tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/family-support-12564/articlesFamily support – The Conversation2024-01-10T14:40:04Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159092024-01-10T14:40:04Z2024-01-10T14:40:04ZSocial workers can help children more effectively by assessing the needs of the whole family<p>What do children need most? The answer often depends on a person’s relationship with the child.</p>
<p>When people think about children outside their family and close friends, they commonly make <a href="https://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/system/files/resource/files/Other%20People%27s%20Children.pdf">basic needs</a> the priorities. Food, shelter and services such as health and education come first. </p>
<p>When we think of children we have a close relationship with, it’s different. We see all their needs as <a href="https://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/system/files/resource/files/Other%20People%27s%20Children.pdf">important, immediate and interconnected</a>. </p>
<p>People give as much priority to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31390-3">higher-order needs</a> as the basic needs of children they’re close to.</p>
<p>This thinking carries over into policymaking and intervention priorities in low and middle-income countries. As a result, many interventions in the lives of other people’s children, such as responses to a <a href="https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/protecting-children-must-be-top-priority-latest-refugee-surge-response">refugee crisis</a> and alternative care for children, put basic needs first.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/system/files/resource/files/Other%20People%27s%20Children.pdf">research</a> in the fields of sociology and development economics suggests that children’s needs are not hierarchical and that they are best met by – and in – families. By drawing on examples from the literature, we outline how children’s various needs are equally important. Caring for them is therefore a balancing act, best done by those close to them: their families. </p>
<p>This way of thinking highlights the importance of supporting families to support children. Social services are critical because they have the potential to facilitate the intensive interventions required by the most vulnerable families and children. The quality of such a service will be key in meeting the needs of other people’s children. </p>
<p>Family-centred interventions, more often than not, meet the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cad.20232">complex needs</a> of individual children. </p>
<p>It is important to note that family can take many forms, not necessarily biological. The key characteristics are connection, proximity and responsiveness to children leading to nurturing care. </p>
<p>In many low- and middle-income countries, the social services workforce is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213417302077?via%3Dihub">under-resourced, underqualified and overburdened</a>. </p>
<p>The political weakness of the sector and the people they serve make <a href="https://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/system/files/resource/files/The%20Role%20of%20Social%20Service%20Workforce%20Strengthening%20in%20Care%20Reforms_0.pdf">advocating for change</a> difficult. Moreover, the task of <a href="https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/Guidelines-to-strengthen-social-service-for-child-protection-2019.pdf">strengthening</a> the social services workforce may be seen as overly complex and costly. </p>
<h2>Helping families will help children</h2>
<p>Highlighting the role of the family draws the <a href="https://www.socialserviceworkforce.org/system/files/resource/files/Other%20People%27s%20Children.pdf">discussion</a> towards how best to support the family. We highlight three tiers of support: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Universal enabling interventions: These create the supportive environment all families need. National security, civil and human rights, safe communities, schooling and healthcare are clear examples. For well-functioning, well-resourced families these universal interventions are all they need to support their children’s development.</p></li>
<li><p>Targeted family strengthening for some: These improve families’ capacity to look after children by weakening or removing barriers to care. For example, social protection interventions such as cash transfers give caregivers access to a range of resources and services they would not otherwise have. For many families, these may be the only additional supports they require.</p></li>
<li><p>Critical family functioning interventions for the most vulnerable: These families require intensive internal intervention involving direct, skilled and sustained interaction at an individual family level by highly trained social workers. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>When internal family function is seriously compromised, and social services fail to intervene, children are put at <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/series/ECD2016">profound</a> risk with life-long consequences. </p>
<p>Throughout childhood and particularly in adolescence, compromised family function can increase risks of early marriage, mental health challenges, interpersonal violence, and threats to sexual and reproductive health. These <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60149-4/fulltext">consequences</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27174304/">stretch</a> to the next generation when adolescents become parents with families of their own. </p>
<h2>Don’t neglect the social workers</h2>
<p>Intensive intervention in critical family function needs to be provided by highly trained personnel. Such high-quality training is rarely done. In many countries such as South Africa it is available but <a href="https://tmsafri.com/challenges-facing-social-workers-in-south-africa/">uncommon</a>. </p>
