Dignifying Families at Risk: How a change in Caseworker Approach changes user perspective, agency and perception of self

Through the voices of families at risk, the aim of the presentation is to display how a change in caseworker approach and municipal organization can dignify families at risk and create change in the families’ experiences of collaboration and of self. Qualitative interviews forms the basis. In Denmark, the number of children and families at risk has been relatively stable over the last decades. The number of children at risk is stable at approximately fifteen- twenty percent, while the number of children placed in out of home care is at approximately one percent. Surprisingly, these numbers stay relatively stable, in spite of a significant increase (doubling) in the number of children receiving preventive measures between 1993 and 2007. A substantial number of the adults in families at risk are unemployed and without education - regardless of municipal initiatives. There is overlap between long-term unemployed parents and children either receiving preventive measures or being placed in out of home care. In short, there seem to be a specific group of families at risk who are unreachable within the existing systems of support. The Danish municipal services are organised in sectors with a high degree of specialisation. For instance, a family struggling with unemployment as well as children’s failure to thrive is assigned one or more caseworker(s) per adult specialised within unemployment; one per adult who handles the financials and one (or more) from child protection. Most likely, the several different caseworkers from different departments are combined with different professionals related to the different initiatives launched by the different departments. Therefore, it is not unrealistic for a family of two parents and two children to be assigned ten different professionals from the municipality. In addition, the coordination between these different sectors is weak, leaving the collaboration between the different professionals almost non-exiting. However, in one Danish municipality a new initiative has emerged. A selected number of 32 families assigned to both the department of employment and that of child protection (and for some, also other departments) now only have one caseworker, in total. With a different organisation, a change in caseworker approach and new perspectives on preventive measures the idea is to enable these families away from being at risk. According to the participating 32 families at risk, the changes in casework approach and organization has several significant outcomes. The flexibility of having just one caseworker to relate to and the fact that she/he is easily accessible is of great importance for the collaborative relationship. More importantly, the specific approach combined with the accessibility provides the families with an experience of being comprehended - within their context. The families very well know that occupation and family life are intertwined. Now, they feel that their caseworker knows it too. As a result, the families feel they have re-gained their dignity because they do not have to defend, explain or beg whenever they are in need of support. This change in caseworker approach also makes it personally relevant for the families, as opposed to feeling oblivion. The families feel acknowledged and appreciated for who they are as persons and as a family. The municipality is no longer ‘a thing’. It becomes a real live person. Agency is a very noteworthy part of this acknowledgement because the families now feel they are able to influence how their problems are defined and how they are to be resolved. A significant contribution to dignifying families at risk.