The recent history of Scottish child welfare

SUMMARY. During this century, the main features of child care policy in Britain have been the creation of a separate system of juvenile justice, the extension of state responsibilities for child protection and substitute care, a growing emphasis on foster care in preference to residential care, and increased professionalism and co-ordination of services. This article, the second in a two-part series, begun in issue 5(2) looks particularly at differences in child care policy between Scotland and England, the most striking of which has been in the juvenile justice arrangements. The Scottish children's hearings are fully committed to welfare principles, keeping young offenders and children in need of care and protection within a single system of decision-making.     

Family Functioning and Satisfaction of Former Residents of a Non-Therapeutic Residential Care Facility: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

Recently there has been a resurgence in discussions among government policy-makers regarding the use of non-therapeutic residential care as an alternative to kinship and family foster care. If informed decisions are to be made regarding foster care alternatives, evaluation is needed of how children fare in residential care facilities. This study looks at the family relationships and life satisfaction of 76 adults who resided in a residential care facility as children. The overall positive results suggest that the negative reputation of non-therapeutic residential care facilities may not be wholly deserved. The authors hope that this information can assist social workers and policy-makers in making important decisions about the appropriate use of residential care with our country's future population of foster care children.     

Carers of Children: A Comparative Study of the Practices of Residential and Foster Carers

SUMMARY. This article takes further the themes outlined in Children & Society, Volume 3(1) of examining the practices of special foster and residential caregivers in terms of the management of daily and other recurrent social events, and the methods used by caregivers to control children. Data are also presented on the role activities of caregivers and their interactions with children. Care practice in the special foster homes was generally found to be significantly more child-oriented than in the children's homes, and possible explanations for this are considered. Evidence is presented which serves to counter the tendency, in the wake of recent controversy surrounding children's homes, to scapegoat caregivers and children for shortcomings in residential care. The article has important implications for residential caregivers and foster care workers; and also for administrators and other child welfare professionals such as |field social workers, educational psychologists and psychiatrists.     

Children in Need in the South of Italy: Features and Distortions in the Deinstitutionalisation of Care

Despite the shift in emphasis from institutional to foster family care, in the south of Italy children in need are mainly looked after by residential services. These are required to provide family‐style care and to place children on a short‐term basis. Using data from research on a 100% sample of day units, residential services and children in care in the Calabria region, this article investigates the functioning of the system of care for vulnerable children at the sub‐national level, describes looked‐after children’s characteristics and life conditions and questions the extent to which a real deinstitutionalisation process has occurred in this area. Finally, some deinstitutionalisation recommendations are given.     

A Literature Review Comparing the Outcomes of Residential Group Care and Therapeutic Foster Care

Both advocates of residential group care and therapeutic foster care claim that their programs serve the most troubled children and youth. Prior research, often limited to single sites and small numbers of subjects, have not confirmed such claims. The authors describe the evidence regarding these claims, the research literature pertaining to program effectiveness, and a means for empirically evaluating the impact of residential group care and therapeutic foster care.     

Stepping Down and Stepping In: Youth's Perspectives on Making the Transition from Residential Treatment to Treatment Foster Care

Older youth preparing to emancipate from the foster care system are often served in residential treatment settings where they have limited opportunities to practice skills for independent living in a community setting. Stepping these youth down to less restrictive environments such as treatment foster care is a growing trend, especially for youth with mental health issues. Yet, few studies have explored the youth's perspective on making this transition. This study utilized qualitative interviews with youths who were participating in a treatment foster care intervention study (n = 8) to gain their perspectives on the process of transitioning from residential care. Youths were interviewed right before they exited residential care and two months after placement in the new foster home. Youths reported hopes for gaining family in the new home as well as fears of placement disruption. Findings point to the need to enlist youths in discussion and problem solving about difficulties they anticipate in the new home and expectations for their relationship with the new foster parents. In addition, the struggles described after two months in the home point to the need for youths to build specific skills to better manage ongoing relationships with foster parents and for foster parent training on how to help build these skills.     

Post-adoption service need and access: Differences between international,kinship and non-kinship foster care

Post-adoption services are important to bolster a family's commitment to their adopted children, thus avoiding potential problems following adoption finalization. It is vitally important to assess post-adoption services in an effort to ensure families are provided with effective supports for successful family functioning. Few investigators have assessed service needs and access according to adoptive family type. This study focuses on international, foster care kin and foster care non-kin adoption types. Utilizing the National Survey of Adoptive Parents, this research investigated twelve post-adoption services. Two comparisons were made with respect to whether, according to the adoptive parents, post-adoption services were received or not received: 1) international and foster care non-kin adoptive families; and 2) foster care kin and foster non-kin adoptive families. International non-kin families were more likely to indicate they discussed post-adoption services than foster care non-kin families, particularly among those who were white, had adopted boys, had no other children in the home, and whose socio-economic background was lower. When comparing foster care non-kin families with kinship families, non-kin families tended to receive more desired services than kinship families, with kinship families indicating less need for services. Policy efforts and program design need to focus on reaching out to families and developing effective post-adoption services based on the expressed needs of families.     