<p>To be effective, these social workers must be linked to families as soon as possible, have sufficient supervision and support, a manageable workload, access to necessary resources such as transportation, as well as adequate pay to enable adequate attention to the children and families concerned.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Governments need to strengthen the social service workforce if they are to support families whose function is highly compromised and whose children are at risk. </p>
<p>The cost to individuals and society of allowing these struggling families to fail in their essential functions is great.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It takes a family to raise a child. Vulnerable children should not be treated in isolation. Family-centred interventions usually meet the complex needs of children.Chris Desmond, Researcher, SAMRC/Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science- PRICELESS SA, University of the WitwatersrandKathryn Watt, Research Manager, The Asenze Project, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983442023-02-08T13:15:59Z2023-02-08T13:15:59ZFew of South Africa’s chartered accountants are black: hearing their stories suggests what to fix<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506304/original/file-20230125-18-tcfz60.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are ways to make the path to a chartered accountancy qualification less fraught for black candidates.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrey Popov/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Chartered accountants can be found in the upper echelons of organisations all over the world as CEOs, directors and senior managers. They are often responsible for an entity’s finances, managing and reporting how funds are sourced and used, and the tax implications. Others are auditors.</p>
<p>Becoming a chartered accountant (CA) is not easy. In South Africa one must complete both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, serve a minimum of three years of articles (a supervised practical learnership) and complete two professional exams. </p>
<p>There is also a big racial disparity in South Africa’s chartered accountancy realm: only 8,610 (17%) of the 51,152 <a href="https://www.saica.org.za/members/member-info/membership-statistics">registered CAs</a> are black. That’s in stark contrast to the country’s demographics; <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1116076/total-population-of-south-africa-by-population-group/">nearly 81%</a> of South Africans are black. </p>
<p>This gap is rooted in history. For most of apartheid’s white-minority rule from 1948 to 1994, black citizens were not allowed to become chartered accountants. The first black man <a href="https://www.saica.org.za/about/overview/our-history">qualified in 1976</a> and the first black woman <a href="https://www.accountancysa.org.za/cover-story-winning-women-nonkululeko-gobodo-casa/">in 1987</a>. Though the profession is now open to all, it’s clear that historical disparities persist. </p>
<p>Most of the scientific literature that examines the challenges faced by aspirant and qualified black CAs is presented through the lens of professional bodies, universities, training firms and scholarship funders. Very few studies directly engage the black aspirants to find out what their lived struggles are. </p>
<p>I wanted to fill this gap because when people can share their own lived experiences, as the scholar Cheryl McEwan <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0305707032000095009?">puts it</a>, “their agency and sense of belonging is restored”. </p>
<p>So, for <a href="https://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/29357">my PhD</a>, I interviewed 22 recently qualified black CAs. Their lived experiences brought to light the brutal nature of the challenges they were experiencing – and emphasised that while some of these could be attributed to apartheid’s legacy, others were a manifestation of the complex racial and class divisions in contemporary society. </p>
<p>My findings suggest some easy and practical interventions that can be applied in <a href="http://www.thedtic.gov.za/financial-and-non-financial-support/b-bbee/b-bbee-charters/">the government’s initiatives</a> to transform the profession. The same framework can be applied in higher education and workplace training to promote inclusive learning and training practices. For academics, it lays a foundation for an avenue of research that responds to the practical challenges experienced in the profession. </p>
<h2>No room for failure</h2>
<p>My interviewees all qualified between 2016 and 2022 at different universities across the country. Some had taken more than the average seven years to qualify; a few had temporarily dropped out of their university studies before returning and completing their degrees. </p>
<p>The aspirants spoke of how gaining access to universities accredited by the <a href="https://www.saica.co.za/">South African Institute of Chartered Accountants</a> was a logistical nightmare. Universities must be accredited for their degrees to be recognised by the institute.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/university-transformation-the-wrong-research-questions-are-being-asked-67339">University transformation: the wrong research questions are being asked</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many of the students were based in townships and rural areas, while the accredited institutions are found in big cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Students had to leave the safety provided by their immediate families and communities. </p>
<p>Because accounting qualifications have high entrance requirements and the aspirants had the necessary aptitude, they got merit scholarships which covered the cost of their relocation. But the terms and conditions of those scholarships left no room for failure, irrespective of the reasons. </p>
