Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden

In what has become quite a turbulent quasi‐market for residential care for children and youth, providers now compete for public contracts. To create visibility and attract customers, many providers use marketing activities to project the desired impression of themselves to maintain or strengthen their market position. In this article, we analyse how companies that provide residential care for children manage the impressions they project on their websites and in advertisements. The results reveal that residential care providers use a range of impression management strategies to enhance their organizational image and to respond to potentially damaging or threatening images. The information providers choose to disclose leaves customers—in this case, the social workers responsible for choosing and purchasing care on behalf of clients—with rather limited opportunities to evaluate the quality of care. This is a significant problem considering other, more reliable, sources of information are difficult to access.     

Social security coverage extension: A review of recent evidence

This article reports the findings of 13 studies undertaken as part of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) project on “Examining the existing knowledge on coverage extension”. It reviews recent evidence that highlights how cash benefits and health‐care coverage, financed on the basis of contributions or tax revenue or both, can be extended and maintained in low‐, middle‐ and high‐income countries. The article also highlights a number of priority areas and issues for coverage extension, including realizing improved protection for informal‐economy and migrant workers.     

Creating a better kinship environment for children in Ghana: Lessons from young people with informal kinship care experience

Traditionally, the involvement of the extended family in nurturing children is seen as an essential cultural practice in most communities in Ghana. Though not formally regulated, often in the absence of birth parents, kin and kith continue to be involved in the care of children to promote family relations and culture. Yet there is little empirical evidence on how to improve the well‐being and safety of children in informal kinship care in Ghana. Thus, this study reports findings from in‐depth interviews with 15 young people, 18 to 23 years, from Banda—an ethnic group where informal kinship care is an accepted cultural practice. Data from the interviews were subjected to the constructivist grounded theory analysis. Adequate income for provision of basic needs, education and training, and supervision emerged as useful measures to promote the safety and well‐being of children in kinship care. It was recommended that informal kinship caregivers must be registered with the Department of Social Welfare to enable them access support and training. Further, social workers should create awareness among kinship caregivers in Ghana about their availability to provide counselling services for caregivers facing challenges.     

Lessons learnt? Abuse in residential child care in Scotland

This paper draws on work carried out by Sen, Kendrick, Milligan and Hawthorn commissioned as pert of the Historic Abuse Systemic Review by the Scottish Executive in 2007. It considers the evidence‐based regarding abuse in residential child care from 1945 with a specific focus on Scotland. It reviews the context set for residential child care post‐1945 by the Clyde and Curtis reports, outlines how the residential child care sector developed following this, provides an overview of evidence and awareness of abuse in residential child care establishments after the 1948 Children's Act, giving particular consideration to the public inquiries and reviews of residential child care which there have been in Scotland, explores research evidence regarding the safety of convictions of residential child care workers found guilty of child abuse, and provides an overview of the main policy and practice developments which there have subsequently been in Scotland. The paper concludes by considering the progress that has been made in developing safeguards in Scotland and identifying areas where further research and development are required.     

A secure base? The adolescent–staff relationship in secure residential youth care

The client–therapist relationship is recognized as an important factor contributing to outcomes of child and youth care. Particularly in secure residential youth care, in which adolescents with mainly externalizing behaviour problems are often placed coercively, the client–staff relationship seems to be important for the achievement of positive outcomes. The present study aims to assess the client–staff relationship for a group of 135 adolescents in secure residential care and factors associated with a positive relationship. The results show that adolescents, group care workers and teachers experience a limited affective bond in their relationship 2 months after the adolescents were admitted to the secure care centre. Adolescents do tend to use care workers and teachers as a secure attachment figure, which suggests that an affective bond is no precondition for the adolescents to experience staff as a secure base. Main predictors of a good relationship are the positive treatment skills of both group care workers and teachers. These findings point to the need for training of care workers and teachers so that they are better prepared for working with these adolescents.     

