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Traditionally, residential youth care (RYC) in the Netherlands has been characterized by short-term placements, groups with relatively large numbers of youth (8– 12), often located on a campus with several RYC units. Recently, alternative RYC settings have been developed to create a home-like environment and promote stability. These alternative settings are characterized by long-term care, smaller groups (typically 6), and placements within the community. Examples of alternative RYC settings are home-like groups and family-style group homes (with livein professionals).
The authors aimed to…
Group climate in residential youth care is considered to be essential for treatment of youth and young adults. Various instruments exist to measure quality of living group climate, but some are lengthy, use complicated wording, which make them difficult to fill out by youth and individuals with a mild intellectual disability. The present study based in the Netherlands describes the development and rationale for the Group Climate Instrument—Revised (GCI-R).
Construct validity and reliability of the GCI-R were examined by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in a two-step validation…
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…
Abstract:
This article investigates the phenomenon and practice of intercountry adoption from a historical perspective by using applied history methods. In particular, the authors employed the method of historicizing current concerns, such as the notion of abuses, and contextualizing them in history. With these methods, the authors contributed to the Dutch governmental assessment and evaluation of intercountry adoption, indicating that our findings (as laid down in the official report) need to be translated into revised governmental policies. In this paper, we describe how we…
The Dutch Minister for Legal Protection established an independent Committee on 18 April 2019 to investigate abuses in intercountry adoption during the period 1967-1998, and the role of the Dutch government in this regard, particularly in response to complaints and requests from adult adoptees searching for answers about their adoptions and their identities. This report presents the results of that investigation. According to the report, "the first reports of adoption abuse appeared in the media in the late 1960s, such as document forging, the abuse of the birth mothers' poverty and…
Abstract
Most out-of-home placed children have experienced early adversities, including maltreatment and neglect. A challenge for caregivers is to adequately interpret their foster child’s internal mental states and behavior. We examined caregivers’ mind-mindedness in out-of-home care, and the association among caregivers’ mind-mindedness (and its positive, neutral, and negative valence), recognition of the child’s trauma symptoms, and behavior problems. Participants (N = 138) were foster parents, family-home parents, and residential care workers. Caregivers’ mind-mindedness was…
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine differences in perceived living group climate between boys and girls in a sample of 344 youth (68.6% male, M age = 16, SD = 1.58) receiving residential youth care in the Netherlands. Participants filled out self-report measures on living group climate. Results of multilevel regression models indicated that girls in non-correctional facilities experienced living group climate most positively, and girls in correctional facilities experienced living group climate most negatively compared…
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…
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
Indiscriminate friendliness (IF) is atypical behavior often seen in postinstitutionalized and foster children. The current exploratory study examined the associations of children’s attachment security, parental sensitivity, and child inhibitory control with reported and observed IF in 60 family-reared, never-institutionalized foster children. IF was measured with a parent-report questionnaire (Indiscriminate Friendliness Questionnaire) and an observational measure (adapted version of the Stranger at the Door procedure; Bucharest Early Intervention Project). Attachment security and…