<p>One of the interviewees described how and why she lost her funding:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In my third year, I lost my dad and {was} also not feeling well. So, I actually failed my third year. I was on <a href="https://www.saica.org.za/initiatives/thuthuka/apply-to-the-thuthuka-bursary-fund">Thuthuka</a> {a bursary fund} but obviously if you do fail, they do stop your tuition.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>She spent time in hospital and lost her funding. She later got a job, funded her part-time studies and eventually qualified.</p>
<h2>An unfamiliar setting</h2>
<p>University settings also presented some challenges.</p>
<p>Despite most students in a class being black, they felt displaced. Interviewees lamented the displays of cultural and language familiarity between white lecturers and white students in class. This reduced the black students to spectators of their tuition rather than active participants. One said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>So sometimes I just think the system itself was just not for us … If I can put it that way.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… there is a lot of difference between me and a white person … because our education system doesn’t teach you how to learn. It teaches you how to remember. It’s all good and well, but now when you’re required to apply yourself, you don’t remember how to because you’ve never done it before.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This comment was a reference to the country’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-south-africa-can-disrupt-its-deeply-rooted-educational-inequality-48531">extremely unequal schooling system</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-south-africa-can-disrupt-its-deeply-rooted-educational-inequality-48531">How South Africa can disrupt its deeply rooted educational inequality</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The kind of knowledge they brought into the system was not fit for purpose and the interviewees found themselves constantly challenged even though they were smart. One reflected:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think for me it was an exposure thing. That is why I would do poorly in those tests, or questions, or scenarios I had to solve. I found that for example, if a case study is based on the airline industry, you’re not exposed to that as a black person. So, it makes it difficult to then have that logic, even if something can be very straightforward because you haven’t been in that situation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, although the aspirants had physically gained access to the qualification, there was constant confirmation that they operated on the periphery of it. </p>
<p>I was struck by how important the interviewees’ families were on these tough, sometimes lonely journeys. They consistently referenced their families as the strong pillars that helped them overcome adversity. </p>
<p>Academic research about accounting doesn’t often recognise the role of community in black people’s successful academic journeys. A better understanding of the role of community could help universities to respond appropriately to their students’ learning needs and should form the basis for free mental health support.</p>
<h2>Towards a new framework</h2>
<p>Based on my research, I propose a new framework that aims to narrow the gap between black students’ lived realities and the accounting qualification offered by universities.</p>
<p>For example, universities might adjust their admission requirement in a way that accounts for the inequity in basic education. They can also teach these students the language of business and collaborate with corporate organisations to aid students’ understanding of business practices in South Africa. </p>
<p>A more inclusive curriculum would also use examples that reflect the whole of society, allowing students from different backgrounds to engage with those examples.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198344/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sedzani Musundwa receives postdoctoral funding from BANKSETA. </span></em></p>Smart, capable students struggled to navigate cultural and language norms in university accounting classrooms.Sedzani Musundwa, Senior Lecturer in Financial Accounting, University of South AfricaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1242392019-10-07T16:27:34Z2019-10-07T16:27:34ZStrong family ties during teen years can help ward off depression in later life<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295144/original/file-20191002-101470-1tpqhpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teens who suffer from depression tend to fare better in years to come if they have supportive families. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portrait-smiling-african-american-young-mom-1289387383?src=nj7WeFusawegnQ2XmUvblg-2-65">fizkes/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://mphdegree.usc.edu/blog/mental-illness-and-public-health/">Depression</a> is a leading cause of disability and disease for people around the world. It often begins during adolescence, especially for females, may continue or recur in adulthood and tends to become a lifetime chronic health condition. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression">More than 300 million</a> people suffer from this mental health disorder worldwide. Depression is not only about feeling blue. It can also harm one’s social relationships, school or work and physical health. Poor mental health and depressive symptoms may also be associated with the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/112/49/15078;%20">recent increase in midlife premature deaths of despair</a>due to suicide, alcohol and drugs. </p>
<p>Although treatment methods and intervention efforts continue to advance, many depressive conditions remain <a href="https://doi.org/%2010.1192/bjp.184.6.526">irreversible</a>. The push for prevention and early, affordable and feasible intervention is stronger than ever, especially for young people. </p>
