Morphosyntactic development and educational style of parents in neglected children

This research analyses the morpho-syntactical competence of children in care and the educational style of their parents. The studies from the literature give no specific data concerning how the morphological and syntactic components are affected in children suffering from neglect. These studies point to important deficiencies in language development, but do not specify what such difficulties actually are. This research is carried out within the framework of the residential care children's homes in the region of Extremadura (Spain). The morpho-syntactic competence of the children and the parental educational style of a total of 74 children in residential care are analysed. The subjects are 41 males and 33 females, between 6 and 18 years of age. We apply the ‘Objective Language Criteria Test’ (BLOCScreening) to evaluate their linguistic development and the ‘Autoevaluative Multifactorial Child Adaptation Test’ (TAMAI) to determine educational style. The presence of difficulties in morphosyntaxis is evident. The children with a low dominion of morphology and syntax perceive a more punitive style in the parents. The difficulties in morphosyntax are manifested both expressive and receptive. Use short sentences to frequent omission of morphological markers. Comprehension problems are lower than those of expression, but it shows a erroneous understanding of some grammatical structures, and grammatical errors in spontaneous speech. Use fewer morphologically complex words in their narratives. Have difficulty in organising the content of the speech and the use of cohesive devices (using the precision and accuracy of the conjunctions used in compound sentences). We must stress the need to carry out early prevention and intervention programmes in order to promote an increase in both the quantity and the quality of language stimulation. From there, the need to set up intervention programmes that influence the linguistic competence of children who have suffered abuse.     

Exploring the specific needs of an understudied group: Children with intellectual disability in residential child care

Children and adolescents who live in out of home care in the child protection system are considered to be vulnerable to manifesting mental health disorders as well as other types of difficulties. This risk is greater in the case of children who display any type of disability. The aim of this study is to profile the state of health and well-being of a group of children presenting intellectual disability who live in residential care in a Spanish autonomous community and to compare these results with their non-disabled peers.     

Effectiveness and implementation of evidence-based practices in residential care settings

Purpose

Prompted by calls to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) into residential care settings (RCS), this review addresses three questions: (1) Which EBPs have been tested with children and youth within the context of RCS? (2) What is the evidence for their effectiveness within such settings? (3) What implementation issues arise when transporting EBPs into RCS?

Methods

Evidence-based psychosocial interventions and respective outcome studies, published from 1990 to 2012, were identified through a multi-phase search process, involving the review of four major clearinghouse websites and relevant electronic databases. To be included, effectiveness had to have been previously established through a comparison group design regardless of the setting, and interventions tested subsequently with youth in RCS. All outcome studies were evaluated for quality and bias using a structured appraisal tool.

Results

Ten interventions matching a priori criteria were identified: Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach, Aggression Replacement Training, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Ecologically-Based Family Therapy, Eye Movement and Desensitization Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Multimodal Substance Abuse Prevention, Residential Student Assistance Program, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and Trauma Intervention Program for Adjudicated and At-Risk Youth. Interventions were tested in 13 studies, which were conducted in different types of RCS, using a variety of study methods. Outcomes were generally positive, establishing the relative effectiveness of the interventions with youth in RCS across a range of psychosocial outcomes. However, concerns about methodological bias and confounding factors remain. Most studies addressed implementation issues, reporting on treatment adaptations, training and supervision, treatment fidelity and implementation barriers.

Conclusion

The review unearthed a small but important body of knowledge that demonstrates that EBPs can be implemented in RCS with encouraging results.     

Staff and youth views on autonomy and emancipation from residential care: A participatory research study

The use of participatory approaches in designing services is still relatively uncommon. In this study, we helped design a service to support the transition of youth from residential care to independent living by exploring the perspectives of staff and of youth regarding: (a) the concept and development of autonomy; and (b) key factors in developing this type of service. We gathered the data through 10 interviews with staff (n = 10) and 4 focus groups with youth (n = 21), and subjected the data to a thematic content analysis. Staff defined autonomy as self-regulation and self-care, and identified three paths to foster autonomy – a sense of normality, meaningful relationships, and planning for emancipation. The staff and youth identified the following important aspects in designing the service: achieving normality (e.g. limited number of residents), promoting youth capacity (e.g. skill-building activities), providing social support (e.g. trust and respect between residents), and assuring guidance and boundaries (e.g. supervision of youth).     

Focus on the first years: Correlates of substantiation of child maltreatment for families with children 0 to 4

The overall purpose of this study was to examine the correlates of substantiation of child neglect or child abuse in children 0–48 months of age in five areas: (1) child characteristics, (2) parent characteristics, (3) home characteristics, (4) social characteristics, and (5) maltreatment characteristics. A second purpose was to compare the results of this study to the current body of child maltreatment research.This study uses an ex-post facto design. A random sample of cases from a large metropolitan area in the southwest was obtained. Families whose cases were substantiated for maltreatment were compared to families whose cases were not substantiated. The exposure of children to a dangerous environment and poor parental skill were predictive of the substantiation in the multivariate analysis. Parents with fewer parenting skills, such as the inability to effectively communicate, lack of impulse control and use of harsh discipline, were predictive of child maltreatment in the multivariate analysis. The bivariate analysis revealed additional 22 variables as correlates of the substantiation within the 5 factors.     

