Resumen
Background: The 'best interest of the child' is a guiding principle in Child and Youth Welfare. It's the specific task of the child welfare system and social work to assess and ensure the child's best interest, especially when biological parents cannot meet such needs – for instance, due to the physical separation of displaced children and their parents.\ Aim: This presentation discusses how the child's best interest is considered with regard to diverse transnational family relationships of displaced unaccompanied minors (UMs) in Germany. Principles of ‘the best interest of the child’ and social work principles with UMs will first be outlined before focusing on their implementation in practice.Method: The presentation is based on a thorough literature review and grounded theory analysis (Charmaz, 2014) of qualitative interviews with (former) UMs (n=12), social workers and pedagogical staff (n=20), and experts (n=3).\ Results:\ Despite the highly developed Child Protection System in Germany and the provision of various forms of support for UMs, findings point towards a lack of support concerning UMs' transnational family relationships.\ Parents in countries of origin or transit countries are only, in some cases, involved in social work interventions.\ In providing a rationale for their interventions, social workers referred to UMs' helplessness, personal experiences, organizational routines, and requirements. Social work approaches did not explicitly consider the principle of ‘the best interest of the child,’ theoretical foundations, or empirical justifications.Conclusions and Implications: Findings concerning the existing research examining "the best interest of the child" regarding UMs and family involvement are discussed. Based on empirical, theoretical, legal, and ethical considerations, it will be highlighted in what way the "best interest of children" and the role of the family abroad could better be considered in the case of UMs.\
Palabras Clave (separar con comas)
unaccompanied minors, transnational families, ‘best interest of the child,’ qualitative research, social work in Germany