Search results for ‘Subject term:"looked after children"’ Sort:
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Kinship foster care: protection or risk?
- Authors:
- PALACIOS Jesús, JIMENEZ Jesús
- Journal article citation:
- Adoption and Fostering, 33(3), Autumn 2009, pp.64-75.
- Publisher:
- Sage
In Andalusia, as in the rest of Spain, kinship foster care is far more frequent than non-relative foster care. The authors explore the differences between these two types of foster care arrangement from a number of perspectives: socio-demographic profiles; children’s stimulation and patterns of rearing; stress, informal support and needs; formal support and relationships with child protection services; evaluation of the experience of carers; contact between birth parents and children; and foster children’s development and behavioural difficulties. Although, compared with non-relative care, there are some clear advantages to kinship foster care (placement at an early age and fewer transitions), there are also a number of risk factors in all areas studied that must be considered to avoid what should be a protective placement becoming a risk situation for both carers and children.
Social adaptation and communicative competence in children in care
- Authors:
- MORENO MANSO Juan Manuel, GARCIA-BAAMONDE SANCHEZ Ma Elena, BLAZQUEZ ALONSO Macarena
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 31(6), June 2009, pp.642-648.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This paper analyses the communicative competence and the degree of social adaptation of children in care. It provides further knowledge of the relationship between the children's social and linguistic skill and analyses the presence of difficulties in the different components of language (morphology, syntaxis, semantics and pragmatics). The research was carried out in children's homes in Extremadura (Spain). The sample consists of 74 children between 6 and 18 years of age. The study illustrates that the children's linguistic development is below what is considered to be normal for their chronological age. They have greater difficulties in pragmatics and morphology than in syntaxis and semantics. The relationship between the level of dominion in morphology, syntaxis and semantics and the children's degree of social maladjustment is evident. The authors call attention to such important aspects as intentionality in communication and the context in which the children's language is developed.
The school experience of children in residential care: a multiple case study
- Authors:
- GARCIA-MOLSOSA Marta, COLLET-SABE Jordi, MONTSERRAT Carme
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 26(1), 2021, pp.1-10.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Children in residential care are the out‐of‐home population group with the lowest rate of access to postsecondary education. Research aimed at understanding their situation within the school context suggests that besides learning progress and outcomes, subjective experiences should be taken into account. Qualitative research based on a multiple‐case study was designed and carried out in Spain with the aim of deepening the understanding of the individual school experiences of three children in residential care. Each case was analysed from the perspective of the child, the educators and the teachers. Semistructured, one‐to‐one interviews were carried out, and children's files were consulted. The results pointed to emotional distress and accumulated educational delay as common traits of the three children in the study. In shaping each particular school experience, the key themes identified included (1) individual characteristics, (2) the children's academic aspirations and strategies, (3) relationships with peers and teachers, (4) response experienced in school, (5) the complex structure of the residential centre, (6) the sense of belonging to the residential centre, (7) team work and (8) political action and investment in inclusive education. (Edited publisher abstract)
Consequences for the child welfare system in Catalonia
- Author:
- ORTEGA Daniel
- Journal article citation:
- Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, 19(3), 2020, Online only
- Publisher:
- Department of Social Work. University of Strathclyde.
How has confinement by COVID-19 affected the welfare system for children and adolescents? The aim of this article is to reflect on the consequences of the global pandemic on the child welfare system, analysing the main consequences on children, adolescents and educational teams. The context of analysis focuses on the author's experiences in the child welfare system in Catalonia (Spain) during the pandemic, through his work as a social educator and researcher. The purpose of this article resides, therefore, in the reflection and subsequent proposals with the aim of redefining the system and improving the care of supervised children and adolescents. (Edited publisher abstract)
‘They didn't tell me anything; they just sent me home’: children's participation in the return home
- Authors:
- MATEOS Ainoa, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 22(2), 2017, pp.871-880.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The reality of child protection systems typically demonstrates a lack of attention to the voices of children. There are studies that confirm this fact and offer evidence of the benefits of participation, but gaps remain regarding the elements and processes that favour it. This qualitative study attempts to contribute to knowledge in this area through a detailed analysis of the perspectives of the actors involved and the role that children play in the return home. This article analyses the elements involved in the participation of the children when a return home is proposed after a period of family or residential foster care. As part of the study, 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted and 22 discussion groups were created with a total of 135 participants (63 child protection services workers, 42 parents and 30 children and adolescents). The data were analysed using a content analysis process and underwent a peer review process in Atlas.ti. The results indicate that the participation of children and adolescents in the return home centres around (i) understanding the return home, (ii) strategies and emotional processes and (iii) social support. (Publisher abstract)
State of the art report on bullying in children's residential settings
- Authors:
- PAR - RESPOSTAS SOCIAIS, et al
- Publisher:
- Par - Respostas Sociais
- Publication year:
- 2016
- Pagination:
- 55
- Place of publication:
- Lisbon
