Doing cooperation: a co-study with Landsforeningen for barnevernsbarn and Sarpsborg to enhance support for vulnerable children and youth

Å styrke situasjonen til barn og unge i sårbare livssituasjoner krever at hjelpetjenestene samarbeider godt. Samtidig viser forskning at samarbeid ofte er en utfordring for hjelpetjenestene. Formålet med dette prosjektet er å undersøke hvordan barnevernstjenesten og andre hjelpetjenester samarbeider, og hva som kan gjøres for å styrke samarbeidet. Prosjektet skal gjennomføres i samarbeid mellom forskere ved NOVA og Nord Universitet, Landsforeningen for barnevernsbarn og Sarpsborg kommune. Vi har valgt ut tre grupper barn og unge i sårbare livssituasjoner: Flyktningebarn, barn som utsatte og utøvere av vold og barn i barnevernsinstitusjoner. For å innhente kunnskap, vil vi både intervjue barn og unge og ansatte i hjelpetjenestene, og vi vil observere samarbeidsprosessene i samarbeidsfora rundt barna og de unge. Vi skal også analysere rammeverket rundt samarbeidet (offentlige dokumenter og rettsregler). Slik tar prosjektet sikte på å frembringe ny kunnskap om samarbeidets styrker, men også utfordringer i samarbeidet rundt barn og unge.

We aim to develop new insights and comprehensive knowledge on how cooperation around vulnerable children is done in practice and how collaborative practices can be improved to enhance the support necessary to fulfil children's rights. Our in-depth qualitative research is developed, and will be conducted in, close partnership with Sarpsborg municipality and the National Association for Children in Child Welfare. We combine methods to gain a multifaceted understanding of cooperative interactions, encompassing perspectives of children, youth, their families, welfare professionals, and national and local policymakers. Vulnerable children as a category serves as a recognition of children in need of support and services due to difficult circumstances. Our project narrows the focus to three specific situations of vulnerability: of refugee children, of children in contexts of violence, and of children living in Child Welfare Service (CWS) institutions that demand specific configurations of cooperation and present specific dilemmas: refugee children as children and refugees, children in violence as risky and at-risk, and children in institutions as spatially separated. CWS are involved with the three groups and will be our point of departure for our investigation of cooperative interactions. We will conduct ethnographic studies and co-analyses with practitioners in services and analyse national and local policy and legal documents in light of local practices, and employ innovative methods to access perspectives of children themselves. Expected outcomes: •Nuanced up-to-date descriptions of cooperative interactions to support children in three types of vulnerable situations •Understanding of frontline workers' dilemmas in their cooperative efforts to support children in vulnerable situations •Novel insights into childrens' experiences of collaborative efforts across services •Clear recommendations for future practice built on findings generated with children and practitioners