<p>We are <a href="http://pingchen.web.unc.edu/">both</a> <a href="https://www.cpc.unc.edu/fellow/kathleen-mullan-harris/">social demographers</a> who study family processes and health. We use a life course perspective in our research, meaning that we use longitudinal data to follow individuals as they move through various stages of life and examine how the social contexts they experience influence their health. </p>
<p>Recently we were interested in understanding how mental health changes from adolescence through mid adulthood. We wanted to see if we could identify family processes that might protect teens from depression in adolescence and later. We found that close and cohesive family relationships, understanding, and shared good times protected them then and later.</p>
<h2>Prevention a worthy goal</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295836/original/file-20191007-121060-t4b9ek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295836/original/file-20191007-121060-t4b9ek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295836/original/file-20191007-121060-t4b9ek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295836/original/file-20191007-121060-t4b9ek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295836/original/file-20191007-121060-t4b9ek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295836/original/file-20191007-121060-t4b9ek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295836/original/file-20191007-121060-t4b9ek.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teens who feel supported by their parents during depressive episodes fare better for many years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/mature-parents-teen-girl-smartphone-cafe-708504049?src=cGzHa5UHT8O66ZQ5J0jylQ-1-5">Lightfield Studios/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is well known from the scientific evidence that close family relationships reduce the risks of depression during adolescence, a life stage when depression often begins, especially for girls. We were interested to know whether the mental health benefits of close and cohesive family relations in adolescence last into young adulthood, and so we used longitudinal data from a nationally-representative sample to address this question. </p>
<p>The family context is a key area that draws wide scholarly and public attention for <a href="https://www.guilford.com/books/Handbook-of-Depression-in-Children-and-Adolescents/Abela-Hankin/9781593855826/reviews">early intervention efforts</a>. Most research on the role of the family context for depression focuses on risk factors, such as neglect, abuse and financial insecurity. We wondered, however, whether preventive efforts may be more effective if focused on protective factors. We could not find major studies that could shed enough light on the topic.</p>
<p>Some small <a href="https://doi.org/%2010.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01062.x">cross-sectional studies</a> with clinical and community samples suggest that being part of a close and cohesive family in adolescence helps alleviate depression symptoms for teenagers.</p>
<p>But does this protective effect last long into adulthood when adolescents move out of their parent’s house and embark on their independent lives? This intriguing and pressing question remains unknown due to a dearth of longitudinal studies that follow the same people over time.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3336">study</a>, which we published on Oct. 7 in JAMA Pediatrics is, so far as we know, the first to examine this topic in a nationally representative sample by tracking individuals over a 30-year life course from early adolescence to midlife. Our findings suggested that, yes, the protective effect not only helps in the tough teen years but also protects later.</p>
<h2>Some good news, and good insights</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295838/original/file-20191007-121051-v21t16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295838/original/file-20191007-121051-v21t16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295838/original/file-20191007-121051-v21t16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295838/original/file-20191007-121051-v21t16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295838/original/file-20191007-121051-v21t16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295838/original/file-20191007-121051-v21t16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295838/original/file-20191007-121051-v21t16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Depression often first appears in adolescence and can come back throughout young adulthood and even middle age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/ptsd-mental-health-concept-young-depressed-1157218930?src=y00n2Srz1y9I072Z1konMg-1-39">Chanintorn.v/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The data we used come from the <a href="https://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth">National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health</a>, a nationally-representative study that has followed over 20,000 adolescents starting in 1995 into adulthood. The group of adolescents who started in the cohort have been re-interviewed five times, adding valuable knowledge about development over the course of life. The new data from the 2017 round of interviews have enabled us to examine how what happens in adolescence matters for later life mental health.</p>
<p>Our findings provide a new contribution to the research on early family experiences and lifetime depression and insights into how depression can be prevented from developing into a lifetime illness.</p>
<p>First, we found gender differences in depression over time. Females experienced significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms than males between early adolescence and their early 40s. </p>
