Invisible children and young people in Child Protection Services.

This article examines the perspective of social workers in Child Protection Services (CPS) on children's and young people's (CYP) right to participate in research while ensuring their right to protection. This study aims to understand how CPS social workers manage the balance between participation a...

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Published in:European Journal of Social Work Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 316 - 328
Main Authors: Arnadottir, Hervör Alma, Seim, Sissel, Kristinsdottir, Guðrún
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar2026
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2026
      vid: 29
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        10.1080/13691457.2025.2493317
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        atl: Invisible children and young people in Child Protection Services.
      aug:
        au:
          Arnadottir, Hervör Alma
          Seim, Sissel
          Kristinsdottir, Guðrún
        affil:
          Faculty of Education and Diversity, School of Education, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
          Department of Social Work, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
      su:
        Iceland
        Child welfare
        Occupational roles
        Focus groups
        Human research subjects
        Interviewing
        Social worker attitudes
        Human rights
        Sound recordings
        Research ethics
        Children
        Patient selection
        Safety
        At-risk people
        Thematic analysis
        Research methodology
      sug:
        subj:
          Child welfare
          Occupational roles
          Focus groups
          Human research subjects
          Interviewing
          Social worker attitudes
          Human rights
          Sound recordings
          Research ethics
          Children
          Iceland
          Integrated Record Production/Distribution
          Sound recording merchant wholesalers
          Record Production
          Patient selection
          Safety
          At-risk people
          Thematic analysis
          Research methodology
      keyword:
        Child
        gatekeeper
        participation
        protection
        social worker
        Child
        gatekeeper
        participation
        protection
        social worker
      ab: This article examines the perspective of social workers in Child Protection Services (CPS) on children's and young people's (CYP) right to participate in research while ensuring their right to protection. This study aims to understand how CPS social workers manage the balance between participation and protection and perceive their roles as gatekeepers. Researchers describe accessing CYP in research settings as often challenging, and gatekeepers are criticised for not fully understanding CYP's right to participate in research. Excluding CYP can lead to inaccurate second-hand accounts of their experiences. Data were collected from 17 Icelandic social workers through five semi-structured focus group interviews and analysed thematically. The findings indicate that many social workers find it challenging to prioritise and support CYP participation while ensuring their protection. Due to their vulnerability, some believe that CYP may not handle the stress of participation. Others argue that CPS managers should be responsible for facilitating research access. A few social workers suggested alternative methods like reviewing case files or speaking with adults who had received support from CPS when they were younger. This study concludes that to enhance CYP participation in research, researchers must articulate their aims and relevance while demonstrating their experience working with CYP.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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