Single Mothers “At Risk” For Child Maltreatment: An Appraisal of Person-Centred Interventions and a Call for Emancipatory Action

In this paper, I explore interventions with single mothers who are “at risk” for perpetrating child maltreatment. I will (a) challenge some of the underlying assumptions and social/political implications of person-centred interventions with single mothers, and (b) identify some of the principles and criteria that might be used to guide and evaluate more emancipatory alternatives. Like other feminist critics of social policy and child welfare, I will suggest that the well-being of children in single-mother families is rooted, not within inherent deficits in the mothering skills of single mothers, but within the disadvantaged position of women—and their children—in patriarchal/capitalist societies. Further, I will suggest that monolithic, decontextualized accounts of single motherhood do not serve the needs of single mothers or their children. Finally, I will conclude that child maltreatment can be prevented, at least in part, through collective action, including politically conscious mutual aid, and broader changes in social and economic policy.