IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v172y2025ics0190740925001422.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Balancing child participation and protection in emergency cases: Ensuring the child’s best interests

Author

Listed:
  • Gresdahl, May
  • Fauske, Halvor
  • Storhaug, Anita Skårstad

Abstract

This paper explores the complexities surrounding child participation in emergency child welfare (CW) settings, focusing on Norwegian child welfare services professionals (NCWSPs). Based on interviews with 17 NCWPs, we examined how the dual imperatives of protecting children in crisis while respecting their rights to participate in decision-making processes are navigated in practice. Our findings underscore that the challenges faced by professionals in balancing these competing principles are deeply embedded in a binary approach to participation as granting or denying the child’s wishes. The study advocates for the adoption of a deliberative approach as a means to assist professionals in making decisions that are both normatively sound and legitimate, ensuring children's voices are heard without compromising their safety. We argue that such an approach is crucial for ensuring a comprehensive assessment of the child’s best interests, effectively reconciling children’s rights to protection and participation in emergency contexts. In order to achieve this, a team-based approach to assessments and decision-making is considered essential. The analysis is grounded in deliberative theory, which is introduced as a key framework for understanding and enhancing the legitimacy of emergency CW decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Gresdahl, May & Fauske, Halvor & Storhaug, Anita Skårstad, 2025. "Balancing child participation and protection in emergency cases: Ensuring the child’s best interests," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:172:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925001422
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108259
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740925001422
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108259?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:172:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925001422. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.