Reclaiming complexity: beneath the surface in residential child care

ABSTRACT

Residential child care is an inherently distressing and multi-layered endeavour undertaken by staff who are often poorly trained and supported. In addition, the children, and the adults who care for them, can provide a convenient receptacle for the split off negative feelings of professionals, politicians and the public. The complexity and difficulty of this work is often unrecognised and a simplistic response based on a programmatic, behavioural framework, reinforced by performance-based management and an audit culture, is common. This paper argues for the usefulness of a different approach, drawing on psychoanalytic and open systems thinking, to provide a more nuanced understanding of what is happening in these volatile settings that can guide interventions which match the complexity of the work. Alongside advocating the use of key psychoanalytic and systems concepts to improve understanding, it argues for the importance of providing a containing and reflective environment for staff.     

Health outcomes for adults in family foster care as children: An analysis by ethnicity

Studies have linked the experience of child abuse or adversity to health problems in adulthood, and researchers have long documented health problems affecting children in foster care. Yet, the adult health outcomes of maltreated children placed in foster care have not been sufficiently isolated. Although information on transitioning youth and young adults is now beginning to emerge, the impact of ethnicity on adult health outcomes has been largely ignored. Given the overrepresentation of ethnic minority children in foster care and the national disparities in the health of ethnic minorities, this study examined the relationship between ethnicity and physical health outcomes for African American, Hispanic, and White adults who experienced family foster care as children. Logistic regression models indicated that ethnicity was not a significant predictor of physical health (p > .05). However, gender and age were associated significantly with their physical health outcomes.     

Assessment of the needs of youth in residential care: Development and validation of an instrument

This article presents the development of a Residential Care Youth Needs Assessment (RCYNA) instrument. In two studies, initial evidence regarding the RCYNA psychometric properties was obtained using a sample of youth in residential care. Results show adequate levels of content and face validity, reliability and concurrent validity.     

Peer violence in adolescent residential care: A qualitative examination of contextual and peer factors

This research examined the way contextual and peer factors influence peer violence in adolescent residential care. One hundred and twenty residents aged 11–21 from 20 residential care facilities participated in 20 focus groups about peer violence in care. The results demonstrated that four, mutually interrelated themes, contributed to explanations of violence amongst residents: 1) residential peer culture; 2) vulnerability at the beginning of institutionalization; 3) deprivation, stigmatization and frustration; and 4) poor relationship with staff. The results are discussed with reference to the existing residential care and prison-based research on bullying and peer violence and a number of research and policy recommendations are provided.     

Planned treatment and outcomes in residential youth care: Evidence from Sweden

A recurring theme in evaluations of Swedish residential youth care is that treatment is often unplanned. Using a data set of teenagers placed in youth care in 1991 (N = 357), we show that planned treatment — in the sense of a known expected duration of treatment — is strongly positively associated with treatment outcomes. In the short term, teenagers with planned treatment are 32% less likely to experience a treatment breakdown and 25% less likely to be reassigned to other forms of residential care after completed treatment. In the long term, teenagers with planned treatment are 21% less likely to engage in criminal behavior and 40% less likely to be hospitalized for mental health problems. The results are robust to controlling for a rich set of potentially confounding factors: Even though observable pre-treatment teenager characteristics explain about one fifth of the variation in criminal behavior 5-10 years after treatment, they have almost no predictive power for whether treatment is planned or unplanned.     

An analysis of children and young people's calls to ChildLine about abuse and neglect: a study for the Scottish Child Protection Review

In 2001 a young child, who was known to child protection agencies, was murdered by her stepfather. Following a recommendation of an inquiry into her death, a ministerial multidisciplinary review of child protection across Scotland was carried out. The review aimed to promote the reduction of abuse or neglect of children and to improve the services for children who experience abuse or neglect. It was carried out by a multidisciplinary team and the report made 16 recommendations. The review was informed by a series of sub‐projects. This paper describes one sub‐project that aimed to collect the views of children and young people who might have been abused but might not have had contact with child protection agencies. The study was carried out in conjunction with ChildLine Scotland. Call data for one year were made available for quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis was carried out on the counsellors' notes on all calls relating to abuse and neglect taken during a 2‐week period. Children described signi?cant levels of abuse and neglect. Many had told no‐one of the abuse and in particular had not contacted child protection agencies. The paper considers the implications of the ?ndings for the child protection system. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictors of children in foster care being adopted: A classification tree analysis

When returning home is not a viable option, adoption is the primary means by which youth in substitute care achieve permanency. Therefore, understanding the factors that impact adoption is critical to both evaluating and improving the child welfare system. Prior research has mostly studied “main effects” in regard to adoption rates and has not explored the ways in which youth and foster family variables might interact in complex ways to predict adoption. This study uses a classification tree analysis approach known as Optimal Data Analysis (ODA) to predict probability of adoption in 2003 using Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data. 30,000 adopted youth and 30,000 non-adopted youth were randomly selected for participation in the study. Similar to previous studies, univariate analyses revealed that age, foster parent race/ethnicity, foster parent marital status, and number of previous placements all predicted probability of adoption. However, going further, several combinations of individual variables (multivariate ODA) improved prediction accuracy (e.g., age × structure of foster family × number of previous placements). Results also suggested that the impact of the state on adoption rates varied when essentially controlling for youth and family variables, supporting concerns regarding the crude use of AFCARS data when comparing states.     

