Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Out-of-Home Care'
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1
Terry, Jennifer Margaret. "Resilience in children in out-of-home care." University of Western Australia. School of Social and Cultural Studies, 2007. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2007.0189.
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This study explores the notion of resilience and, in particular, its efficacy as a framework to assist and guide professionals in their work with children placed in the care of the State, many of whom have experienced situations of severe disadvantage, including abuse and neglect, prior to their admission to the out-of-home care system. The further distress and/or trauma for children, which is engendered by separation from their families and placement with strangers, is exacerbated by circumstances of transience and instability that many children experience during their care journeys. The study examines the care system as a circumstance of adversity and seeks to find out how specialist practitioners working in the care environment understand the notion of resilience and whether they operationalise the concept in their practice to assist children in care. The study is set within a critically reflective perspective, informed by a hermeneutic process that assists in building a deeper understanding of both the notion of resilience and the care system through the lived experiences of practitioners and interpretation of the literature on both topics. An unanticipated finding that emerged from research discussions conducted with practitioners revealed that their experiences of working within the care system created a sense of adversity for them and challenged their resilience, with many parallels between their responses and their observations of the distress and trauma of children in care. The necessity to understand these practitioners? experiences more deeply led to a further exploration of literature that described the impact of working in such adverse settings. This exploration uncovered the notion of vicarious traumatisation, a phenomenon that affects workers who are in continual contact with the trauma of others. An indepth discussion of this concept is provided outlining its relevance to this study. The implications of the impact of the adversity of the care environment on professionals are summarised in the final chapter of the study together with recommendations in the areas of both practice and research.
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Demaerschalk, Evelien. "Immigrant adolescents in out-of-home care in Norway." Thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Psykologisk institutt, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-21725.
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In Norway, first generation immigrant adolescents are overrepresented in out-of-home care by Child Welfare Services (CWS). More than Norwegians, immigrant adolescents themselves take the initiative to contact CWS. In this, immigrant girls seek more CWS help than boys. In this paper, a light is shone upon the lives of immigrants who were once in out-of-home care. The studies presented point to a large impact of migration and family breakdown. Many depict a chaotic family situation with a single mother, large household responsibilities and family relations filled with generational conflicts and violence. The immigrants describe an overall positive out-of-home care experience yet are hesitant to recommend others to take the same step. The possible influence of the child-centric focus of Norwegian CWS workers is discussed. As well as the need for prevention measures such as building a support network for immigrant mothers and organizing school support for immigrant adolescents. This paper concentrates on the need to put the overrepresentation of first generation immigrant adolescents on the policy agenda. More studies are to be carried out to point out the most appropriate and least harmful care for immigrant adolescents.
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Murphy, Jenifer. "The education of youths placed in out-of-home care /." Electronic version (PDF), 2006. http://dl.uncw.edu/etd/2006/murphyj/jenifermurphy.pdf.
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Bell, Tessa. "Resilience and Risk Among Maltreated Children in Out-of-Home Care." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/31506.
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Resilience is defined as positive adaptation and functioning following exposure to significant risk or adversity (e.g., maltreatment). It is an important topic of investigation in child welfare due to the number of children with such adverse life experiences. While the definition of positive adaptation varies in the literature, maltreatment researchers often define it in terms of the low frequency of behavioural problems, with the consideration that resilience in a child may be fluid across domains of functioning and/or across time. The current dissertation examined resilience among maltreated school-age children living in out-of-home care through three interrelated studies. The first examined multilevel correlates of behavioural resilience among a sample of 5 to 9 year old children living in out-of-home care. The second used developmental trajectory modeling to examine behavioural functioning across time among a sample of school-age children living in out-of-home care (with a particular focus on trajectories of resilience), and the third used semi-structured interviews to gain the often-neglected perspectives on resilience of child welfare workers. Findings across all three studies revealed several factors within various levels of the ecological model that contribute to resilience, including child internal developmental assets and relationships and social support. Furthermore, findings teased apart the distal impact of child welfare workers and agencies. The current dissertation contributes to the existing literature by informing researchers and professionals working within the child welfare sector about the factors that are important for promoting resilience among vulnerable children in out-of-home care with the aim of improving the well-being of this population.
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Martell, Nasstajjia. "Caregiver closeness and outcomes for children in out-of-home care." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10147323.
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Children placed in out-of-home care experience challenges while in foster care. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between children placed in out-of-home care and the bond and closeness with their caregivers. Secondary data from the Midwest Study About the Crime During the Transition to Adulthood: How Youth Fare as They Leave Out-of-Home Care in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin was used to develop a quantitative study on related variables. Findings indicated no significant relationship between outcomes for children in foster care and caregiver closeness.
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Barnsley, Shannon E. "An Examination of Factors Contributing to Resilience among Children and Youths in Out of Home Care in Ontario." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/19922.
