belgium
• in-depth interviews
• interprofessional collaboration
• network integration
• unaccompanied refugee minors

TREFWOORDEN:

• België
• diepte-interviews
• interprofessionele samenwerking
• netwerkintegratie
• niet-begeleide minderjarige vluchtelingen

Acknowledgments

The authors owe a debt of gratitude to all the organisations contributing to this project. Without their participation and insightful comments, this paper would not have been possible. We would also like to thank Peter Raeymaeckers, Aimee Kelley and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and comments.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest. All participants have given informed consent to participate in the research. We have obtained written informed consent to publish their citations.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Innoviris under grant 2018-anticipate-148.

Notes on contributors

Liesbet De Backer

Liesbet De Backer is a PhD researcher at Cosmopolis, Department of Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium. Her research focusses on social network development of unaccompanied minor newcomers and their access to social support in their transition to adulthood.

Ilse Derluyn

Ilse Derluyn obtained her PhD in Educational Sciences at Ghent University (Belgium) and is currently affiliated as lecturer to the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy (Ghent University), where she teaches courses in migration and refugee studies. Ilse’s main research topics concern the psychosocial wellbeing of unaccompanied refugee minors, migrant and refugee children, war-affected children, victims of trafficking and child soldiers. She is also actively involved in supporting refugees and practitioners working with refugees and migrants, in policy research and policy-influence. Ilse published over 40 international publications and several books. Prof. Derluyn is heading the Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees (CESSMIR) and is co-director of the Centre for Children in Vulnerable Situations (CCVS).

Nick Schuermans

Nick Schuermans is a teaching associate at the Department of Geography, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His most recent research builds upon his interest in the geographies of encounter and solidarity, and focuses on the role of diverse groups of professionals in the accommodation of newcomers in the city of Brussels.