Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in Austria

Even if numerous children and young people are looked after by child and youth welfare, there are only a few scientific studies on the reasons for this support. The aim of this retrospective descriptive study was to examine the reasons why child and youth welfare was initiated. Therefore, administra...

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Main Authors: Katja Haider, Stefan Kaltschik, Manuela Amon, Christoph Pieh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-08-01
Series:Children
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/8/1376
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author Katja Haider
Stefan Kaltschik
Manuela Amon
Christoph Pieh
author_facet Katja Haider
Stefan Kaltschik
Manuela Amon
Christoph Pieh
author_sort Katja Haider
collection DOAJ
description Even if numerous children and young people are looked after by child and youth welfare, there are only a few scientific studies on the reasons for this support. The aim of this retrospective descriptive study was to examine the reasons why child and youth welfare was initiated. Therefore, administrative data, collected by the Lower Austrian Child and Youth Welfare Service, from the year 2021 will be presented. On the one hand, the frequencies of the different justifications provided by the social workers and, on the other hand, whether these are primarily based on problems of the parents/caregivers or the children are reported. In 2021, a total of 7760 clarifications of child welfare endangerments were initiated. The descriptive statistical analyses showed that the most frequent concerns were parental overload (49%), behavioral issues (10%), and difficult economic conditions (9%). Although a classification according to the caregiver or child level cannot always be clearly distinguished, there is a trend that in many cases (84% to 99% depending on the type of support) the problems lie at the caregiver level. Further studies are necessary so that the care of such vulnerable groups of people will be better supported by scientific findings.
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spelling doaj.art-fb4e199aee0d4506b6de6d53bfd785322023-11-19T00:40:38ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672023-08-01108137610.3390/children10081376Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in AustriaKatja Haider0Stefan Kaltschik1Manuela Amon2Christoph Pieh3Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, AustriaDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, AustriaDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, AustriaDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, AustriaEven if numerous children and young people are looked after by child and youth welfare, there are only a few scientific studies on the reasons for this support. The aim of this retrospective descriptive study was to examine the reasons why child and youth welfare was initiated. Therefore, administrative data, collected by the Lower Austrian Child and Youth Welfare Service, from the year 2021 will be presented. On the one hand, the frequencies of the different justifications provided by the social workers and, on the other hand, whether these are primarily based on problems of the parents/caregivers or the children are reported. In 2021, a total of 7760 clarifications of child welfare endangerments were initiated. The descriptive statistical analyses showed that the most frequent concerns were parental overload (49%), behavioral issues (10%), and difficult economic conditions (9%). Although a classification according to the caregiver or child level cannot always be clearly distinguished, there is a trend that in many cases (84% to 99% depending on the type of support) the problems lie at the caregiver level. Further studies are necessary so that the care of such vulnerable groups of people will be better supported by scientific findings.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/8/1376child welfarechild endangermentfoster carechildrenadolescentsadministrative data
spellingShingle Katja Haider
Stefan Kaltschik
Manuela Amon
Christoph Pieh
Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in Austria
Children
child welfare
child endangerment
foster care
children
adolescents
administrative data
title Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in Austria
title_full Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in Austria
title_fullStr Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in Austria
title_full_unstemmed Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in Austria
title_short Why Are Child and Youth Welfare Support Services Initiated? A First-Time Analysis of Administrative Data on Child and Youth Welfare Services in Austria
title_sort why are child and youth welfare support services initiated a first time analysis of administrative data on child and youth welfare services in austria
topic child welfare
child endangerment
foster care
children
adolescents
administrative data
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/10/8/1376
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