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Strand 2: Case studies of transformational reform programmes examined a range of approaches to the delivery of children’s services to better understand the evidence regarding systems-level integration between children’s social work/social care with health services and/or adult social care.
The case studies were drawn from a range of contexts, from national to highly decentralised structures and modes of delivery, in five high-income countries: Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. A sixth case study drew on learning from…
Abstract
Scholars largely agree that placements with relative caregivers are best for children. However, the regulations that jurisdictions apply to determine eligibility for foster care licensure may limit relative caregivers’ access to the benefits of licensure. This analysis considers foster care regulations in three jurisdictions and the effects of policy decisions on eligibility for relative caregivers and placement options for children in out-of-home care. Finland, New Zealand, and Wisconsin all have a stated priority for placement of children with relative caregivers.…
Abstract
Young people receiving aftercare services, hereinafter referred to as care leavers, are dependent on supportive and caring relationships with their family, friends, and other support networks when transitioning to independent life. According to previous research, care leavers often have low resilience, which impairs their ability to cope with challenges and leads to problems related to housing, studying, mental health, substance abuse, and somatic morbidity; these issues can impair social inclusion and increase vulnerability.
The aim of this qualitative study was to…
This report highlights the recommendations and priorities that EU decision-makers and national governments can do to support the most vulnerable children and prevent widening inequalities.
Based on input from Eurochild national members from 22 countries across Europe, the report provides feedback on the 2022 European Semester Country Reports and Country Specific Recommendations; the development of the Child Guarantee National…
This study explores young people’s perceptions of their existential well-being during the transition after leaving care. The authors use the theoretical framework of ‘existential well-being,’ which is a relational approach. The study deploys participatory action research methodology and involves peer research with 74 young people leaving care aged 17–32 in Finland (2011–2012) and England (2016–2018). The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and thematically analysed.
We identified three inter-linking categories of existential well-being related to the basic issues of being…
Abstract
The mental health of young people is a pressing concern in global development. However, there is little research on how young adults report their own mental health. The interview data gathered in this study (n ¼ 74) explored young adults’ well-being during the transition period from care to independent living under an English local authority and in Finland. Participatory action research methods were employed. The interview schedule included 71 open and closed questions, and was analysed by content and summarised using the SPSS software application and Excel tables…
Abstract
Existing research has established child welfare (CW) clients as a vulnerable group for developing negative life trajectories, including mental health problems, work‐ and education‐related challenges and premature mortality. Knowledge of later life conditions including suicidality of clients within child welfare services (CWS) in the Nordic countries is scarce. The overall aim is therefore to gain updated knowledge on how children and youth who have received or are receiving CWS interventions from the Nordic CWS fare in relation to suicidality. The population, intervention,…
Abstract
The present study focuses on experiences of relational tensions and management strategies in family relationships among 18 young adults with foster care backgrounds who participated in interviews. In the analysis drawing from relational dialectics, three main tensions were revealed in the participants' relationships with birth and foster family members or in their romantic relationships: the dialectics of emotional distance‐closeness, integration‐separation and sameness‐otherness. In addition, the tension of the childhood dialectic of responsibility was identified in this study.…
Abstract
During spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns fundamentally changed families’ everyday lives. This study aims to examine how families with children coped during the COVID-19 lockdown in Finland and what kind of coping strategies they developed. An online survey including both qualitative and quantitative questions was conducted between April and May 2020 to gather Finnish families’ experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown. In this study, we focus on information from one open-ended question, and Huston’s social-ecological theory was used as an analytical framework…
This webinar was part of Eurochild's breakfast webinars to mark World Children’s Day 2020. Focusing on the economic arguments for investing in children, this webinar also highlighted Finland’s efforts to prioritise children’s rights and why this makes economic sense.
H.E. Marie-Louise Perera, President of Eurochild …