Child Poverty and Social Work

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Childhood and Youth Studies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 2016

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Centre for Ethics and Poverty Research, University of Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Interests: child poverty

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue explores the complex and interwoven realities of child poverty and social work, emphasizing the profound impact of poverty on children's development and well-being. It will critically examine how social work and social welfare systems address, mitigate, or sometimes inadvertently reinforce the issues of poverty and marginalization. With a strong focus on social justice, this Special Issue will analyze how power imbalances within institutions, structural inequalities, and systemic barriers affect vulnerable families and deepen cycles of poverty.

Contributors are invited to investigate the economic and social as well as the mental and emotional burdens that child and family poverty inflict, particularly the experiences of shame, social exclusion, and stigmatization, which compound poverty's effects. By addressing the social, economic, and mental dimensions of poverty, this Special Issue aims to uncover the nuanced role that social work can play in promoting resilience, empowerment, and inclusion.

The Special Issue welcomes both theoretical explorations and empirical studies, highlighting innovative practises, policies, and interventions in social work aimed at alleviating poverty and its repercussions. By centering the voices of marginalized children and families, it seeks to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive understanding of social welfare, aiming ultimately to foster more just and compassionate responses to poverty.

Dr. Gottfried Schweiger
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • child poverty
  • social work
  • child welfare
  • ethics
  • inequality
  • family poverty
  • shame
  • social exclusion
  • child social work
  • social welfare
  • child well-being

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 299 KiB  
Article
The Capability Approach as a Normative Foundation for Social Work with Socially Disadvantaged Children and Youth
by Gottfried Schweiger
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(6), 326; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14060326 - 24 May 2025
Viewed by 350
Abstract
The capability approach, shaped by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, offers an innovative normative framework for social work with disadvantaged children and adolescents. Unlike purely resource- or income-oriented approaches, it asks what real opportunities young people have to lead the lives that they [...] Read more.
The capability approach, shaped by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, offers an innovative normative framework for social work with disadvantaged children and adolescents. Unlike purely resource- or income-oriented approaches, it asks what real opportunities young people have to lead the lives that they value. At its core is the question of how these young individuals can develop their talents, build relationships, and participate in community and culture. The potential of the capability approach becomes particularly evident in social problem contexts often characterized by poverty, educational disadvantages, or discrimination. It emphasizes the importance of freedoms, self-determination, and agency, viewing children not merely as in need of assistance but as active agents in shaping their own lives. For social work practice, this opens up new possibilities for designing interventions in a participatory manner, ensuring that children’s needs and values are taken into account. Instead of standardized solutions, individualized and context-sensitive strategies are promoted. This approach also calls for a multilateral perspective: beyond individual casework, societal and institutional structures must be addressed. Only by removing barriers in areas such as education, health, and housing can real opportunities be created. At the same time, the concept aligns well with children’s rights work, trauma-sensitive approaches, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Although operationalizing the approach is complex, a capability-oriented perspective allows for a comprehensive assessment of children’s living conditions. In this way, social work can increasingly focus on strengthening agency and recognizing young people as subjects of their own becoming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Child Poverty and Social Work)
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