The Best Interest of the Child

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The Best Interest of the Child

• Strong international legal foundation

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• UN Child Convention
• European Child Convention
• Scandinavian National Legislation

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3 main processes

• The legal process
• The process conducted by the Community Child
  Welfare Authorities
• The process conducted by the family in question
  of intervention and their social network -family,
  friends, neighbors etc.

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3 discourses

• Legal
• Scientific, bureaucratic
• Daily life common sense

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Confrontation of the 3 discourses

• County Committee for Social Affairs
• Tingretten
• Lagmannsretten
• Kjæremålsutvalget
• Supreme Court
• European Court of Human Rights

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Case study recent research shows

• Best Interests of Child is severely endangered by
  conflicting constructions of reality within these
  three discourses

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Recent research

• NOVA - FOBIK - treatment research team - sexual
  abuse
• Eva Hærem, Bente Nes Aadnesen, Per Arne Rød,
  Studies of investigation working decisionmaking
  models among workers and leaders in community
  Children Welfare offices E. Backe-Hansen, NOVA,
  numerous studies about the same themes

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Results

• Mothers stigmatised in the Child Welfare
  Discourse
• Weak scientific or subjective argumentation for
  decisions
• No routines of reflexivity, co-construction,
  contrafact argumentation
• Ethnic matters undercommunicated

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• Not listening or paying respect ti the voice of
  the child
• Overemphasising negative information about
  parents
• Not giving clear information about care deficit
  and neglect
• Referring to descriptions from informants as facts

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• Gap between scientific knowledge and actual
  decisions
• Do not discuss content of central concepts
• Little knowledge of interview methods and biased
  information
• Great differences in writing routines and
  abilities ....... among others..........

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severely threatening the security of justice
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indications in my research that the more the
families appeal for justice the less they get