Disabled children,child protection systems and the Children Act 1989

It is now widely recognized that disabled children are particularly vulnerable to abuse but that a number of factors get in the way of protecting them. This article discusses research on the implementation of the Children Act as it applies to disabled children and the findings from in‐depth interviews with young disabled people. The research concluded that: current child protection systems are not addressing the particular needs of disabled children; the Children Act regulations on short‐term and long‐term placements are often not complied with; and disabled children and young people have little say in decisions which affect them and few opportunities to communicate their experiences. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lessons learned from children who have experienced homelessness: what services need to know

Children who accompany their parents or guardians during a period of homelessness make up 37% (more than one in three) of all people accessing the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) services. This paper describes an Australian qualitative study that explored the experiences of children who accompanied their families during periods of homelessness. It focuses particularly on what children and young people say they want from the services that they come in contact with; particularly specialised homelessness services such as housing support services and refuges. Key themes that emerged from the research include: the need for services to engage with children as individuals in their own right, to listen to and acknowledge their stories, to have services that meet their individual needs, to act and respond when children feel unsafe and for workers who can provide support to children to talk to parents about what is going on. Children and young people wanted workers to know that they felt their parents were doing their best to keep them safe. They focused on what their parents could do and did do rather than what they were not able to provide. They called on the human service system to do the same.     

Drug Education in Schools: a Review

Drug use by young people is widespread and increasing. Attempts to prevent or reduce young people's drug use have focused on school-based education. This paper examines some of these strategies. There is wide agreement that providing information about drugs is necessary but insufficient; in addition, young people need to be given the opportunity to examine attitudes about drug use, develop skills in making decisions about use and look at ways to reduce the harms that are associated with their own and others' use of both legal and illegal drugs. Most commentators are also agreed that drug education needs to start early and should take account of what young people already know about drugs. Peer-led approaches are promising but not yet adequately evaluated. Because there are basic differences in philosophies and equivocal research on the effectiveness of drug education there is little consensus on a number of issues.     

Young people's views on being looked after in out-of-home-care under The Children Act 1989

This paper describes a project to inform and to elicit the views on The Children Act 1989 of forty five young people who were currently being looked after by English local authorities in out-of-home-care. The full findings are reported elsewhere (Buchanan, Wheal, Walder, Macdonald, & Coker, 1993).One of the key principles of The Children Act 1989 was that children and young people should, in the light of their age and understanding, be consulted and participate in decisions affecting their lives, provided that this approach did not jeopardise their welfare. Throughout 1991 the Department of Health in London orchestrated an impressive training initiative to ensure that all those who had a role in implementing the Act were aware of the principles that informed the legislation. Leaflets were also prepared for young people who were being looked after in foster or residential care. During this period I asked a young man in a local authority residential establishment, what he knew about the new law. “No one tells me anything”, he replied. This was worrying because without the necessary information, such young people would poorly equipped if they wished to participate in decisions affecting their lives, and more seriously they would be poorly protected should they have reason to complain about their care. During the late 1980's and early 1990's there had been a number of concerns about the welfare of young people living in residential settings. These had resulted in a spate of enquiries, (Levy & Kahan, 1991), (Williams & Macreadie, 1992), and a number of reports (e.g. Utting, 1991; Warner, 1992).     

“Adding Their Flavour to the Mix”: Involving Children and Young People in Care in Research Design

Abstract

Children and young people are often the subjects of research but are not usually thought of as codesigners of research projects contributing to the development of tools and resources so that research about them and their peers is more likely to be appropriate and effective. This paper describes and analyses the involvement of a group of 14 children and young people who have been in out-of-home care. They assisted in the design of a research project that sought their views on what makes a “good” foster carer. The impetus for this study arose from a desire to include children and young people as stakeholders in improving the foster care system and a long-held belief that they could and should be active partners in creating change. The study demonstrated how children and young people could be engaged creatively in individual and group conversations and activities in relation to potential research questions and research methods and tools. The paper concluded that capturing their views will ensure that research will be of benefit to other children and young people and to policy makers and practitioners working in the field.     

An examination of the views of young people in the Romanian residential care system regarding their relationship with biological family members and the option of reintegration

This paper reports findings from research conducted in six Romanian residential care homes. The aim of the paper is to examine the views held by young people, currently living in residential care, about the importance of their biological families and the option and challenge of reintegration. The data reflect the ideas and perspectives of 44 young people captured through a narrative interview approach using social mapping activities. The results indicate that most children and young people know at least one birth parent and maintain contact on their own initiative; most do not place a high level of importance on such relationships which are generally characterised by lack of confidence, low security and a presumed limited capacity on the part of the biological family to meet their needs. Family reintegration is considered to be a viable option for a small number of young people; others do not see it as realistic because of the impact of long-term separation and the likelihood of experiencing poorer living conditions.     