<p>The overall trajectory of depressive symptoms was high in adolescence, fell in the early 20s, and then slowly rose again in the late 30s. The growth curve of depression is flatter for men than women. </p>
<p>Teenage girls are vulnerable to high levels of depression during middle to late adolescence. Teen boys, in comparison, experienced a shorter period of depression in late adolescence. Women then experienced the highest levels of depression in their late 30s. Men’s highest levels of depression occurred in their mid-30s to early 40s in the face of increasing challenges from work, family and social life. </p>
<p>Our primary interest, however, was to examine whether cohesive family relationships in adolescence protect young people from depression in adulthood and how long those protections last.</p>
<p>Our findings indicate the mental health benefits of cohesive family relationships during adolescence last through midlife. Individuals who experienced positive adolescent family relationships had significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms from early adolescence to midlife (late 30s to early 40s) than did those who experienced less-positive family relationships.</p>
<p>We also see this benefit working differently for men and women. Women benefit more from positive adolescent family relationships than men, especially in adolescence and the early 20s. But men with low parent-child conflict benefit for a longer time throughout young adulthood than women. </p>
<p>Living in a cohesive home, having someone around who understands and pays attention, and having fun together as a family can build up warmth, trust and attachment between the family members and adolescents and positive feelings for teens. The absence of parent-child conflict reinforces parental support and approval for them. Close relations may provide sources of social and emotional support that encourages the development of skills for coping with changing and cumulative stressors.</p>
<p>Our research findings emphasize the urgent need for early preventive interventions of depression in adolescent family life. Adolescence is a critical life stage where profound transformations in neurological, biological, cognitive and social development take place. These profound changes during adolescence make teens especially vulnerable to the development of lifetime depression. </p>
<p>Public health initiatives can teach and encourage parents and family members to nurture positive family relationships with their adolescents. Programs can be developed to promote family cohesiveness for adolescents by providing tips on how families can show affection and understanding, spend time together and work through conflict. This preventive approach will be most effective in fostering long-term healthy mental development into adulthood. </p>
<p>Our study, however, does not imply that adolescents in less cohesive families are doomed to lifetime depression. Depression is an extremely complex mental disorder. No one knows exactly what causes it. Factors such as genetics, abuse or serious illnesses can increase risks of depression too. Teens may be able to find similar sources of social support and gain coping skills through other social connections with friends, in religious and other institutions, and in the local community. </p>
<p>The skills and strategies that youth learn to cope with emotional problems may last throughout life, continue to promote mental health well into adulthood, and help to prevent negative outcomes and premature deaths due to suicide, alcohol or drugs in middle age.</p>
<p>[ <em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124239/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The teen years are filled with fun for some, but many youth begin to experience serious depression, which can set them up for recurring bouts. A new study offers hope: Support and understanding help.Ping Chen, Senior Research Scientist, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillKathleen Mullan Harris, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/779752017-06-06T13:16:51Z2017-06-06T13:16:51ZWhy prisons should make more time for inmates’ families<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170599/original/file-20170523-5752-crm5ms.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reaching out.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/search-results/fluid/?q=prison&amber_border=1&category=A,S,E&fields_0=all&fields_1=all&green_border=1&imagesonly=1&orientation=both&red_border=1&words_0=all&words_1=all">PA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Society is becoming increasingly punitive. The prison population is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541667/prison-population-story-1993-2016.pdf">constantly growing</a>, and sentences are becoming longer. The justice system has come to rely on imprisonment as the default method of punishing offenders, while prisoners are seen as inherently bad people who deserve all the pains they receive as part of their punishment. </p>
<p>As a result, it has become very easy to just accept the negative impact of imprisonment on prisoners’ families. Unlike in some states in the US, there are no conjugal or overnight family visits in England and Wales. Prison visits are relatively short (one to two hours is the norm) and infrequent (usually once or twice a fortnight). Longer family visits do occur, but only a few times a year. </p>
<p>This is a problem. First, prisoners’ family links are important because positive, stable family relationships are directly <a href="http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/research/fathers_in_prison/final_report.pdf">linked to less re-offending</a>. So greater support for family links could benefit all of society. </p>
<p>Second, British prisons are in turmoil. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-june-2016">Levels of prison violence</a> have skyrocketed since 2015, and prison suicides are at their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/26/prison-suicides-in-england-and-wales-reaches-record-high">highest since records began</a>. Yet <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235212000785">research has also shown</a> that more frequent family contact is associated with reduced prison misconduct. Greater support of family contact would also be good for the prison system. </p>