Older Persons’ Views on Using Cash‐for‐Care Allowances at the Crossroads of Gender,Socio‐economic Status and Care Needs in Vienna

The article aims to contribute to understanding social inequalities resulting from familization (or de‐familization) tendencies among cash‐for‐care beneficiaries in a Conservative welfare state. It highlights justifications for choices in accessing and using care in a cash‐for‐care scheme from the perspective of care recipients aged 80 years and older in Vienna. Along key dimensions characterizing care recipients’ experiences, we identify four different user groups, which reflect recipients’ individual characteristics, particularly gender, socio‐economic status (SES), and care needs, and the respective care arrangement. The groups are dubbed: (1) the self‐confident; (2) the illiterate; (3) the dependent; and (4) the lonely. Narrative interviews with 15 frail older people were held in 2014 and analyzed using the framework analysis method. Results show that familiarity with support structures associates with higher SES, while those who depend on others for acquiring information or organizing care express ambivalence in choosing between formal and informal care. Engagement in deciding which care type to use is limited among people of lower SES or with complex care needs, but own experience as informal caregiver for a family member increases care recipients’ long‐term care (LTC) system literacy. Gender differences among care recipients were limited, yet middle‐class female recipients often expressed normative claims for family care from female relatives. We conclude that unconditional care allowance schemes may reinforce existing gender relations, particularly among informal caregivers, as well as underpin socio‐economic differences among LTC users in old‐age. Results also partly question the assumptions of choice and empowerment implicit in many cash‐for‐care schemes.     

Supporting care‐experienced adults' educational journeys: “Linked lives” over the life course

Research highlights the role of key actors and relationships in supporting the educational attainment and progress of children in care and care leavers. We know less about how relationships influence the educational journeys of people with care experience over time and how to support the educational progress and engagement of adults with care experience. The principle of “linked lives” is central to the life course perspective referring to the interdependence of human lives throughout the life course. This paper explores how the principle of linked lives can illuminate our understanding of how relationships positively influence the educational journeys of adults with care experience over time. Educational life history interviews were conducted with 18 care‐experienced adults (aged 24–36) in Ireland. Findings suggest that the principle of linked lives is a valuable conceptual tool for providing new insights on this issue. Four key themes were identified: (a) opportunities for educational support are present across the life course; (b) “family” is a central source of educational support; (c) there is intergenerational capacity for educational support; and (d) relationships beyond the “family” are supportive of education. Implications for practice, policy, and research are explored.     

Engaging on the ‘front line’: exploring how family support teams construct meaning in their work with young mothers

This paper explores the provision of family support services for young mothers within a Sure Start Children's Centre, drawing on data collected within a larger study. It identifies how the family support team attempted to build supportive relationships with young mothers between the ages of 16 and 19 years. The findings presented here draw on narrative interviews (n = 10) and focus group interviews (n = 2) with the family support team that included early years workers, family support workers and their managers. The findings captured how the participants actively resisted the stigma (Goffman 1963) of teenage motherhood in order to support young mothers in gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to care for their child. Drawing on the findings, this paper argues that the building of a supportive relationship enables a young mother to construct positive counter‐narratives about her parenting experience. This suggests that the family \to offer informal early support to young mothers who are at risk of more formal intervention. However, the complexity of this task should not be underestimated because in doing this, the family support team must at all times ensure the well‐being and safety of the child.     

The circular construction of “risk” for children of oppressed groups: Israeli social workers' perspectives on children of Ethiopian origin

This article presents the findings of a research project that explored the perceptions and constructions of Israeli social workers, serving families of Ethiopian origin in Israel, regarding “risk” vis‐à‐vis the children of this community. Thirty semistructured in‐depth interviews with social workers of Ethiopian and non‐Ethiopian origin were conducted and thematically analysed. The study findings indicate that the risk posed to children from the Ethiopian community, as conceived by the social workers charged with their treatment, tends to emerge in the interface between four main contexts: the societal, the neighbourhood, the education system, and the welfare system. Resembling the cycle of poverty, in which a cyclical set of forces trap people in perpetual poverty, children from minority groups are often caught in a cycle of risk. In each of these four contexts, a circular movement was observed in the construction of risk. Breaking the circularity of “risk” requires a context‐informed approach that adopts the perspectives of critical theories, which consider structural factors, power relations, and sociopolitical context when assessing “risk” for children in general, and for children of oppressed groups in particular.     

Leveraging Research on Informal Learning to Inform Policy on Promoting Early STEM

In recent decades, educators and policymakers in the United States have increased their focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning opportunities both in school and in informal learning environments outside of school. Informal STEM learning can take place in varied settings and involves a variety of STEM domains (e.g., engaging in engineering practices in a construction exhibit at a museum; talking about math during book reading at home). Here we provide a selective review of the literature on informal STEM learning to illustrate how these educational experiences are crucial for efforts to increase early STEM learning even before children reach school age. Leveraging cognitive and learning science research to inform policy, we make three recommendations to advance the impact of informal STEM learning: 1) integrate cognitive and learning science–based learning practices into informal learning contexts, 2) increase accessibility and diversity of informal STEM experiences, and 3) create explicit connections and coherence between formal and informal STEM learning opportunities in early childhood education.     

