Seen but Not Heard: Child Protection Workers' Discourses on Children's Participation in Foster Care Decisions

ABSTRACT Participation is central to child protection discourse, yet its realisation in high‐stakes decisions remains challenged. This study examines how child protection workers (CPWs) in Estonia interpret and implement children's participation rights in foster care placements. Eight semi‐structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis informed by discourse analysis to explore the narratives that shape participation in practice. The findings reveal five dominant discourses that interact to create six recurrent tensions, requiring CPWs to navigate between normative rights‐based ideals and the constraints of legal mandates, professional authority, and institutional capacity. While participants strongly endorsed the principle of hearing the child, participation often remained procedural and conditional, limited by developmental competence thresholds, relational gatekeeping, legal formalities, and structural scarcity—all of which determined when and how children could participate. This study contributes to the literature on child participation and child protection by unpacking how intersecting discourses shape the boundaries of Article 12 in foster care placement decisions. By mapping both barriers and enabling conditions, it offers insights relevant to strengthening meaningful participation in child welfare systems nationally and internationally.