Evaluation of what parents know about their children's drug use and how they perceive the most common family risk factors

Research on family risk factors for addictive behaviors in young people has not paid a great deal of attention to parents' knowledge of their children's addictive behaviors and of the family risk factors that affect such behaviors. The aim of this work is to compare knowledge about these two aspects in two groups of parents that differ regarding their children's declared drug use. The research was carried out with a sample of 309 schoolchildren and their families, divided into two groups: one of 154 families with children defined as non-Drug Users and another of 155 families with children defined as Drug Users. The results show that parents with children who consume drugs tend to strongly underestimate their children's use. Moreover, they overestimate the control they exercise over them and appear to be more familiarized with the use of drugs, if we compare them with parents of non-Drug Users. It is suggested that these results may be relevant for the planning of strategies that increase motivation in families with drug-risk children to participate in prevention programs.     

‘We need to understand what’s going on because it’s our life’: Using sandboxing to understand children and young people’s everyday conversations about care

Children and young people who live away from birth families (through adoption or being in care) need an understanding of their life story, including reasons for removal from birth family to process what has happened to them and to develop a secure identity. We report data produced with care experienced children and young people using a creative sandboxing method capturing hopes and fears for conversations about care in sand scenes. The themes presented emphasise the need for care-experienced children and young people to be supported to engage in ‘difficult conversations’ about their lives in warm, open and responsive ways.     

Recruiting young people to sensitive research: turning the ‘wheels within wheels’

Abstract

This article contributes to a growing literature that takes a more nuanced approach to exploring the complexities of relationships and negotiations with gatekeepers. Using our study of young people living with a parent at the end of life as a ‘critical case’ of sensitive qualitative research, we discuss how far from being a smooth, linear process, participant recruitment was experienced as a series of overlapping challenges, characterised here as ‘wheels within wheels’. Each component of this multi-faceted process relied on identifying and engaging with key practitioners who acted as gatekeepers. We discuss how researcher and gatekeeper positionality influenced the outcome of negotiations with gatekeepers, and highlight potential implications for young people in exigent sets of circumstances. If the routes ‘in’ to access young people are difficult, then this also raises questions about routes ‘out’ for young people and their access to support when living through challenging times.     

Communicating with children with autism spectrum disorder and their families: a practical introduction

Impaired communication and social interaction are symptoms central to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children or young people with ASD have varied intellectual ability, learning difficulty, and needs. For caregivers and health care professionals providing care to children with ASD, many challenges are encountered in everyday conversations. Enhanced knowledge of the spectrum and understanding the child or young person with ASD may improve conversation and social experiences. This article provides a practical introduction for health professionals seeking to improve their interaction with young people with ASD. Fictional vignettes, in which children with ASD are seeking care and support are presented, followed by discussion on communicating with children with ASD.     

Children's experience of public space

Children and young people regard the external physical environment as important for their needs. Their use of space varies according to age and circumstance and includes designated play and leisure facilities as well as other informal areas within their neighbourhoods. However, children have little influence over the development of public space as they do not have the opportunity to contribute their views to local processes. This paper explores children's and young people's views and experience of public space in regeneration areas. It considers whether children's perspectives are accurately reflected in public policy. It draws on primary research with young people aged ten to 14 years and representatives from local organisations in a disadvantaged urban area in Scotland.     

Securing a Sustainable Future for Children and Young People

This article outlines why sustainable development matters for children and young people, and explores the relevant policy context in England and the UK. It asks whether enough is being carried out by central government to secure a more sustainable future for, and with, today’s children. More is needed at the national policy level to: embed sustainable living principles within a range of policy frameworks affecting children and young people; provide a clear strategy for empowering children and young people to lead change and take action on climate change and environmental issues; and address the impact of environmental degradation on disadvantaged groups of children and young people.     

Young people's views on safety and preventing abuse and harm in residential care: “It's got to be better than home”

Young people who live in residential care are at greater risk of experiencing sexual abuse and other forms of abuse than those living in other out of home care placements. To better understand how young people perceive and experience safety in residential care, and the things that they most need to be and feel safe, a qualitative study was conducted with 27 Australian children and young people for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This paper describes young people's perspectives on what makes residential care safe: supportive relationships, stability and predictability, fair rules, and having some control over their environment. Young people said that safety could be improved with: better appreciation of the risks in residential care; better matching, staffing and oversight; and better-designed responses that involve young people themselves. The findings provide critical insights from young people themselves and argue that adults and institutions need to appreciate their views of safety so as to adequately respond.     