Home and hospital; hospice and palliative care: how the environment impacts the social work role

Social workers play key roles on interdisciplinary hospice teams and in hospitals on oncology or palliative care teams. Though palliative care settings include both home hospice and hospital-based consultation services, the different environments and scope of practice impact the role of the social worker. The purpose of this article is to examine the similarities and differences in coordination of care, teamwork, and collaboration in these two fields in order to highlight opportunities for enhancing clinical skills and developing our confidence and presence in asserting social work expertise with our transdisciplinary colleagues.     

Promoting workplace‐based training to fight youth unemployment in three EU countries: Different strategies,different results?

During the economic crisis, youth unemployment grew exponentially in many European countries. It was argued that countries with a high level of firm involvement in the provision of initial vocational training were better equipped to address this problem. Boosting workplace‐based training was therefore seen as the right strategy to tackle unemployment. Using Denmark, Spain and the UK as case studies, this article analyses how countries with different skill formation systems have improved this type of training. While the UK reinforced the voluntaristic character of its training regime, Denmark improved the quality of its vocational education, and Spain made reforms to the training and apprenticeship contract. Interestingly, the countries achieved different results. To explain this divergence, it is argued that while the reforms made in the UK and Denmark were compatible with the national institutions and coordination mechanisms, this was not the case in Spain, where reforms were implemented in a non‐complementary way. Key Practitioner Message:

• After the economic crisis it was argued that countries with a high level of firm involvement in the provision of initial VET were better equipped to fight youth unemployment.
• The study analysed how countries with different skill formation systems improved this type of training and assessed their relative success.
• The article shows that when implementing reforms policy makers must take into account the institutions and mechanisms of coordination that prevail in each country. Otherwise, reforms may be unsuccessful.

     

Unheard voices,unmapped terrain: Care work in long‐term residential care for older people in Canada and Sweden

Daly T, Szebehely M. Unheard voices, unmapped terrain: care work in long‐term residential care for older people in Canada and Sweden This article aims to contribute to comparative welfare state research by analysing the everyday work life of long‐term care facility workers in Canada and Sweden. The study's empirical base was a survey of fixed and open‐ended questions. The article presents results from a subset of respondents (care aides and assistant nurses) working in facilities in three Canadian provinces (n= 557) and across Sweden (n= 292). The workers' experiences were linked to the broader economic and organisational contexts of residential care in the two jurisdictions. We found a high degree of country‐specific differentiation of work organisation: Canada follows a model of highly differentiated task‐oriented work, whereas Sweden represents an integrated relational care work model. Reflecting differences in the vertical division of labour, the Canadian care aides had more demanding working conditions than their Swedish colleagues. The consequences of these models for care workers, for older people and for their families are discussed.     

Contextualising the ‘Crisis in Aged Care’ in Australia : A Demographic Perspective

Australia's ‘old‐old’ population is growing even faster than the total aged population and despite improved incomes, living conditions, health risk behaviours and health care this will result in a concomitant increase in the numbers of older people with disabilities. This paper examines ABS 2003 survey data on the incidence of disability among older Australians and their need for, and utilisation of, formal and informal care. It uses this as a basis for projecting the incidence of disability among older Australians and the need for informal and formal care up to 2031. These indicate there is a major challenge since the aged care workforce has grown only slowly in Australia and is concentrated in the older working ages presaging a loss of workers through retirement. There needs to be a significant effort put into attracting workers to both the skilled and unskilled parts of the aged care industry.     

“She was accused of colluding with the mother”; the training and support needs of parent‐and‐child foster carers: A qualitative study

Parent‐and‐child foster placements are used to accommodate parents with their children, either when the mother is a looked‐after child or as a setting for a parenting assessment. Despite this being a specialized role with significant potential for affecting outcomes for disadvantaged families, there is currently a lack of accessible learning opportunities for foster carers on the physical and mental well‐being of women with complex needs such as a history of domestic abuse, substance abuse, perinatal mental ill‐health, or having a learning disability. Parent‐and‐child carers experience some unique stresses and value the support of others with similar experiences; this kind of peer support is currently largely absent. This qualitative study has used ten focus groups with foster carers, eight interviews with mothers, and nine interviews with supervising social workers, to inform the development of an online learning resource and a social media‐based peer support network for parent‐and‐child foster carers.     

