Critical and Radical Social Work
An international journal

What about my dad? Black fathers and the child protection system

Authors:
Anna GuptaRoyal Holloway, University of London, UK

Search for other papers by Anna Gupta in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
and
Brid FeatherstoneUniversity of Huddersfield, UK

Search for other papers by Brid Featherstone in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
Restricted access
Get eTOC alerts
Rights and permissions Cite this article

This article explores social work practice with black fathers within the child protection and family court systems through the analysis of case studies involving black fathers whose children ‘nearly missed’ the chance to live with them. Drawing upon theories of social justice, this article explores the construction of black men as fathers and contextualises the discussion in relation to gender, race, poverty and immigration issues, as well as the current policy and legal context of child protection work in England. The article examines how beliefs and assumptions about black men can influence how they are constructed, and subsequent decision-making processes. The article concludes with some suggestions for critical social work practice within a human rights and social justice framework.

Anna GuptaRoyal Holloway, University of London, UK

Search for other papers by Anna Gupta in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close
and
Brid FeatherstoneUniversity of Huddersfield, UK

Search for other papers by Brid Featherstone in
Current site
Google Scholar
Close

Content Metrics

May 2022 onwards Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 311 311 32
Full Text Views 78 78 5
PDF Downloads 80 80 11

Altmetrics

Dimensions