Contact between Parents and Children in Child Welfare Care

Dear Colleagues,

Assessments and decisions related to visitation and contact between children in public care and their parents and siblings have crucial consequences for children and their families. However, limited research exists on this topic. In this Special Issue, we welcome contributions that illuminate, and offer new knowledge to, this field of research. We welcome both theoretical and empirical contributions.

Key questions for this Special Issue include, but not limited to, the following: How do employees and executive authorities assess and justify the framework for, and extent of, visitation and contact between children, siblings, and parents following care orders? What are the child's opinions on visits? How are we to understand the child's reactions to visitation? How is visitation used in line with the goal of reunification? How are parents, children, and foster parents supported before, during, and after visitation? How do visits and contact with biological parents affect the child's everyday life? What are foster parents’ perspectives on visitation? How is visitation facilitated in order to maintain contact between the child and their siblings, grandparents, and extended family? How does the biological principle matter in assessments of visitation? How does contact with supervision work? How might the visitation location affect the quality of the visitation? How is consideration of language, religion, and culture taken care of during visitation? What is the purpose of visitation? How is visitation evaluated? How is visitation assessed after an emergency placement? What discourses have an impact on our views on visitation? How does contact challenge the understanding of family? What is visitation? And, finally, how do opportunities for contact through telephone, e-mail, and social media play a role in the assessments of the scope and framework of the visit?

This Special Issue invites established and early-career researchers to share their knowledge and research in the research field of visitation between parents and children under public care.

For consideration, please submit your extended abstract to the Special Issue Guest Editor, Hilde A. Aamodt haamo@oslomet.no, by 1 May 2024. Notification of acceptance will be provided by 1 June 2024. For those accepted for consideration, paper submission will be due by 1 January 2025 for preliminary review.

Dr. Hilde Anette Aamodt
Prof. Dr. Nicole Hennum
Guest Editors

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• child welfare
• foster child
• visitation parents
• foster parents
• birth family
• contact
• visits
• parenthood