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ABSTRACT
The low participation of nonresident fathers in family- and child-oriented social work interventions is well documented, as are the adverse effects of their absence on the outcomes of these interventions and the welfare of their families. However, research on the reasons for this low participation tends to focus on the views and perceptions of social workers and fathers. We propose a systemic approach focusing on families rather than fathers, and institutional aspects of the welfare system, such as workplace culture and administrative barriers, rather than social workers' views. Using an institutional ethnography in six Israeli Departments of Social Services, we examined work procedures and routines with regard to separated families in Israel's social welfare and child protection system. Our findings show that social workers often fail to include nonresident fathers in their interventions with separated families. Using the theoretical framework of the mother-based intervention, we show how the organisation of services promotes a focus on mothers. These findings, we claim, have dire consequences for both fathers and mothers. Fathers are denied the opportunity to take an equal part in the lives of their children, while mothers are expected to bear the entire burden of the intervention's requirements.
תקציר
ההשתתפות הנמוכה של אבות תושבי חוץ בהתערבויות בעבודה סוציאלית למשפחה ולילד מתועדת היטב בספרות, וכך גם ההשפעות השליליות של היעדרותם על תוצאות התערבויות אלו ועל רווחת משפחותיהם. עם זאת, המחקר על הסיבות להשתתפות נמוכה זו נוטה להתמקד בדעות ובתפיסות של עובדים סוציאליים ובאלו של אבות.
אנו מציעים גישה מערכתית להבנת ההשתתפות הנמוכה של אבות שאינם מתגוררים עם ילדיהם, תוך התמקדות במשפחות ולא באבות, ובהיבטים מוסדיים של מערכת הרווחה, כגון תרבות מקום העבודה וחסמים מנהליים, במקום רק בהשקפות של עובדים סוציאליים.
באמצעות אתנוגרפיה מוסדית בשש מחלקות לשירותים חברתיים בישראל, בחנו שגרות ונהלי עבודה ביחס למשפחות פרודות במערכות הרווחה והגנת הילד בישראל.
הממצאים מראים שלעיתים קרובות עובדים סוציאליים אינם מצליחים לכלול אבות המתגוררים בנפרד מילדיהם בהתערבויות שלהם עם משפחות פרודות. באמצעות המסגרת התיאורטית שמציעה התערבות מבוססת אם, אנו מראים כיצד ארגון השירותים מקדם התמקדות באימהות.
לממצאים הללו, לטענתנו, יש השלכות קשות הן עבור אבות והן עבור אימהות. מאבות נמנעת האפשרות לקחת חלק שווה בחיי ילדיהם, בעוד שהאימהות צפויות לשאת בכל הנטל שדורשת ההתערבות.
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Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Single Parent Families Act, Amendment No. 4, 2014.
2 Absence is also attributed to fathers who share a household with their children and the mother of the children, but do not participate in family life. See Perez-Vaisvidovsky (Citationforthcoming b).
3 It is worth noting that the Hebrew term for ‘household’ used in this context is ‘בית אב’ – Beit Av, literally meaning ‘father’s home.’ The fact that this term is preferred over non-gendered alternatives is not coincidental, as discussed below.
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Notes on contributors
Nadav Perez-Vaisvidovsky
Nadav Perez-Vaisvidovsky, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, Israel. His research interests are critical family policy and specifically the place of fathers within the welfare states. His research areas are parental leave for fathers and fathers’ place in social work and social welfare interventions.
Ayana Halpern
Ayana Halpern, Ph.D., is a post-doctoral fellow in the Free University of Berlin, a Research Fellow at the Ashkelon Academic College, and a social work practitioner. Ayana obtained her Ph.D. in the history of social work at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare. She is also a lecturer at Hadassah Academic College and is involved in gender and social work projects. Ayana has worked in the social services of family and child protection.
Reli Mizrahi
Reli Mizrahi is a Research Fellow at the Ashkelon Academic College and a social work practitioner, who obtained her MA at the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work. She is also working in the social services of family and child protection.
Zahra Atalla Salamy
Zahra Atalla Salamy is a Research Fellow at the Ashkelon Academic College and a social worker with an MSW in Group Social Work. Zhara has been working in Social Services Departments in Yirka, Israel, for over six years. She currently practices social work in the Addiction Treatment Department and the Welfare Department.