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Objective – Some of the most vulnerable children and youths in our country are those in out of home care, and these children demonstrate higher rates of psychopathology and fare more poorly in school and in social relationships than their peers. Typically, when studying at risk populations, negative outcomes are examined, thereby ignoring those who do well despite their vulnerability. These children, who demonstrate positive patterns of functioning and development despite their exposure to adversity, are considered resilient. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with a resilient outcome among children and youths in out of home care.
Method – The study sample was comprised of 417 children 10 to 15 years old in Ontario who had been removed from their homes of origin and placed in out of home care. Predictor variables were selected based on previous research findings in the area of resilient outcome. In the cross-sectional study, a series of sequential logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with a resilient outcome among children in out of home care. These children were then followed one year later. In the longitudinal study, another series of sequential logistic regression analyses were used to identify variables that were related to future resilient outcomes among the same children in out of home care.
Results – The findings showed that many of the independent variables predicted resilient outcome on the different dimensions. Furthermore, overall resilient outcome was best predicted by the foster parental report of high sociability.
Conclusion – The findings in the present study confirmed that there exists a subset of resilient children among children in out of home care. The findings allowed for the identification of some factors related to resilient outcome among this population. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.
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Söderqvist, Åsa. "The (re)construction of home : Unaccompanied children’s and youth’s transition out of care." Doctoral thesis, Hälsohögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, HHJ. SALVE (Socialt arbete, Livssammanhang, Välfärd), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-34617.
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This dissertation focuses on how perceptions of ethnicity and culture become meaningful in relation to the transition from care into independent living, studied from unaccompanied youths’, professionals’, and a methodological perspective. The findings from interviews with unaccompanied youth with experience of leaving care showed that thoughts about their ethnic minority background are constantly present in the young men’s lives. Their stories about preparing to leave care show a continuous attempt to make adjustments in order to fit into the Swedish society (Study I). The results based on interviews with professionals and observations at two residential care units indicated that ‘home’ is sometimes used as a metaphor when describing the residential care units. The home metaphor affected the staff in ways that it sometimes became difficult to separate private and professional matters. The clash between the residential care unit and the desire to create a home environment highlights the issue that programs executed in Sweden for unaccompanied young people were originally not made for them (Study II). Study III emphasised how transnational relationships form the unaccompanied youths view of past, present, and future time. This study highlighted the importance of how the professionals need to understand the unaccompanied children and youth and their situation as flexible (Study III). Finally, methodological reflections about research concerning ethnicity indicated the importance of reflecting on one’s own perceptions, the role as a researcher, and the benefits and limitations these different roles may have in the research process (Study IV). The research was conducted using qualitative methods. The data collection methods entailed interviews with the youth (Study I), individual interviews, focus-groups, and observations with professionals (Study II and III), and discussions based on the data collected for study I-III (Study IV). Altogether, 11 youths (18-22 years) and about 20 professionals at the residential care units participated in the studies. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the individual interviews and the focus-groups. All interviews were transcribed verbatim for analysis. The empirical data from observations consisted of notes taken during everyday situations, as well as from short conversations with the professionals. The notes were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The combined results of study I-III were used as empirical data for the analysis in study IV. This dissertation shows that (re)constructing a home is a central part of the care-leaving process for a migrant about to resettle in a new country. The greatest challenge the unaccompanied youth have to conquer during the transition from care to independent living is to fight against exclusion. The main purpose in (re)constructing a home appears to be the same for the youth and the professionals, namely, to reach a sense of safety and belonging. However, different conditions and points of departure may make it hard to agree on details such as what the meaning of belonging actually is, and if it is possible to develop a tailor-made solution. Researching issues of ethnicity comes with the responsibility to avoid reinforcing an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ and, in so doing, reinforce stereotypes.
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Koeslich, Svenja. "Mental Health Presentations of Clinic‐Referred Children in Out-of‐Home Care." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Health Science, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/6496.
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This dissertation examines the mental health presentations of clinic-referred children in state ordered out-of-home care and compares these to the presentations of clinic-referred children from the general population. The results of this study will inform the design of a more comprehensive research project assessing the differences between the psychopathology of clinic-referred children in out-of-home care and children from the general population. The overall goal is for researchers and clinicians to be able to better understand the underlying determinisms of the psychopathology of children in out-of-home care.
Three samples were used for the between-group comparisons. The Children in Care Study (CICS) sample consists of 213 clinic-referred children in out-of-home care between the ages of four and eleven years. Firstly, this group was compared to 800 clinic-referred children, between six and eleven years, from the general population. For this analysis, the CICS sample was adjusted to match this group’s age range. Secondly, the entire CICS sample was compared to 1201 clinic-referred children, between the ages of four and eleven, from the general population. Mental health presentations were measured using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). A within-subject comparison was conducted comparing the CICS sample’s CBCL DSM-oriented scores to the children’s caregiver-reported diagnosis.