This report provides information about bullying in children’s residential care in the countries of Portugal, Spain, UK and Ireland. It has been produced as part of the Houses of Empathy (HoE) pilot project into bully in children’s institutional care, funded by the European programme DAPHNE. Drawing on information provided by each partner organisation, a selective literature review and web research, report aimed to assess policies and practices related to bullying in institutional care, with a special focus on the reality of the partner countries. As little information was found on bullying in children’s residential care specifically, most policies and programmes analysed in the report relate to bullying prevention in school settings. The report provides a general overview of bullying, including statistics from each of the partner countries and in Europe as a whole. It provides a critical overview about how children’s residential settings are organised in the four countries, covering numbers of children placed, reasons for placement, and evidence concerning bullying in these environments. The final section summarises different ways to approach bullying in residential settings. An accompanying best practice guide has also been produced, which focuses on the most recent approaches to bullying prevention in schools and in residential care settings from a policy and methodological perspective. (Edited publisher abstract)
Promoting psychosocial adaptation of youths in residential care through animal-assisted psychotherapy
- Authors:
- BALLUERKA Nekane, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 50, 2015, pp.193-205.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The goal of this study was to examine the influence of animal-assisted psychotherapy (AAP) on the psychosocial adaptation of a group of adolescents in residential care who had suffered traumatic childhood experiences and who presented with mental health problems. This study recruited 63 youths (mean age = 15.27, SD = 1.63) who were divided into two groups: a treatment group of 39 youths (19 female and 20 male; mean age = 15.03, SD = 0.51) and a control group of 24 (five female and 19 male; mean age = 15.67, SD = 1.63). The youths who underwent the AAP programme had higher school adjustment in comparison to their peers who did not receive treatment. Their hyperactive behaviour decreased, and they showed better social skills, more leadership, and fewer attention problems. They also showed a more positive attitude toward their teachers in comparison to controls. No differences were observed in other variables associated with clinical symptoms or personal adjustment. These results suggest that AAP can be effective with teenagers who have suffered childhood traumas and who present with problems of psychosocial adaptation. (Edited publisher abstract)
The subjective well-being of adolescents in residential care compared to that of the general population
- Authors:
- LLOSADA-GISTAUA Joan, MONTSERRAT Carme, CASAS Ferran
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 52, 2015, pp.150-157.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
The aim of this research is to study the subjective well-being of adolescents in residential care and compare it with that of the general population of the same age in Catalonia. Two samples were used: one from the general population in the first year of secondary education (n = 491; 50% boys; mean age = 12.1 years) and another from the residential care population aged 12–13 years (n = 226; 56% boys; mean age 12.5). The questionnaire of the International Survey of Children's Well-Being (ISCWeB) was used. It includes two psychometric scales: the Personal Well-Being Index—School Children (PWI-SC7) and the Overall Life Satisfaction (OLS); the former being adapted for the in-care population. To test the validity of the factorial structure of data for the two groups, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of the PWI-SC7 and different multi-group structural equation models (SEMs) were conducted. The CFA of the PWI-SC7 showed a good fit with the pooled sample and good comparability of correlations and regressions between the two groups. The SEM with constrained loadings allowed us to compare the contribution of the different items on the PWI-SC7 latent variable which was higher in all cases for adolescents in care. Likewise it showed a high correlation between OLS and PWI-SC7 in both populations, being it more intense among adolescents in care. Scores on the OLS and on the PWI-SC7 are significantly lower among adolescents in care. However, according SEM results mean scores of the PWI-SC7 are not strictly comparable between groups. Results challenge public policy concerning children by increasing efforts to promote equal opportunities for the in-care community and improve satisfaction with particular life domains, such as school and residential homes. (Publisher abstract)
Evaluation of residential care from the perspective of older adolescents in care. The need for a new construct: optimum professional proximity
- Author:
- SOLDEVILA Anna
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 18(3), 2013, pp.285-293.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Twelve discussion groups were carried out in 12 different residental care centres in Catalonia (Spain) to analyse perspective of the adolescents in care . A total of 66 adolescents aged between 16 and 18 years of age participated. The data contributed by the discussion groups were analysed and categorized using descriptive analysis matrices. The majority of those interviewed call for increased emotional involvement from the social workers, more contact with their families and re-educational intervention within their families, which renders the return to these possible within a shorter period of time. The results suggest the need to reconsider the concept of optimum professional distance, replacing it with optimum professional proximity; this would be based on emotional involvement and not on emotional distance, although not on emotional dependence either. (Edited publisher abstract)
Factors associated with family reunification for children in foster care
- Authors:
- LOPEZ Monica, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 18(2), 2013, pp.226-236.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The authors analyse reunification processes from family foster care, both kinship and non-kinship, and the variables associated with them in a Spanish sample. Data collection was carried out after a review of child protection and foster care files, and those responsible for the cases were also consulted. The cases studied were closed, which made it possible to assess the final outcome of the fostering. We found that only one-fifth of the children return to their birth family after the fostering, and that those in non-kinship are less likely to do so. Seven factors were associated with family reunification processes: age of the child, kinship care with family co-operation, drug dependence in parents, neglect due to alcoholism, foster care under voluntary arrangement with visits, short-term fostering with family co-operation and parental impossibility due to imprisonment. The contribution of these data takes on particular importance given that the Spanish child protection system keeps no official statistics on the development or outcome of its interventions and records even less information on the factors associated with such outcomes. (Edited publisher abstract)