<p>This is not to say that all family links ought to be supported, as some prisoners are, after all, abusive or violent to their families. Yet there is no evidence that the majority of families would not be better off with increased contact with the prisoner in question. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, prisoners’ families ought not to be seen only as useful tools for making our prison system better. Their plight should be made more visible. <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/g/groves/9453087.0004.001/1:5/--and-justice-for-all-families-the-criminal-justice-system?rgn=div1;view=fulltext">Research shows</a>, time and again, that imprisonment results in numerous negative consequences for these families. </p>
<p>These include financial consequences such as the loss of a breadwinner, stigmatisation, and the practical difficulties that come with travelling long distances to visit. </p>
<p>It is estimated that <a href="http://www.barnardos.org.uk/what_we_do/our_work/children_of_prisoners.htm">about 200,000</a> children in England and Wales are affected by parental imprisonment. This is more than the number of children in care. Yet no government body or official is responsible for engaging with their needs. They remain, on a policy level, a hidden population. </p>
<p>There is certainly some excellent work being one in order to keep family links alive. For instance, the <a href="http://www.storybookdads.org.uk/history.html">Storybook Dads</a> scheme allows imprisoned parents to record bedtime stories for their children. Video calls are also being introduced in a prison in England as I write. </p>
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<p>Often, prisoners are held far away from their families, and visiting may frequently be financially or practically difficult. Video calls would allow for more frequent contact, and may allow prisoners to engage in their family’s life to a greater extent than normal visits currently do. They could, for instance, be used to allow prisoners to help their children with their homework.</p>
<h2>Raising the bar</h2>
<p>A voice mail service run in 100 of the country’s prisons by <a href="https://prisonvoicemail.com/">a social enterprise called Prison Voicemail</a> highlights the innovative ways modern technology can be used in this context. One child was able to record herself playing a musical instrument, allowing her imprisoned father to be a part of her musical development. Video calls would provide greater opportunities for such familial engagement. And the introduction of this technology could be a sign that the prison system is finally accepting the importance of maintaining strong family links. </p>
<p>As excellent as these developments are, what is really needed is a leader in the government who will take the links between prisoners and their families seriously. Moreover, as ever, there needs to be funding. In an underfunded and understaffed prison system, little can be done in terms of meaningful engagement with prisoners and their families. Many of the prison visiting centres and prisoners’ family support organisations are run by charities with few resources. One organisation, AFFECT, provide telephone and face-to-face support for prisoners’ families across the UK, but is small and <a href="http://affect.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2015-September.pdf">dependant on donations and volunteers</a>. </p>
<p>But at a time when prisons are in turmoil, prisoners’ family relationships should be recognised and supported. After all, we chose imprisonment as a key method of punishing crime. We can also choose not to punish their spouses and children. Instead, working with the prison institution, appropriate value can be placed on another institution which, in most contexts, is seen as being key to leading a good life – the family.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77975/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Kotova received funding from the Sir Halley Stewart Trust to conduct her doctoral research on the experiences of long-term prisoners' partners. Access to participants was facilitated by voluntary organisations, including AFFECT, Action for Prisoners' Families and PACT. </span></em></p>Access to loved ones helps reduce reoffending.Anna Kotova, Associate Lecturer in Criminology, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/661052016-11-01T15:59:24Z2016-11-01T15:59:24ZHow to help vulnerable dads be better fathers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143929/original/image-20161031-24460-15lv9t8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bad parenting can be improved ... if we are willing to try.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-307192661/stock-photo-sad-son-hugging-his-dad-near-wall-at-the-day-time.html?src=K0f8kQh8OcEgdMiFOIurDg-1-33">Altanaka/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When it comes to parenting, mothers are still stereotypically seen as the dominant force in the family, in charge of everything from dinner to more serious decisions. Regardless of how involved a dad might be in helping to raise his children, society still wrongly sees men as the lesser parental counterpart.</p>
<p>But the fact is that the role of fathers has changed: they are <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2710465/Breadwinner-father-stay-home-mothers-decline-just-one-five-families-considered-traditional.html">no longer expected to be the sole breadwinner</a>, and have become more and more involved in the caregiving aspect of their family role. </p>
<p>Sadly, not every family is a perfect bubble of happiness, and problems do arise. The old “detached father” stereotype has not left family services yet, however, and where issues arise, dads are left on the sidelines.</p>
