Background: Parents with intellectual disability experience high rates of child removal, which affects their well-being. Method: Participatory action research (PAR) was undertaken with eight parents with intellectual disability who had children removed from their care. Parents were interviewed before and after the PAR. Three themes emerged: a safe…

Background: Newborns of parents with intellectual disabilities face higher risks in their environment for child unsafety, despite parents' good intentions. To help parents prevent unsafe circumstances, a good understanding of the risk factors faced by these parents is needed. Methods: This casefile study examined (1) which risk factors were…

Background: Parental intellectual disability is considered a risk factor for child removal internationally. In New South Wales, Australia, authorised clinicians are court appointed experts who assess parenting and cognitive capacity in child protection matters. Method: This study examined a sample of 20 assessment orders requesting parenting…

Background: This paper explores experiences of mothers with intellectual disabilities, with an emphasis on oppressive circumstances and stereotypes that contribute to poorer antenatal and social outcomes for mothers and their children, potentially leading to child removal. Drawing parallels to archetypical figures of Solomon and Medea, we explore…

Parental capacity is one of the main aspects assessed by social workers as part of child protection investigations. The aim of this study is to explore the social workers' perceptions of assessing the parental capacity of parents with intellectual disabilities in child protection investigations. Four focus group interviews were conducted with…

Background: Parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) are over-represented in child welfare cases. Although IQ "per se" is an invalid indicator of parenting abilities, this study examined the prevalence of judicial consideration of parental IQ test evidence in US appellate cases. Methods: The present authors…