Search results for ‘Subject term:"foster care"’ Sort:
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An alternative to fostering can it work?
- Author:
- JERVIS M.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Today, 4.2.88, 1988, pp.14-15.
- Publisher:
- British Association of Social Workers
Suggests therapeutic communities as an alternative placement for emotionally disturbed children.
The role of the therapist in cases of child neglect/maltreatment, with a special focus on foster placement
- Author:
- AUESTAD Anne-Marie
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Work Practice, 3(1), 1987, pp.4-15.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Using a case history, discusses the psychological problems which may precipitate fostering breakdown.
Moving away from congregate care: one state's path to reform and lessons for the field
- Authors:
- ALPERT Lily T., MEEZAN William
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 34(8), August 2012, pp.1519-1532.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
In 2000, a class action lawsuit filed against the State of Tennessee highlighted that the state routinely placed children in congregate care settings contrary to their best interests. Since then, the state's Department of Children's Services (DCS) has been successful in reducing its use of congregate care. This paper presents major findings from a qualitative research study that explored how DCS accomplished this critical system change. Participants included 51 Tennessee child welfare stakeholders who were interviewed using an open ended protocol. DCS administrative data, performance monitoring data, and official policy documents were also analysed to provide context for the interviewees' comments. Analysis of interview transcripts revealed three main changes that helped set the stage for deinstitutionalisation, as well as three types of system wide reforms that were undertaken to ensure a successful reduction in congregate care use. Implications for jurisdictions embarking on similar reforms are discussed.
Foster parents in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care: how do they deal with implementing standardized treatment components?
- Authors:
- WESTERMARK Pia Kyhle, HANSSON Kjell, VINNERLJUNG Bo
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 29(4), April 2007, pp.442-459.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This article focuses upon 28 Swedish foster parents and their experience of working in a manual-based treatment program – Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) – focusing on treating troubled youth. Using interviews and questionnaires, the study addresses how foster parents perceive the components and core terms specific to MTFC. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. Interestingly, 80% of the foster parents as a group rated all the program components the highest possible positive value. From the qualitative analysis a difference appeared between the foster parents about the view on foster parenthood and the attitudes towards the program. One group perceived themselves as professionals and accepted the program. The second group, although seeing themselves as professionals found it difficult to accept the program. The third group viewed foster parenthood as a ‘way of life’. The highlight of this study is the overwhelmingly positive attitude towards the MTFC program manual. It appears that 24-hours a day access to “treatment tools” and a treatment team, are very important inputs for the satisfaction of foster parents.
Stability and change: initial findings in a study of treatment foster care placements
- Authors:
- STAFF Ilene, FEIN Edith
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 17(3), 1995, pp.379-389.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
A study of children in long-term treatment foster care placement in New England, yielded several insights about this child welfare practice: that much of it is concerned with change as well as stability in a family; that a small number of children accounts for a disproportionate number of placement changes; that supports after permanent placements into adoption or reunification are desirable; and that a continuum of resources, rather than the formality of designated services, is essential.
The watcher and the watched
- Author:
- HARPER Juliet
- Journal article citation:
- Adoption and Fostering, 13(2), 1989, pp.15-20.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Psychotherapy and foster care of a sexually abused child - a case-study.
Elementary school-aged children in therapeutic residential care: examining latent classes, service provision, and outcomes
- Authors:
- BOEL-STUDT Shamra, SCHELBE Lisa
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 108, 2020, p.104661.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Approximately one-third of children in residential care are elementary-school aged. Yet, little is known about the subset of younger children in residential care and the nature of these placements. Objective: This study identified latent classes of younger children in residential care and compared the purposes for placement, treatment processes, and outcomes across classes.Participants and setting: The sample included 216 children (ages 5-10) placed in therapeutic residential care.Methods: A three-step latent class model was used to estimate conditional effects of class membership on impairment at discharge, length of stay, and discharge placement. A content analysis of a randomly selected sample of case records from each class was used to explore placement processes. Results: There were three classes identified (class 1: child welfare/multi-problem families; class 2: mental-health/angry-oppositional; class 3: strong families/attachment). All classes experienced large improvements in functioning. Children in class 3 were in care longer (CI95% 1.72, 15.48) and experienced greater reductions in impairment (CI95% -11.17, -32.06) than class 2. Classes did not differ in rates of discharge to family-based care, however, more children in classes 1 (20.9%) and 3 (21.6%) discharged to group-based placements than class 2 (11.1%). The content analysis revealed similarities in reasons for placement and treatment processes across classes with some distinctions. Service goals were similar across classes and focused on emotional management, social skills, and developing trust. Conclusion: The results supported individualized approaches to facilitate discharge to stable, family-based care and reduced risks for re-entry and prolonged out-of-home care for younger children. (Publisher abstract)
Predictors and outcomes of school attachment and school involvement in a sample of girls in residential treatment
- Authors:
- WEBER Nicole M., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 33(2), 2016, pp.155-174.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Researchers examined associations between number of schools attended, school attachment and involvement and social support among 86 girls (mean age = 15 years) living in a residential treatment centre. Associations among school attachment and school involvement and symptoms of depression were also explored. Results indicated no association between numbers of schools attended and school attachment, involvement, or social support. Classmate support and support from people in school in general were significant predictors of school attachment and involvement, although teacher support was not. School attachment and involvement were not related to students’ reported symptoms of depression. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Trials and tribulations: challenges and prospects for randomised controlled trials of social work with children
- Authors:
- DIXON Jo, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 44(6), 2014, pp.1563-1581.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have rarely been used in evaluations of social work interventions with children in the UK. This article discusses the use of an RCT in the national evaluation of Multi-dimensional Treatment Foster Care for Adolescents (MTFC-A) in the English care system. A number of challenges were encountered in recruiting young people to the trial. These included professional anxieties about randomisation, concerns about accountability, a wish to maintain managerial control over allocations to expensive resources and the small number of MTFC-A places available in each local area, which meant that new placements became available infrequently. The authors discuss the challenges to the trial and the strategies developed to address these, including the adaptation of the design to take account of both professional concerns and of the particular circumstances of the children involved. Thirty-four children were eventually randomised either to an offer of an MTFC-A placement or to ‘treatment as usual’, an alternative placement selected by their social workers. A further 185 were included in the parallel observational arm of the study. Recommendations are made for the conduct of future trials in children's social care. (Edited publisher abstract)
Intensive fostering: an independent evaluation of MTFC in an English setting
- Authors:
- BIEHAL Nina, ELLISON Sarah, SINCLAIR Ian
- Journal article citation:
- Adoption and Fostering, 36(1), Spring 2012, pp.13-26.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This paper present the results of an independent evaluation of the Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care programme for young offenders in England, where it is known as Intensive Fostering (IF). A study was carried out at three pilot sites, with a total sample of 47 young people sentenced to IF, and were compared to a similar group who were sentenced to custody. Official data on reconviction were collected at baseline and one year after entry to the IF placement or release from custody (Stage 1), and further data on programme completion and secondary outcomes were collected via interviews with young people and parents, and questionnaires to professionals at baseline and follow-up. Official data on reconviction were also collected one year after exit from the IF placements (Stage 2). At Stage 1 the IF group were less likely to be reconvicted, had committed fewer and less serious recorded offences, and took longer to commit their first recorded offence. At this point, the IF group were more likely to be living with their families and less likely to be in custody than the comparison group. However, by Stage 2 no significant differences in patterns of reconviction remained. The authors concluded that environmental effects on entry to and exit from the IF placements may explain the results at both stages.