<p>Help for parents is usually structured to focus on mothers. Group work or specific programmes tailored to fathers to help them build strong, healthy relationships with their children are few and far between. But the needs of fathers are different from mothers – with fathers having, for example, a greater need for knowledge about child care and child development. For them, simply utilising a generic parenting programme is not enough.</p>
<h2>Helping out</h2>
<p>The difficulty in engaging fathers with parenting programmes is something that urgently needs addressing. Studies have demonstrated the positive impact that fathers have on their child’s behaviour and development, and from a societal point of view, it can only be a good thing that any child builds a positive, happy relationship with both their parents. Research has also highlighted that, compared to mothers, fathers have a <a href="http://rsw.sagepub.com/content/18/2/97.short">greater influence on a child’s behaviour or misbehaviour</a>. </p>
<p>It was with all this in mind that we <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740916302699">decided to investigate a programme</a> which helps fathers in the most vulnerable, hard to engage with families.</p>
<p>The UK charity <a href="http://www.mellowparenting.org/">Mellow Parenting</a> runs programmes which act as “preventative interventions”, to lower the risk of children developing a conduct disorder. A child with this disorder may exhibit a pattern of disruptive and violent behaviour and have difficulties following rules, so parental support is vital. The organisation works with mums, dads and expectant parents, though our focus was obviously on what was on offer for fathers. </p>
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<p>One of the Mellow Parenting programmes – <a href="http://www.mellowparenting.org/our-programmes/mellow-dads/">mellow dads</a> – targets those hard-to-reach fathers who do want to change. <a href="http://www.mellowparenting.org/our-programmes/mellow-dads/">Dads who are offered a place</a> are classified as vulnerable, and usually have complex problems such as substance misuse, mental health problems and a history of domestic violence. Unemployment, financial difficulties, offending behaviour, poor education and poor literacy are also common in the dads who attended this programme.</p>
<p>However, just because dads have serious and sometimes numerous problems, doesn’t mean that they are intrinsically bad fathers. Research has highlighted that there are a number of dads who do want “to be <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740914001133">listened to, believed, and given the chance</a> to prove themselves”.</p>
<h2>Opening up</h2>
<p>Speaking to parents and the course organisers, we found that fathers appreciate the efforts of facilitators to make the group work, cherished the advice on play and parenting style, and also valued the opportunity to talk to other fathers who are experiencing similar problems. These dads wanted to be better parents, but perhaps did not know how, or had no one to turn to and ask for help.</p>
<p>An important part of the mellow dads scheme is that the dads who join the classes don’t work on their parenting in isolation: each day-long meeting of the 14-week scheme, conducted in community settings, is split by a lunch break, during which dads eat with their children. This is followed by a play or craft activity. These lunches are a safe space for fathers to nurture their own relationship with their child, and also provide a realistic scenario which can be observed and filmed for later discussion. </p>
<p>However, programmes like mellow dads aren’t infallible, and can’t mould all men into perfect fathers overnight. Unfortunately, it takes a significant amount of time to get at-risk, vulnerable dads to first attend the programme, and making sure they attend and stay engaged is difficult, too. There is also the issue that fathers who are not living with their children often don’t get much opportunity to practice their newwly-acquired parenting skills. And some dads even struggle to get to this point, and are unwilling to share personal information in a group session.</p>
<p>But they can work. If fathers are ever going to be regarded by society as an equal partner in family life, they need the same support as mothers already have. Programmes like mellow dads are helping even the most at-risk parents get the support they need, building their confidence in parenting, and making positive changes in their parental relationships.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66105/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Allely does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some dads need just as much help as mums, but society isn’t giving it to them.Clare Allely, Lecturer in Psychology, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/312852014-09-23T04:37:25Z2014-09-23T04:37:25ZLaw offers better care for abused children, given enough support<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/58820/original/5yvvq43v-1410482207.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children in state care need stability in their home and school life to develop social attachments and a sense of belonging.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theory#mediaviewer/File:Children_marbles.jpg">Wikimedia/Ranveig</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Children who have been taken into state care need timely decisions on whether to separate them from their birth families. Delayed decisions means leaving children who have suffered abuse and neglect in a limbo of changing care placements. Children experience the double jeopardy of maltreatment before entering care and upheavals in relationships and disruptions in medical care and schooling afterwards. </p>
