From parental engagement to the engagement of social work services: discussing reductionist and democratic forms of partnership with families

摘要

Social work has moved from a child protection discourse towards a child welfare discourse that views the relationship between social workers and families as a partnership. Partnership with families in the field of child protection and child welfare, however, mirrors diverse ideological motives of social policy, civil society and practice. We engage in a theoretical discussion of different interpretations of partnership. We draw a primary distinction between reductionist and democratic forms of partnership with families. In a reductionist approach, social workers activate parents in order to realize the goals set by social work. A democratic approach to partnership refers to a shared responsibility between social workers, parents and children. In this approach, effective partnership is not something to be realized as an outcome, but a point of departure that implies a joint search for meaning and an experiment with which social workers engage. This engagement presents 'non-participation' not as problematic but as an essential element of participation. The focus then shifts from a methodical approach to partnership - how to activate people to participate in the care process - to the question of how the engagement of social workers can be constructed together with families.