The moderating effect between strengths and placement on children's needs in out-of-home care: A follow-up study

The negative impact of childhood maltreatment, which can often extend well into adulthood, consistently appears to be ameliorated if victimized children possess several resiliencies or strengths. However, little is known about how vulnerable children's outcomes are affected by different levels of strengths across different out-of-home placement settings. Hence, this study examined the association of two factors — children's strengths and placement type, with outcomes at two time-points during out-of-home care. The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool was used to assess the outcomes of 285 children placed in residential homes or foster care in Singapore. Multiple regressions were conducted on CANS domain scores to evaluate whether level of baseline strengths and placement type predicted outcomes at two time-points after controlling for race, prior placements, age, gender, interpersonal trauma, and baseline needs scores. Results indicate that relative to residential care, foster care children are reported to be younger, with lower baseline needs, more prior placements, fewer baseline strengths and suffered fewer types of interpersonal trauma. After controlling for covariates, higher baseline strengths significantly predicted lower baseline needs of children across 3 of 4 CANS domains, regardless of placement settings. However, at reassessment 1 year later, there were significant interactions between strengths and placement type, whereby baseline strengths significantly predicted lower life functioning needs only in foster care. To conclude, in both residential and foster care, the protective effects of high strengths against child maltreatment were similarly apparent at baseline, despite clear differences in children's profiles across placement types. Over time, these initial benefits appeared to persist somewhat for children in foster care but seemed to diminish in more restrictive, residential settings and this warrants further investigation on children with more similar profiles. Nonetheless, it is clear that the continual development of children's strengths should be prioritized in case planning.     

Preventing the residential placement of young children: A multidisciplinary investigation of challenges and opportunities in a rural state

Estimates suggest that most children placed in state custody have mental or behavioral health problems. Many of these children are difficult to place with foster families and ultimately are referred for residential care. Residential care is expensive relative to other alternatives and the effects on child outcomes do not seem to justify the expense. This study identifies systemic factors contributing to the residential placement of young children and opportunities for service improvement in a rural state. Key informant interviews and surveys were used to synthesize a broad array of professional perspectives. Remarkable consensus across multiple groups suggests that young children are best served in a family setting. Strategies to reduce residential placement and improve outcomes of young children are discussed.     

Attitudes of special foster parents and residential staff towards children

This paper compares the attitudes of special foster parents and residential staff towards children in their care. The exercise was carried out as part of a comparative study of care practice in ‘special’ foster homes (accommodating children traditionally considered too old or difficult for fostering) and ordinary community or children's homes. Overall, care practice in the foster homes was significantly more child oriented than in the children's homes. This finding cannot, however, be explained in terms of attitudinal differences between foster parents and staff. Staff attitudes generally appeared more conducive to the provision of child oriented care than those of the foster parents.     

The abuse of children in out of home care

SUMMARY: One of the major paradoxes in child protective services in the United States is that children removed from their homes on protective orders and placed in foster and group care face continued abuse. These children are reported at two to three times the rates of children living with their families. Investigations are performed by the very system that marks placements. In the US, some recommend resolving these problems by withdrawing from the active protection of children in care. Others hold that because children are in the care and custody of the state, and demand a higher standard of care, specialised prevention, identification. reporting and investigation initiatives are necessary to ensure their safety. This has important implications for other countries, especially the United Kingdom with its recent spate of inquiries into abuse in residential care.     

The relationship between motherhood and re-incarceration

Using matched administrative records from the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, this paper finds that mothers' rates of re-incarceration are higher than those of women without children. It is also found that incarcerated mothers whose children have been in foster care have a higher re-incarceration rate than do women without children. The re-incarceration rate is particularly higher among mothers whose children were placed in foster care at the time of their first incarceration and mothers who had children in foster care but lost their custody before their first incarceration. These findings are more pronounced among white women with records of drug-related offenses or drug addiction than among their African-American counterparts.     

Modelling the initial placement decision for children received into care

Initial placements of a cohort of 93 children received into the care of an English local authority over a 3-month period are examined. Sixty-five of the children were immediately placed in a foster home, 20 were placed in a residential home, 4 were received into care in hospital, and 4 remained home on trial. The research reported here focusses on the 85 children initially placed in either a substitute family home (a foster placement) or a residential home. Logit analysis is used to examine the pattern of initial placements. A clearly consistent pattern of placement emerges and a small number of factors explain or predict the initial placement decision. These factors include such child characterstics as age and health, family size and accommodation, and previous care experiecne of a child and his or her siblings.     

