How to promote the child welfare approach? A qualitative content analysis study in Iran

Protecting children and developing their well-being have become a great concern in Iran. But policies and services for in-need or at-risk children often follow unintegrated and even incongruous approaches. To address this gap, this study aimed to develop a promoted approach to child welfare to integrate the practices and policies. The conventional qualitative content analysis was applied to in-depth interviews conducted with child welfare experts in Iran. Purposeful and theoretical sampling was used until data saturation was gained by fifty-six qualitative interviews. The interviews were analysed simultaneously using MAXQDA 2018 software. Findings of the study present an approach to reform and promote child welfare in Iran, including four main categories: (i) custodianship of government to child welfare issues; (ii) the holistic, universal and systemic approach to the child welfare system, (iii) child-centred approach; and (iv) family-centred approach. According to the experts' opinion, in the first place, it is necessary to accept the government's custodial and responsible role for children that allow authorities to intervene in families regarding children's best interests. Also, the child-centred approach should be addressed more profoundly and both family-centred and child-centred approaches should be developed concurrently and intently.