Displaying 1 - 10 of 25
Abstract
To promote the return of juveniles to a home-like environment (e.g. living with (foster)parents) after secure residential treatment (SRT), it is important to know which factors are related to this outcome. The current study, based in the Netherlands, examined which characteristics of the juvenile, family, and SRT, including family centeredness and use of systemic interventions, are related to the living situation after discharge. For 259 juveniles (mean age 15.82 years, 127 girls) in SRT and their parents, questionnaires were administered at admission, discharge, and 6-…
Research on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other forms of sexual identities and orientations (LGBTQIA+) youth in care has mainly examined their experiences from a risk-based approach, while few studies have explored their resilience experiences. Using in-depth interviews, the present study aims to illuminate the resilience experiences of 13 LGBTQIA+ young people in out-of-home care in the Netherlands.
Four themes emerged from their narratives: relationships that support and empower; construction of a positive identity around their sexual…
Care leavers are disadvantaged in many countries and in many ways in terms of their participation in society. Compared to the population as a whole, they have a lower level of education and are more often unemployed or precariously employed and less well paid. They are more likely to experience poverty and poor health, and their life satisfaction is lower. Previous research has focused primarily on the “leaving care” phase and related challenges in the transition to independent living. This paper is the first to analyze the socio-economic status and living situation of care leavers between…
Children need stable and safe relationships with caring adults to thrive, and such relationships are far more likely to be created in a family environment. Those growing up in alternative care have very often experienced significant trauma before being placed in care. Residential care, in particular, can expose them to all the risks associated with social exclusion if it is not equipped to give them the tailored support they need.
That is why it is important to know the proportion of children placed in residential care compared to those in placed in formal family-based care. This would…
There is a firm commitment by the European Union and its Member States to the deinstitutionalisation of children in alternative care and support for their transition to care that is family and community-based. Children growing up in alternative care have very often experienced significant trauma before being placed in care. Residential care, in particular, is known to expose them to additional risks if it is not equipped to provide them with the individualised care they need for their healthy development and social inclusion. Children need stable and safe relationships with caring adults to…
Eurochild and UNICEF carried out the DataCare project to map alternative care data systems across the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU-27) and the United Kingdom (UK). They found that despite differing national definitions and categorisations of alternative care across the region, enough data being published at national level can be used at an aggregate level to establish comparable indicators on the number of children in residential care and three other relevant and interlinked indicators.
As the European Union does not currently have comparable and Europe-wide data to gauge the…
Abstract
Research on institutional care and its long‐term effect on life trajectories provides crucial and sometimes unexpected insights. In a qualitative study in Switzerland, we have conducted 37 narrative interviews with people who experienced residential care between 1950 and 1990. The analysis was based on a reconstructive life course perspective and grounded theory. The findings show a complex interplay of residential care context (here: narratives from expert discourses) and intersubjective experiences during and after care. Most interviewees learned from their experiences to be…
One of the most important goals of out of home placements is to reduce vulnerability and to enable well-being in the long term. This article hermeneutically reconstructs biographies decades after leaving-care to understand the impact of residential care experiences on selected dimensions of care-leavers’ well-being, that were discovered in the data material. For this article three analytic areas were selected from the core of the narratives of former care leavers: Social networks, parenthood and state interventions. The selected findings on long-term outcomes presented here are based on a…
Abstract
This article presents empirical results from a study (2015–2018) on young people leaving care in Luxembourg. A special focus deals with the processes of transitioning from care to work. Education appears to be crucial for a successful transition, as it determines life chances, such as labour market chances, but so far inequality studies have neither researched transitions from care nor have the theoretical concepts developed in inequality research been used to understand the situation of care leavers. They might help to explain the different mechanisms behind the disadvantages of…
Abstract
Background
An important responsibility of the child welfare system, is taking decisions on the reunification of children with their birth parents after the children have lived in foster families. We currently lack evidence-based knowledge to guide the reunification decision-making process.
Objective
The present study uses concept mapping as an exploratory method, to identify themes that seem to be used by two groups of professionals in their judgement and decision making on reunification.
Method
First, we consulted 78 foster care workers and studied 172 legal cases…