Toward Co‐Production of Child Welfare Services With Immigrant Parents: Insights Into Enabling and Constraining Factors

Abstract

This article explores the factors that facilitate or constrain the co‐production of child welfare services (CWS) in the encounters between immigrant parents and child welfare systems. It draws on empirical data from interviews with ten parents who have experience with the Norwegian Child Welfare Services (NCWS) due to allegations of child maltreatment. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, involving multiple iterative cycles and theme construction to identify factors that influence active parental participation in the process and, by extension, co‐production of the services. The findings reveal that while a range of factors shape the co‐production of CWS, they highlight the central role of: (a) parents' negative perceptions of the NCWS and limited awareness of how to engage with the system; (b) the impact of the child welfare system's approach to intervention; (c) the role of parental trust or distrust in the NCWS; and (d) the quality of relationships and the underlying power dynamics between parents and the NCWS. Yet, while some factors - such as parents' negative perceptions and limited awareness - appear to have a more pronounced impact on specific stages of co‐production, like early engagement and collaborative planning, others, like trust and power dynamics, exert a crosscutting influence that shapes participation and co‐production across the full spectrum of the intervention process.