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Child protective services and out-of-home Care for Children during COVID-19: A scoping review and thematic analysis
Carmit Katz1, Afnan Attrash-Najjar1, Noa Cohen1
1Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, Chaim Levanon 30, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted child protection services (CPS) and children in out-of-home care (OOHC). This review highlights how CPS navigated challenges, emphasizing the importance of children's rights and well-being in policy and practice.
Area of Science:
- Child Protection Studies
- Public Health
- Social Work
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for child protection systems globally.
- Governmental focus on virus mitigation potentially compromised child welfare, particularly for vulnerable children in out-of-home care (OOHC).
- Limited research exists on the specific impacts of COVID-19 on OOHC and child protective services (CPS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the research gap by examining the 'positive legacy' of CPS interventions for children in OOHC during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To identify how CPS adapted and functioned amidst pandemic-related challenges.
Main Methods:
- A multi-stage analysis incorporating a scoping review and two rounds of thematic analysis.
- Scoping review conducted in six languages (English, Hebrew, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish).
- Thematic analysis identified key themes related to CPS work with children in OOHC during the pandemic.
Main Results:
- Three primary themes emerged: decision-making processes concerning OOHC, challenges in OOHC placement procedures, and strategies for managing OOHC difficulties.
- The findings shed light on the operational adjustments and persistent issues faced by CPS.
Conclusions:
- Emphasizes the critical importance of upholding children's rights, including their voices and needs, in policy and practice.
- Highlights the societal responsibility to consider contextual factors in child protection efforts.
- Underscores the need for policies that prioritize child safety and well-being.
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic challenged child protection and posed new risks for child maltreatment (CM). Moreover, governmental efforts worldwide prioritized mitigating the spread of the virus over ensuring the welfare and protection of families and children. This neglect caused hardship for many vulnerable children, including those in out-of-home care (OOHC), and challenged the functionality of child protective services (CPS). However, only limited research has investigated the impact of COVID-19 on OOHC and CPS and explored how CPS overcame the challenges of helping children in OOHC.
Objective:
This review aims to address this gap in the research to unveil the 'positive legacy' left by CPS in their work with children in OOHC during COVID-19.
Method:
This review utilized three stages of analysis, including a scoping review followed by two rounds of thematic analysis. The scoping review was carried out in six languages: English, Hebrew, Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. The first round of thematic analysis found eight relevant articles for this review. The second round of thematic analysis found three themes related to this paper's aim in the context of COVID-19.
Results:
Three main themes were identified: 1) decision-making and OOHC, 2) difficulties in procedures related to OOHC placement, and 3) handling challenges of OOHC.
Conclusions:
The discussion emphasizes the crucial role of preserving children's rights, hearing their voices and needs, and considering their safety and well-being when planning policies and practices to protect them. It also emphasizes society's responsibility to acknowledge contextual factors in child protection.
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