“I don't like to live nowhere but here”: The shelter as mediator of U.S. homeless youth's identity formation

Identity formation, from a sociocultural perspective, involves people choosing from among the variety of historical and cultural resources available to them for living their values, making a commitment to a particular life course, and grounding their hope in the future. Researchers in the past have argued that homeless shelters provide few such resources for children and youth to form healthy identities. At the same time, these researchers have not examined how young people themselves make sense of the shelters in which they live in the course of their own development. This article examines how children living in two small family shelters in a large southeastern city understand the shelter as a place they call home in relation to their families, friends, and themselves. Implications for the study of identity formation of homeless children and youth are discussed.     

Investing in children: learning how to promote the rights of all children

Investing in Children is a County Durham initiative, which seeks to create opportunities for children and young people to become genuine participants in decision‐making processes. This paper provides an inside account of how the initiative was developed. It describes how a model of practice has evolved through which young people have been able to achieve a measure of genuine participation, leading to real change in policy. The paper explores some of the issues which have frustrated the translation of the rhetoric of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into a reality recognised by young people in the United Kingdom. It is proposed that an approach based upon the universal rights of all children, pursuing an agenda identified by children and young people themselves, has more potential for political change than separate debates about the plight of particular groups of young people. The paper also suggests that participation (or more often consultation) is not an end in itself, but a means by which young people can achieve political change. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children and Young People Living Through a Serious Family Illness: Structural,Interpersonal and Personal Perspectives

This study explores the experiences of children and young people in Britain living through a serious family illness. The study considers the interplay between social structures, social relationships and individual agency. We draw on data from the Millennium Cohort Study to estimate the number of children and young people affected nationally and on seven in‐depth interviews to understand young people’s experiences and the effects on their daily lives. Living through a serious family illness impacts on young people’s educational achievements, mental health and social relationships over long periods. Policy and service responses are suggested.     

Touch in residential child care: staff’s bodies and children’s agency

This paper concerns the significance of touch in the everyday life of those living and working in residential child care. Public and professional awareness about child abuse has focused attention on the bodies of children and their vulnerability – but the same cannot be said of the bodies of staff members who touch children. This ethnographic study of a Scottish residential child care unit shows such touch to be central to the everyday participation of children and young people in care. On the basis of participant observation, the paper analyses how care workers influence the agency of children and young people by bringing their own bodies into their relationships with them. Based on a relational understanding of care, the paper elaborates on how tender and restraining forms of touch form part of care workers’ professional repertoire of actions. The analysis of various instances of touch in terms of sociology of the body shows how staff members can help to shape children and young people’s opportunities for participation with their own bodies. In conclusion, the paper therefore argues for a professional and reflexive engagement with bodies rather than a general avoidance of touch between care workers and young people.     

Participation—for a change: Disabled young people lead the way

Virtually every Government programme for children and every Government Department in the UK is expected to involve children and young people in its policy development and service delivery (Children and Young People's Unit, 2001). It is the new orthodoxy. Yet, hard questions are often avoided when reciting the mantra of participation. Why bother? What has changed as a result? This paper first seeks to explore the constraints and limitations of this drive in public policy in England. Secondly, by looking at one specific example, it considers elements of practice to enable participation to be effective as a catalyst for change. Third, it proposes a framework that sets out an agenda for social inclusion that is itself influenced by children and young people and not reliant on the changing and often clashing fashions in Government.     

Interprofessional education: a curriculum response to work with children and young people

This paper charts the development of undergraduate teaching material produced at the Open University in the United Kingdom. The School of Health and Social Welfare at the University has a long history of providing open and distance learning and multiprofessionally focused education and training opportunities. In this instance two courses, entitled ‘Working with Young People’ and ‘Working with Children and Families’, were created to meet the needs of a diverse student audience working across the public, voluntary and private social care, health and education sectors. The materials produced were underpinned by the desire of their academic authors to challenge long‐established assumptions about the nature of children and young people's lives. Crucially though, both course developments reflected a requirement to demonstrate how policies and services for children and young people might be significantly improved. Accordingly, the paper offers some useful indications as to how interprofessional working with children and young people could be fostered. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.