Displaying 1 - 10 of 1941
This article analyzes ethical issues arising in transreligious foster care placements in relation to foster children’s needs regarding religious socialization and identification. Applying Urban Walker’s expressive-collaborative framework to 30 qualitative interviews with foster parents, foster children, parents, and professionals, the authors elaborate and apply a three-level reflection on Christian foster parents’ ethics of care in everyday practice of foster care.
A first-level reflection demonstrates that integrating the foster child in the foster family often leads to predominant…
Abstract
Research suggests that children develop best in families, but millions currently reside in residential care centers. Many residential care centers have transitioned their programmes from a to a family care model. Using a mixed methods design, the current study examined (1) antecedents to transition, (2) key elements in the process and (3) outcomes of transitioning models of care. Participants included 39 non-government organizations that had fully or partially transitioned to family care. Programmes collectively served 12 325 children and 29 499 families in 22 countries…
Abstract
Background
Media stories over the past decade have sensationalized cases of intercountry adoption discontinuity, a phenomenon largely missing from the research literature.
Objective
This study sought to understand how intercountry adoptees with adoption discontinuity histories experience legal, relational, and residential permanency losses through the framework of ambiguous loss and trauma.
Participants and setting
Twenty intercountry adoptees in the United States who experienced adoption discontinuity as minor children.
Methods
Participants were recruited…
Abstract
Foster care is a sensitive topic that requires representation of the best interests of children and families. The perspectives of foster children and foster families are under-researched and there is need for more knowledge in this area. Following a PRISMA guidelines, 24 articles were analyzed. The systematic review explores foster children’s and foster parents’ perceptions of factors related to a successful placement. Both children and foster parents emphasized the importance of inclusion in the decision-making process and a need for additional help from specialists. Findings…
Abstract
Trauma informed care (TIC) emphasizes the importance of professionals maintaining an emotionally regulated state. We interviewed eight staff members in a residential care unit for children and adolescents where TIC had been implemented, about situations wherein they experienced difficulty regulating their own emotions. We identified three major narratives in informants’ descriptions: (1) “Are we doing the right things?”, (2) “My childhood issues surfaced”, and (3) “Missing togetherness with trusted others.” The narratives illustrate the emotional strain that can be evoked when…
Abstract
Siblings are key actors in the social network of young people in care. This paper explores young people's perceptions of changes in the quality of sibling relationships and the pathways relationships follow during the transition from the biological family into care. A thematic analysis of interviews with young Norwegian people (n = 25) in care showed that, in the biological family, sibling relationships are characterized by alliances, parentification, conflicts or nonexistence. After admission to child welfare services care, sibling relationships developed along multiple…
Abstract
The study sought the socio-economic supports available for the high school adolescent girl learners from child-headed families (CHFs). The study used the phenomenological research design using a total of 40 learners from five (5) rural schools which were randomly selected for the study. Data were collected using focus group discussions and individual interviews. Data collected were thematically analyzed by scrutinizing them for commonalities. The findings of the study revealed that the adolescent girls in CHFs receive the majority of their socio-economic supports from the…
Abstract
Youth within the child welfare system (CWS) have often experienced adverse life events, and many need support from health services. This study aimed to compare mental health problems and health service use among adolescents receiving in-home services (IHS), living in foster care (FC) and general population youth (GP). Data stem from the youth@hordaland survey, a population-based study of adolescents (N = 10,257, age 16–19) conducted in 2012 in Hordaland County, Norway. The adolescents provided self-reported data on CWS contact, health service use, adverse life events and…
Abstract
Background: One public health problem that cannot be ignored is the mental health of left-behind elderly individuals in rural areas. However, the burden of care and parenting stress among left-behind elderly individuals has never been analyzed. The purpose of this study was to explore the level of caregiver burden and parenting stress and their relationship among left-behind elderly individuals.
Methods: A total of 261 left-behind elderly people responded to the study. The 22-item Zarit Burden Interview and the 36-item Parenting Stress Index-Short Form were used.
Results: We…
Abstract
The academic achievement places children on a positive trajectory for their lifespan. The aim of this study was to examine the academic trajectories of children in out-of-home care (OOCH) and whether kinship care has a protective effect relative to nonkin foster care. The sample analyzed for this study consists of 519,306 racially diverse youth in North Carolina schools 8 to 11 years old in the school year 2009–2010 (e.g., 27% African American, 12% Latinx, 53% White). Four longitudinal administrative data sources were merged to create this unique sample. Multilevel modeling…