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Street-Level Bureaucracy in Action: Social Workers Navigating Child Placement Amidst Poverty in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Lehnberg, Anna LU (2025) SOPB63 20242
School of Social Work
Abstract
The foster care system in Antananarivo, Madagascar is currently transforming, as it reformulates the traditional Malagasy system; ‘Taiza’ into a structural social service. The system faces significant challenges, particularly in gaining public recognition and acceptance. I have explored how social workers in Antananarivo navigate the complexities of child placement decisions in a context where poverty is a pervasive challenge. The aim was to explore how childcare decisions are made, justified, and aligned with the child's best interests. For collecting my empirical data, four interviews were conducted, along with journal entries. The findings were analyzed with Micheal Lipsky’s theory about street-level bureaucrats. The findings show that... (More)
The foster care system in Antananarivo, Madagascar is currently transforming, as it reformulates the traditional Malagasy system; ‘Taiza’ into a structural social service. The system faces significant challenges, particularly in gaining public recognition and acceptance. I have explored how social workers in Antananarivo navigate the complexities of child placement decisions in a context where poverty is a pervasive challenge. The aim was to explore how childcare decisions are made, justified, and aligned with the child's best interests. For collecting my empirical data, four interviews were conducted, along with journal entries. The findings were analyzed with Micheal Lipsky’s theory about street-level bureaucrats. The findings show that social workers implement the Gatekeeping and Trusted Family initiatives through a dual strategy: preventing family separation while rigorously assessing foster families, reflecting Lipsky’s theory of constrained autonomy. Their focus remains on the child’s best interests while assessing the family’s suitability – health, parental capacity, and economic stability. Social workers exercise discretion in four key areas: family suitability assessments, Life Care Plans, informing the child, and other street-level bureaucratic services. Despite poverty and resource limitations, they develop adaptive strategies to uphold service quality and protect children’s well-being. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lehnberg, Anna LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOPB63 20242
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
foster Care System, assessing family suitability, institutional care, child abandonment
language
English
id
9186549
date added to LUP
2025-03-18 13:58:55
date last changed
2025-03-18 13:58:55
@misc{9186549,
  abstract     = {{The foster care system in Antananarivo, Madagascar is currently transforming, as it reformulates the traditional Malagasy system; ‘Taiza’ into a structural social service. The system faces significant challenges, particularly in gaining public recognition and acceptance. I have explored how social workers in Antananarivo navigate the complexities of child placement decisions in a context where poverty is a pervasive challenge. The aim was to explore how childcare decisions are made, justified, and aligned with the child's best interests. For collecting my empirical data, four interviews were conducted, along with journal entries. The findings were analyzed with Micheal Lipsky’s theory about street-level bureaucrats. The findings show that social workers implement the Gatekeeping and Trusted Family initiatives through a dual strategy: preventing family separation while rigorously assessing foster families, reflecting Lipsky’s theory of constrained autonomy. Their focus remains on the child’s best interests while assessing the family’s suitability – health, parental capacity, and economic stability. Social workers exercise discretion in four key areas: family suitability assessments, Life Care Plans, informing the child, and other street-level bureaucratic services. Despite poverty and resource limitations, they develop adaptive strategies to uphold service quality and protect children’s well-being.}},
  author       = {{Lehnberg, Anna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Street-Level Bureaucracy in Action: Social Workers Navigating Child Placement Amidst Poverty in Antananarivo, Madagascar}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}