Assessing Child Maintenance Cases in Ghana
What Do Social Workers Consider
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6438702 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ebenezer Cudjoe (0000-0002-9908-0834, University of Essex, corresponding author), Alhassan Abdullah (0000-0001-5381-5340, Flinders University), Kwabena Frimpong-Manso (0000-0002-6699-6416, University of Ghana), Pascal Agbadi (0000-0001-5297-2512, Lingnan University), Antoine Deliege (0000-0003-0451-9056, Child Protection Unit) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 364-377 |
| Publication date | 2024-06-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Social Service Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0148-8376 • E-ISSN: 1540-7314 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/01488376.2024.2362763 |
| OpenAlex | W4399547804 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 27 |
While one of the key responsibilities of social services in Ghana is to conduct maintenance arrangements so that the nonresident parent is committed to making financial contributions to the well-being of the child, little is known about what informs social workers' assessments in child maintenance cases. The aim of this study was to determine what social workers consider when undertaking child maintenance assessments. A qualitative practice research study was conducted with 13 social workers and 12 parents involved in a child maintenance case with three agencies of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development in Ghana. The study showed that corroborating the existence of nonpayment for maintenance in the family is the first step in assessing other factors, such as the parent's income, occupational status and maintenance amount. Even after the maintenance amount was decided upon, social workers were often unable to follow-up on nonresident parents to ensure that they complied with the maintenance arrangements. Given that no assessment instrument exists in Ghana for addressing child maintenance cases, the study's findings can provide useful information that can aid in the development of an instrument or framework to assist social workers in their assessments
Business · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Operations management · Child Abuse and Trauma · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |