Parental Satisfaction With Child Welfare Services in Norway

Abstract

This study aims to examine parents' satisfaction with Norwegian child welfare services (CWS) and factors associated with parents' satisfaction. Different factors were included in the analysis, such as characteristics of the contact with CWS, and service aspects, as evaluated by parents (accessibility, information quality, workers' skills and user participation). Data were collected from 412 parents in 20 different municipalities. Over half of the participants (56%) reported that they overall received the needed help to a great or very great extent, while 60% were satisfied to a great extent or more. The majority of parents (76%) reported that their case manager was courteous and respectful, while nearly half of the parents (47%) stated that the help they received made it easier for them to provide care. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that workers' skills, user participation and information quality were associated with both satisfaction with outcomes of CWS and overall satisfaction, while duration of contact was also associated with satisfaction with outcomes of CWS. These results highlight the importance of achieving and maintaining high workers' skills, information quality and user participation in CWS.