<p>Barriers to quickly moving children out of temporary care arrangements into safe, permanent homes have been recognised in child protection systems across the western world. Poor planning, reactive rather than proactive case management and problems completing court proceedings are just some of the reasons for delay.</p>
<h2>Law sets limits on upheavals in care</h2>
<p>The Victoria Parliament recently passed significant amendments to the <a href="http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/f932b66241ecf1b7ca256e92000e23be/4322E8395E14B750CA257D4E001B87EF/$FILE/14-061aa%20authorised.pdf">Children Youth and Families Act</a> 2005. The aim is to increase stability and permanency for children entering state care.</p>
<p>Following other child protection systems such as New South Wales, Victoria has introduced definitive time-frames for reunification to occur. After that elapses, a long-term alternative placement should be pursued. </p>
<p>Parents whose children have been taken from their care by child protection services will now have an initial 12 months to prove their capacity to provide a safe and lasting home for their children. Three outcomes are possible at this point: a child returns home, an additional 12 months will be provided, or parents will see their children placed in an alternative ongoing arrangement where another person becomes the child’s permanent carer. </p>
<p>Family reunification will not be a permanency objective after a child has spent two years in state care. Nationally, at June 30 2013, more than two-thirds of the approximately <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/lets-adopt-a-more-sensible-approach-to-kids-in-care/story-e6frg6zo-1226885518959">40,000 children in state care</a> had been in care continuously for two years or more. </p>
<p>Legislative changes will provide Victorian courts and child protection workers with a much-needed focus on the urgency of children’s time-frames. This reflects the importance of stability and permanence for children who have suffered abuse and neglect.</p>
<h2>Support is key to achieving good permanent care</h2>
<p>It is, however, doubtful that legislative reforms will prove effective unless these are used as the platform for further reform of the family support approach and of the way family contact visits are structured and supervised.</p>
<p>Nearly every child protection system has a hierarchy of preferred permanent placement types. While Victoria supports adoption as the preferred permanent care objective when children can’t be restored to their parents, the Children Youth and Families Act 2005 embodies the principle that children are <a href="http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/449223/guidance-on-family-reunification.pdf">best brought up by their own families</a>. This means that in most cases it will necessary to attempt to reunite children with their families. </p>
<p>Regardless of care decisions, children in state care also have the right to maintain relationships with their siblings and their parents where this is safe to do so. </p>
<p>A newer, simpler suite of children’s court orders will make it clear when family reunification is the aim. However, legislation does not specify the services that will help birth parents remedy the complex and interlocking factors that brought the child into state care in the first place. </p>
<p>In a child protection <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/vulnerable-children-in-state-care-at-risk-warns-centre-for-excellence-in-child-and-family-welfare-20140312-34mqm.html">system under pressure</a>, intensive social service activity is difficult to maintain around parents once children are out of crisis and in state care. Parents who have had children removed are often left feeling devastated, judged and disinclined to make necessary changes in their lives. </p>
<h2>Effective interventions require funding</h2>
<p>Intensive interventions can make a difference and enable children to return safely to their families. However, relatively few government-funded intensive family support services in this country focus on reunifying families where separation has already occurred. Purposeful models of intensive family support and evidence-based programs are urgently needed to help parents overcome their difficulties within the new timescales for reunification. </p>
<p>Research shows that family contact may increase the likelihood of reunification. Reorienting family contact visits to support reunification and the maintenance of sibling relationships is therefore another important way forward. </p>
<p>In Victoria today, many supervised family contact visits are undertaken by child protection services in arid, unnatural environments. These arrangements are not intentionally structured to enhance family relationships or teach important parenting skills. For very young children, an emphasis on frequency rather than quality of contact with parents is also counterproductive. </p>
<p>Family contact arrangements that support reunification and relational stability will require spaces purposefully designed and built to encourage naturalistic interactions combined with parent education and emotional support from trained community providers. </p>
<p>For a child who has experienced abuse and neglect a temporary care solution is no solution at all. </p>
<p>Victoria has followed other child protection systems in acting to speed up decisions about whether restoration is a realistic possibility. Further steps are needed to improve the availability of services designed to deliver children safely back to their original families and ensure sibling relationships are supported and developed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31285/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Wise is affiliated with Berry Street Victoria. </span></em></p>Children who have been taken into state care need timely decisions on whether to separate them from their birth families. Delayed decisions means leaving children who have suffered abuse and neglect in…Sarah Wise, Good Childhood Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.