Increasing access to quality child care for children from low-income families: Families' experiences

Identifying effective strategies for increasing access to quality care for children from low-income families has important implications for society. This study examined the effectiveness of expanding child care assistance for low-income families (capping expenses at 10% of income and raising eligibility to 200% of the federal poverty line) to purchase quality care. Mixed methods documented families' experiences (N = 181) and capitalized on a natural experiment when families lost assistance. Results pointed to improved access to quality care for children from low-income families by: 1) helping low-income families continue utilizing quality providers when incomes dropped, and 2) enabling others to begin utilizing quality providers. Perceived impacts were greatest for families with higher incomes (within the eligibility range), and for those with children ages five and younger. Additionally, parents were able to pay providers the full rate that they charge for care, which may help quality providers continue serving low-income families.     

Risk and protective factors for residential foster care adolescents

Based on Jessor's (1998) Problem Behavior Theory, this study investigated the relationship between risk and protective factors and adolescent psychopathology and adjustment. For this purpose, adolescent girls (n = 69) and boys (n = 71) living in residential foster homes in the city of Tehran, responded to an adapted version of the Adolescent Health and Development Questionnaire, Jessor, 1998) and their foster home caregivers rated the adolescents' internalizing/externalizing problems and prosocial behavior with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, Goodman, 2001). This study identified several influential aspects at the levels of the individual, foster home, peers and community that serve as a direct risk and protective factors, and also documented indirect pathways of gender, individual, foster home, peers and community influence.Three main patterns, protective, protective and enhancing, and protective but reactive seemed to characterize most of the risk by protective factor interactions. The risk and protective factors associated with foster home adolescents' mental health are broadly in line with previous published findings. Based on the present findings, the extension of universal intervention programs designed within the framework of PBT and which address multiple targets seems justified to be used with foster care home adolescents.     

Therapeutic alliance between youth and staff in residential group care: Psychometrics of the therapeutic alliance quality scale

Therapeutic alliance has been frequently studied in individual counseling sessions; however, research on therapeutic alliance in residential settings for youth with mental health diagnoses has been limited. This may be due, in part, to the presence of multiple service providers often in caregiving roles. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric quality of a widely utilized measure of therapeutic alliance used in psychotherapy with youth in residential care where the treatment is provided by a trained married couple. We also compared the relationship between youth ratings of their male and female service providers, as well as examined correlations in ratings between youth and staff on therapeutic alliance. Finally, we investigated the direction, magnitude, and trajectory of change in therapeutic alliance over a 12-month period following admission into residential care. The method was a longitudinal assessment of 135 youth and 124 staff regarding therapeutic alliance over the course of 12 months or discharge from services. Results indicated strong psychometric properties and high correlations for youth ratings of both their male and female service providers. However, the correlation was low between youth and service provider ratings of alliance. Longitudinal analyses indicated that rates of therapeutic alliance changed over time.     

Runaway behavior among adolescents in residential care: The role of personal characteristics,victimization experiences while in care,social climate,and institutional factors

Existing research on runaway behavior among young people in care is severely limited, based mainly on small-scale samples, adult reports and administrative data. The research to date focuses mainly on children's characteristics and pre-care experiences rather than on placement-centered correlates. The present study examines the occurence and multilevel correlates of runaway behavior among Israeli Arab and Jewish adolescents aged 11 to 19 in residential care for at-risk children.     

Safer recruitment? Protecting children,improving practice in residential child care

In the wake of a number of high‐profile cases of the abuse of children and young people in residential child care, there have been repeated calls for the improvement of recruitment and selection of residential child care staff. This paper describes the findings from a survey, undertaken in 2005, of operational and human resource managers who have responsibility for the recruitment and selection of residential child care staff in the voluntary and statutory sectors in Scotland. This research was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to identify which elements of safer recruitment procedures had been implemented following the countrywide launch of a Toolkit for Safer Recruitment Practice in 2001. Research findings show that although local authorities were more likely than voluntary organisations to have gone some way toward implementing safer recruitment procedures, the recruitment process lacked rigour and commitment to safer procedures in some organisations. The article discusses the current barriers to the introduction of safer recruitment methods and proposes some possible solutions for the future. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Youth aging out of residential care in Israel: Readiness for independent living and need for help

Youth leaving state care are a vulnerable group. It is important to examine their status and needs before they leave care, so that policies and practices are designed to address their needs. The aim of this study is to assess readiness for independent living of youth on the verge of leaving residential care in Israel, and to identify the life domains in which they need further help. Further, the study examines personal and interpersonal resources that may predict levels of readiness and needs before leaving care.