Informal help from family support workers for families in France

Bernadette Tillard (1)

1 CLERSÉ - Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques - UMR 8019

Providing educative help at home means that professionals have to enter into the intimacy of families and share daily tasks, often for a long time. Family support workers (FSWs) spend many hours alongside parents helping them with their domestic and parenting tasks. This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study in which the researcher notes and gathers personal accounts relating to material and non-material exchanges between professionals and parents. It analyses the various forms of exchanges between families and FSWs that are permitted, tolerated or excluded by employers. It shows the informal side of professionals working with parents at home.

Mots clés: Family support; ethnography; social work (international); Professional ethic issue

Domaines: Sociologie

Bernadette Tillard. Informal help from family support workers for families in France. Child & Family Social Work, 2016, ⟨10.1111/cfs.12296⟩. ⟨halshs-01427568⟩