Client Agency in Child Protection Work in Estonia: Clients’ Perspectives

Tuuli-Brit Vaga () and Dagmar Kutsar
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Tuuli-Brit Vaga: University of Tartu
Dagmar Kutsar: University of Tartu

Child Indicators Research, 2022, vol. 15, issue 5, No 12, 1793-1820

Abstract: Abstract This article explores how child protection clients perceive their opportunities to exercise agency in their encounters with child protection services. Child clients include respondents who were children at the time of responding or had previous contact with child protection services, i.e. those under the age of 18 (n = 217); adult clients include parents, guardians, and relatives (collectively referred to as “family members”) who had personal experience with child protection workers (n = 505). The analysis applies a three dimensionional framework of understanding agency (autonomy, construction and action) inspired by Kuczynski and colleagues. The analysis showed that child protection clients, i.e. both children and adults, have insufficient opportunities to exercise their agency in their interactions with child protection services. One of the factors hindering the exercise of agency is the power imbalance perceived by clients due to the lack of transparency in child protection work and the imposition of their own opinions by child protection practitioners. On the other hand, agency is enhanced if the client feels that they are an equal partner in their interactions with the child protection worker. It was also found that an opportunity to exercise agency made children and their family members feel that child protection work had been effective: a large proportion of both children and adults who had been able to exercise agency reported that their situation improved as a result of child protection work. The article concludes with recommendations for enhancing child protection clients’ agency in their interactions with child protection practitioners.

Keywords: Client agency; Child protection work; Child and family; Feedback to child protection services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s12187-022-09942-4

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