Ciftci Sarah, Collings Susan, Wright Amy Conley
Research Centre for Children and Families, Sydney School of Education and Social Work The University of Sydney Sydney.
Child Fam Soc Work. 2022 May 16. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12935.
Social distancing due to COVID-19 forced changes to contact with birth relatives for children in out-of-home care. This required a shift to using technologies, which was previously underutilized and viewed as risky. In an action research study, 33 caseworkers in New South Wales, Australia, reflected upon adapting their practices. Three key themes characterized the changes in caseworker practices and how these impacted upon social interactions between children and their birth and carer families: communication, not location; shared not separate spaces and spontaneous not restricted interaction. First, caseworkers described how contact via technologies involved fewer logistical arrangements, shifting the focus on interactions among children and their two families and encouraging these to be flexible and child-centred. Second, caseworkers discussed how spending time together virtually could build trust, as carers and birth relatives could forge relationships around shared commitment to the child's wellbeing. Third, caseworkers noted that technology-facilitated communication enabled greater choice and control for children while requiring renegotiating boundaries. The findings reflect a shift in caseworker perceptions of technology-facilitated contact from a risk to opportunity framework as a result of COVID-19 conditions, consistent with social shaping of technology theory. Beyond the pandemic, contact with birth relatives can be enhanced through technology.
由于新冠疫情实施的社交距离措施迫使儿童福利院中的儿童与亲生亲属的接触方式发生了改变。这就要求转而使用此前未得到充分利用且被视为有风险的技术。在一项行动研究中，澳大利亚新南威尔士州的33名个案工作者反思了他们如何调整工作方式。个案工作者工作方式的变化以及这些变化如何影响儿童与其亲生家庭和寄养家庭之间的社交互动呈现出三个关键主题：沟通而非地理位置；共享而非分隔空间；自发而非受限互动。首先，个案工作者描述了通过技术进行接触如何减少了后勤安排，将重点转移到儿童与其两个家庭之间的互动上，并鼓励这些互动变得灵活且以儿童为中心。其次，个案工作者讨论了虚拟共处如何能够建立信任，因为照顾者和亲生亲属可以围绕对孩子幸福的共同承诺建立关系。第三，个案工作者指出，技术促进的沟通使儿童有了更多选择和控制权，同时需要重新协商界限。研究结果反映出，由于新冠疫情的情况，个案工作者对技术促进的接触的看法从风险框架转向了机遇框架，这与技术的社会塑造理论相一致。在疫情之外，也可以通过技术加强与亲生亲属的联系。
