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While there is a growing body of research suggesting that care leavers experience disadvantages in early adulthood, there is only one study at hand that uses panel data to analyze long term effects. Based on this idea, the authors examine data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), covering a 50-year period, and use matching methods to compare care leavers who have been in residential care or lived with foster parents to a control group. The results indicate that being placed in out-of-home care is associated with disadvantages in terms of unemployment, life satisfaction and health. The…
For centuries, residential child and youth care systems worldwide have provided homes for vulnerable children and adolescents. The implementation of children's rights, especially the right of participation, is assessed as an important base for promoting the best interests of the child in an out-of-home care environment.
Featuring contributions from distinguished international authors, this volume offers an in-depth understanding of crucial participation processes and underlying power structures when involving young people in decision-making about their care and everyday life in different…
Introduction
Out-of-home care, especially treatment residential care programs (TRC) are often described in the media, and even in some professional studies, as obsolete social structures (Consensus Statement, 2014). Residential care settings are out-of-home facilities such as educational youth villages and educational, therapeutic, or rehabilitation residential treatment centers (Grupper, 2013). Their aim is to provide education, treatment, rehabilitation or protection for children and youth, including those at risk and others, to protect these young people and work toward making a…
Abstract: This article analyzes developments in the forms of social work with young refugees and the legal framing of such work in Germany from 1990 to the present. In particular, it addresses the reactions of politicians and the child and youth welfare system to the sharp rise in the number of refugees in 2015 and 2016, and the concomitant significant increase in the number of unaccompanied minor refugees. It underlines the need for an approach based on children’s rights, and the necessity for social workers, especially those involved in helping youth, to resist the policies of deterrence…
Abstract
Background
A substantial amount of youths living in youth residential care demonstrate clinical levels of aggression during the course of their placements, which poses a major risk to care continuity. Yet developmental trajectories of aggressive behavior can vary.
Objective
We investigated if changes in quality of life (QoL), psychopathological symptoms and perceived self-efficacy predict aggressive behavior trajectories in youths with clinical aggression levels living in closed youth residential care in Germany.
Method
Youths (n=63; 76.2% female; ages 11-17, M=14.4…
Abstract
Background
Disparities in decision-making are a recognized concern within child protection systems and imply that marginalized groups are being treated unequally compared to majoritized groups. Previous studies reported that both ethnicity and the gender of the parent that maltreated the child seem associated with an increased likelihood that child protection agencies provide services after an investigation or that children are placed out of their homes.
Objective
We investigated whether migration background and the gender of the parent who maltreated the child seem…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY International volunteering is widely understood to have originated primarily in Western Europe, specifically the United Kingdom, before the trend expanded to other parts of the world with similar demographics, for example Australia and the United States. Today, significant anecdotal evidence suggests that other countries across Europe also make a considerable contribution to the supply chain of people, money and resources that continue to sustain and foster the orphanage industry worldwide. However, there is a lack of data available to accurately assess the extent of…
Abstract
Children's participation in legal proceedings affecting them personally has been gaining importance. So far, a primary research concern has been how children experience their participation in court proceedings. However, little is known about the child's voice itself: Are children able to clearly express their wishes, and if so, what do they say in child protection cases? In this study, we extracted information about children's statements from court file data of 220 child protection cases in Germany. We found 182 children were asked about their wishes. The majority of the…
Abstract
The education of children in care is seen differently by teachers, caregivers in residential homes, and by the children themselves, and differences may be evident and highly significant with the impact that this entails. A pilot project aimed at improving the school-based learning of children in residential care was conducted within the framework of a European Project together with 5 Organizations working in Austria, Croatia, France, Germany and Spain. Program assessment included pre-post design and, on analysing pretest data, we established the objective of finding out more about…
Abstract
Children and adolescents from families with parental mental illness face an increased risk to experience abuse, neglect and maltreatment. The effects of imminent, intermittent or chronic distress on the development of the child and to differentiate these from neglect or maltreatment are not easily assignable in such families. Questionnaires and diagnostic instruments can be supportive tools for professionals in hospitals and private practices to identify and differentiate between burdens of children and families and potential endangerment. Different instruments are presented for…