Birth family contact for children in the New South Wales child protection system

Abstract

Managing birth family contact visits (BFCV) for children in out-of-home care (OOHC) following statutory child protection intervention whilst their case is being finalised in the Children's Court is a complicated task with sparse empirical or clinical literature to guide stakeholders. Although the primary reason for such BFCV is to maintain parent chid relationship, assess parenting capacity, facilitate restoration, and/or to maintain child's identity, there are multiple stakeholders with varied understanding of the purpose of BFCV involved in scheduling and implementing BFCV. The main purpose of this research was to examine if BFCV achieves these goals for the children. Using a multi method design, the researcher analysed the BFCV supervisors' observational reports from contact and the OOHC birth family contact meeting records entered by Family and Community Services (FACS) caseworkers available on FACS client database for two different data sets, and interviewed 12 caseworkers, managers, and contact workers from FACS as well as 4 contact workers from a non-government organisation contact service provider. FACS managers and caseworkers were identified as having the most salience in BFCV scheduling and were identified as definitive stakeholders having all the three attributes of power, urgency, and legitimacy (Mitchell et al., 1997). However, document analysis results indicated the immense power that contact supervisors wield and depending on context could become a definitive stakeholder. Given the stakeholders attributes and network responded to the dynamic context and issues, the researcher had developed a Dynamics of Stakeholder Model to be used in conjunction with Mitchell et al.'s (1997) Stakeholder Identification. This allowed the interview participants in mapping stakeholders in BFCV. This model needs to be applied in other context and issues to determine its validity and generalisability. Data quality issues such as incorrect and incomplete data entry, inconsistent information, and lack of standardised reporting format impacted on this research. With the limited information, insights into parent child attachment, parenting capacity, and child's ability to maintain identity could be gained albeit the numbers were small to make any significant conclusion. As a result, the researcher developed a standard template for BFCV supervisors to record their observations. Additionally, process, practice, and training recommendations were made so that the information presented in the BFCV observational reports could assist caseworkers and Children's Court Magistrates in their decision making that are truly in the best interests of the children.

Date of Award	2019
Original language	English