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Single Moms, absent Dads

Neglecting fathers and burdening mothers in social work practice with separated families

Bibliographic Data

ID12606536
AuthorsNadav Perez‐vaisvidovsky (0000-0002-2581-2772, Social Work School, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel, corresponding author), Ayana Halpern (0000-0002-6257-1656, Social Work School, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel), Reli Mizrahi (Social Work School, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel), Zahra Atalla Salamy (Social Work School, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel)
Year2023
Volume27
Issue1
Pages205-219
Publication date2023-06-22
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Social Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-1457 • E-ISSN: 1468-2664
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13691457.2023.2222927
OpenAlexW4381853868
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited42

The low participation of nonresident fathers in family- and child-oriented social work interventions is well documented, as are the adverse effects of their absence on the outcomes of these interventions and the welfare of their families. However, research on the reasons for this low participation tends to focus on the views and perceptions of social workers and fathers. We propose a systemic approach focusing on families rather than fathers, and institutional aspects of the welfare system, such as workplace culture and administrative barriers, rather than social workers' views. Using an institutional ethnography in six Israeli Departments of Social Services, we examined work procedures and routines with regard to separated families in Israel's social welfare and child protection system. Our findings show that social workers often fail to include nonresident fathers in their interventions with separated families. Using the theoretical framework of the mother-based intervention, we show how the organisation of services promotes a focus on mothers. These findings, we claim, have dire consequences for both fathers and mothers. Fathers are denied the opportunity to take an equal part in the lives of their children, while mothers are expected to bear the entire burden of the intervention's requirements

Developmental psychology · Economic growth · Economics · Ethnography · Focus group · Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study · Intervention (counseling · Perception · Political science · Psychological intervention · Social Welfare · Sociology · Welfare · Welfare system · Child Welfare and Adoption · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work

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Citations per year1.67
Citation span2023 - 2025 (3)
Highly citedNo

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