A Study On The Linkage Mechanism Of Social Forces To Intervene In The De Facto Unattended Children Families

Family is the greatest welfare for children.In the context of rapid social transformation,the protection function of children in modern families has been seriously weakened or even lost.The family dilemma caused by the drastic changes in family structure and function is an important reason for the emergence of de facto unattended children.It is necessary for diverse social forces to participate in the welfare supply of children and their families in distress.This study combined text analysis,case analysis,semi-structured interview and focus group,focusing on the‘Mom Next Door’ project in S,conducted one-to-one interviews with 24 staff members,and collected the experience of the project promoted by the Women’s Federation in each district from six focus groups.With the help of niche theory,this study sorts out the de facto unattended children’s care service ecosystem in S city.First,the study finds that complementary advantages are the basis for cooperation between multiple actors,with civil affairs and mass organizations having authority and extensive reach,and other social forces having professionalism,flexibility and service experience.Secondly,professional social organizations are the most powerful actors to implement care services and are at the core of the mechanism,gaining legitimacy and financial support to intervene in families with de facto unattended children through ’government-society cooperation’ and ’group-society collaboration’.In this way,welfare resources are transformed into precise and professional care services.Thirdly,it is found that report,investigation,policy guarantee,care service and follow-up are all part of the linkage mechanism,but sometimes it fails to work.Finally,this study proposes six suggestions from the social work perspective,namely,promoting the development of specialized social organizations serving de facto unattended children,implementing family-oriented empowerment services,managing ethical risks,strengthening horizontal ‘linkage among social forces’,improving the policy system and supervision and evaluation mechanism involving social forces,and strengthening inter-line cooperation,so as to improve the efficiency of linkage mechanism and to improve the well-being of families with de facto unattended children.