Foster families and residential care for older children: some interpersonal dynamics

This paper compares the interpersonal dynamics of the family and residential care for older children within the context of ecologically based permanency planning where the birth family will be the preferred source of permanence in most cases. The author argues, on the basis of a review of the research, that foster care has a great deal to offer many children and is undoubtedly preferable for young children, but residential care is a genuine and important alternative for some older children. She concludes that the decision for placement should rest on a comprehensive assessment, taking into account consumer views.     

Foster care in India: An exploratory survey of the community perceptions and prospects for implementation of foster care in a developing nation: A study in Udaipur,Rajasthan, India

This study was conducted in order to assess the prospects for implementing foster care as an alternative to the dominant system of institutional care available to orphaned and abandoned children in India. 653 families in urban Udaipur participated in a mixed-methods based assessment of receptivity to foster and adoptive care. The majority of those who responded reported receptivity to the idea of foster care as an alternative to institutional care. However, analyses demonstrated that respondents also perceived barriers to implementing systematic foster care, particularly with regard to family recruitment due to problems securing family and community support for participation. The results are discussed in light of governmental calls for non-governmental organization and other stakeholders to institute alternatives to foster and adoptive care. The results of this study have applied significance for organizations and practitioners seeking to implement care alternatives for orphan and abandoned children in India.     

Enhancing the validity of foster care follow-up studies through multiple alumni location strategies

While family-based placement prevention services, family reunification programs, subsidized guardianship, and aggressive adoption programs are reducing the numbers of children spending long periods of time in substitute care, a significant number of America's children will come of age in foster care. Agencies and policymakers should use research and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of foster care in nurturing healthy adults and to explore ways to improve services. Outcome studies that have focused on locating and interviewing young or middle-aged adults emancipated from foster care have been hampered by modest response rates, limiting the field's ability to evaluate the efficacy of foster care programs. This article describes a set of strategies that were used to achieve higher response rates in two recent follow-up studies.     

Mental health interventions for children in foster care: A systematic review

Children in foster care have high rates of adverse childhood experiences and are at risk for mental health problems. These problems can be difficult to ameliorate, creating a need for rigorous intervention research. Previous research suggests that intervening with children in foster care can be challenging for several reasons, including the severity and complexity of their mental health problems, and challenges engaging this often transitory population in mental health services. The goal of this article was to systematically review the intervention research that has been conducted with children in foster care, and to identify future research directions. This review was conducted on mental health interventions for children, ages 0 to 12, in foster care, using ERIC, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses Database, Social Services Abstracts, and Social Work Abstracts. It was restricted to interventions that are at least “possibly efficacious” (i.e., supported by evidence from at least one randomized controlled trial). Studies were evaluated for risk of bias. Ten interventions were identified, with diverse outcomes, including mental health and physiological. Six interventions were developed for children in foster care. Interventions not developed for children in foster care were typically adapted to the foster context. Most interventions have yet to be rigorously evaluated in community-based settings with children in foster care. Little research has been conducted on child and family engagement within these interventions, and there is a need for more research on moderators of intervention outcomes and subgroups that benefit most from these interventions. In addition, there is no consensus regarding how to adapt interventions to this population. Future research should focus on developing and testing more interventions with this population, rigorously evaluating their effectiveness in community-based settings, determining necessary adaptations, and identifying which interventions work best for whom.     

Urban American Indian/Alaskan Natives compared to non-Indians in out-of-home care

Historically, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) children have been disproportionately represented in the foster care system. In this study, nationally representative child welfare data from October 1999 was used to compare urban AI/AN children to non-Indian children placed into out-of-home care. Compared to non-Indian children, urban AI/AN children were older, were more often male, came from poorer homes, and were more frequently placed into group homes/ residential placements. Urban AI/AN caregivers had a greater prevalence of alcohol abuse and mental health problems compared with non-Indian caregivers.     

Children Living Away from Home

SUMMARY. Millions of children across the world live away from home; many because of wars, famines, dictatorships and poverty. Children live away from home in Britain because of family breakdown, neglect, abuse and other disadvantages, but also through parental choice and educational need. There is inadequate information about numbers, reasons and outcomes. Three main alternatives to living at home in Britain are boarding schools, residential homes and foster care. Traditional barriers between education and welfare and policies of care placements based on inadequate data have resulted in damaging gaps in services and poor placement decisions for many children living away from home. The early 1990s have brought about a national consensus based on new legislation and a group of Inquiries which provides the opportunity for major changes and improvements in services. International deliberations and action could and should be part of these changes.