Child welfare workers’ attitudes towards network and family kinship care in Norway

This study examines and compares Norwegian child welfare workers’ attitudes towards network and family kinship care, where children who are removed from their parents’ care are placed with someone in their social network or with relatives. Using data from a 2023 national survey, we assessed differences in attitudes and their implications for child welfare practices. While workers generally had positive attitudes towards both care types, they showed more favourable attitudes towards network care (Cohen’s ds from .17 to .90). The questions related to cooperation with foster parents and the follow-up of foster homes revealed the largest differences between family and network care. These findings emphasise the need to develop strategies addressing the unique challenges posed by each type of care. This approach would move away from treating kinship care as a homogeneous entity and instead recognise the specific needs of network care versus family kinship care.