Organizational factors and child participation in decision‐making: differences between two child welfare organizations

Children in residential care tend to be less content with the quality of care arrangements and participation opportunities compared to children in foster care. This study explored possible differences in social workers' views about child participation and service quality. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test if any differences may be explained by collaboration between professionals' and social workers' work engagement. We found that social workers from residential care services seem more prudent in letting children participate in case planning compared to social workers planning for foster care. Social workers' judgements of service quality were also highly affected by their organizational affiliation, but personal factors such as work engagement may also play a part. The differences we found regarding social workers' attitudes towards participation and their rating of service quality are associated with organizational culture. Understanding how organizations shape social workers' decisions to include or exclude children in care planning may help gain a more comprehensive understanding of what is needed to take the participation agenda forward.     

Challenging Professional Roles: Lay Carers' Involvement in Health Care in the Community

The bulk of care in the community is carried out by lay carers. Recent policy initiatives to support them in the United Kingdom are outlined. There remains evidence of significant gaps in support from professional health and social‐care workers including community nurses. This paper reports three studies of lay carers: those caring for older people, carers of technology‐dependent children, and home‐care workers involved in the “direct payments” scheme. Findings are reported in the areas of decisions about appropriate caring roles, the lay–professional boundary, training and respite opportunities and the expertise of lay carers. Recommendations for policy and practices are made.     

Participation of youth in decision‐making procedures during residential care: A narrative review

Participation in decision‐making procedures of young people in care is considered a key element that affects their current or future living circumstances and might improve the quality of decision‐making on and delivery of provided services. This narrative literature review, covering the period 2000–2016, focuses on the opportunities of young people to participate, the challenges and facilitators to participation, and the outcomes of care related to participation. Sixteen studies met our search criteria. Several studies show that young people seem to have limited possibilities to “meaningful” participation in decision‐making. Various challenges and facilitators in the participation process emerge with regard to the level of the young person, the professional, and the (sociocultural) context. None of the studies provides evidence for a connection between the “amount” of youth participation in decision‐making and/or treatment during the care process and the outcomes of residential care. Implications for research and practice are reflected upon.     

Managing behaviour in child residential group care: unique tensions

Residential group care workers are frequently required to support children with extremely challenging and aggressive behaviour. Our knowledge about the tensions that may exist for workers that manage difficult behaviour is theoretically and empirically underdeveloped. The aim of this exploratory study was to contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of behaviour management in the residential environment by identifying the worker‐reported tensions involved in the management of challenging and disruptive behaviour. Seventeen South Australian residential group care workers participated in semi‐structured interviews in which they were asked to describe their management of behaviour. These interviews were subjected to thematic analysis. The analysis revealed several dynamics that influence workers' management of challenging behaviour: the sense of parenting at a distance, the pressure for consistency, the desire for balance between control and connection, the desire for normality and the inconsistent nature of relationships. These findings contribute to our knowledge about the interpersonal context in which behaviour is addressed in the residential group home and enhance our understanding of the unique tensions that workers' experience in managing behaviour in the residential environment. The findings have implications for the development of staff training and the support of residential care workers managing challenging behaviour.     

The turn to optional familialism through the market: Long‐term care,cash‐for‐care,and caregiving policies in Europe

Cash‐for‐care (CfC) schemes are monetary transfers to people in need of care who can use them to organize their own care arrangements. Mostly introduced in the 1990s, these schemes combine different policy objectives, as they can aim at (implicitly or explicitly) supporting informal caregivers as well as increasing user choice in long‐term care or even foster the formalization of care relations and the creation of care markets. This article explores from a comparative perspective, how CfC schemes, within broader long‐term care policies, envision, frame, and aim to condition informal care, if different models of relationships between CfC and informal care exist and how these have persisted or changed over time and into which directions. Building on the scholarly debate on familialization vs. defamilialization policies, the paper proposes an analytical framework to investigate the trajectories of seven European countries over a period of 20 years. The results show that, far from being simply instruments of supported familialism, CfC schemes have contributed to a turn towards “optional familialism through the market,” according to which families are encouraged to provide family care and are (directly or indirectly) given alternatives through the provision of market care.