Results indicated that clinic-referred children in care presented with significantly fewer internalising symptoms than clinic-referred children from the general population. Clinic-referred children in care displayed greater correlations among their CBCL subscale scores than other clinic-referred children, which may suggest greater symptom complexity. Additionally, there appeared to be poor concordance between caregiver-reported psychiatric diagnoses and CBCL DSM-oriented scores for clinic-referred children in out-of-home care.
Overall, the mental health presentations measured by the CBCL indicated that the differences between the two populations were relatively small in terms of their severity. However, clinic-referred children in care presented with less severe internalising problems
than other clinic-referred children. Further research is needed to explore the issues underlying diagnostic dis-concordance and the complexity of the mental health presentations of children in state ordered care.
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den, Dunnen Wendy. "A Systemic Analysis of the Child Welfare System: Understanding the Strengths and Needs of In-Home and Out-Of-Home Children and Examining the Role of Foster Child Factors on the Fostering Experience." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/35671.
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This dissertation addresses gaps in the child welfare literature from a systemic perspective. The extant literature focuses primarily on children in care, which excludes 90% of children and families involved with the system. In addition, foster parent retention has become an area of primary concern because there are fewer individuals who are willing to foster. Research that examines all children involved with the child welfare system and ways to improve foster parent experiences is imperative to address these areas of need. The two studies herein address these gaps in the literature by examining children who are in contact with the child welfare system but largely remain out of care, children who are in care, and foster caregivers.
The first study compared two groups of children in the Ontario child welfare system: those who remain with their natural family and those in out-of-home care. The emotional and behavioural functioning, prosocial behaviour, education, health, and resources (internal and external) of these two groups of children were examined and relatively few significant differences were identified. However, it was found that, despite having comparable mental health and educational functioning, children who remained in their natural homes had significantly fewer external resources than children in out-of-home care. Children in out-of-home care may have increased access to community resources despite having similar needs to children who remain in their natural home environments. Additional research is needed to replicate and better understand these findings so that the child welfare system can best meet the needs of its children.
The second study examined how foster child characteristics, as well as other foster parent and agency factors, impact Canadian foster parents’ experience of fostering, particularly related to agency workers, the fostering system, training, and foster children and their placements. Results identified that foster children’s needs and maltreatment histories, as reported by foster parents, were not significantly associated with perceptions about fostering. The factors that were the most highly associated with positive perceptions about fostering were increased practical and emotional support. These findings indicate that child welfare agencies can improve foster parents perceptions about fostering by providing sufficient practical and emotional support. A monitoring system that allows foster parents to provide regular feedback would be beneficial in continuing to evaluate their fostering experiences, assess the impact of interventions targeting foster parent support, and address any areas of concern. As a whole, the results of this dissertation highlight the importance of providing both children and foster parents in the child welfare system with appropriate supports that promote positive child functioning and foster parent experiences.
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Barker, Jayne. "Out-of-home care for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape4/PQDD_0016/MQ49159.pdf.
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Walker, Hattie R. "An analysis of the safety outcome of children in the in-home supervision and out-of-home care." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 1997. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/1346.
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The purpose of this study was to compare the safety outcome for children who remained at home under the supervision of the State and children who were placed in foster care. There were two variables: (1) services as the independent variable, and (2) placement outcomes as the dependent variable.
A correlational research design was used to analyze the data. An on-site review instrument was used to collect data from three county Departments of Social Services in South Carolina. Additionally, a case record analysis and a face-to-face interview approach were utilized.
The conclusion drawn from this study is that families are confronted with many stressors and a lack of resources that affect their behavior. The researcher found that in cases where services were provided, maltreated children could remain safely in their homes. For future child maltreatment interventions, this could provide a comprehensive approach to services that might avoid unnecessary out-of-home placements.
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Wahl, Lothar Werner, and lothar wahl@rmit edu au. "Interventions with Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care Diagnosed with Severe Conduct Disorder." RMIT University. Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, 2007. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080604.095348.
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This research examines interventions with adolescents in out-of-home care diagnosed with severe conduct disorder. Interventions from the service sectors of mental health, juvenile justice, child protection and welfare are reviewed and discussed. The research centred around three hypotheses. Firstly, that adolescents in out-of-home care diagnosed with severe conduct disorder have poor treatment outcomes. Secondly, that adolescents in out-of-home care diagnosed with severe conduct disorder are a particularly difficult client group to work with because of issues of attachment. Thirdly, that a diagnosis of severe conduct disorder negatively impacts upon the work professionals undertake with these young people. These hypotheses were considered in the context of an extensive literature review as well as findings gleaned from interviews and questionnaires conducted with research participants drawn from the abovementioned service sectors. Research participants were senio r practitioners and managers with many years of practice and experience working with adolescents in out-of-home care diagnosed with severe conduct disorder. The main findings from the research were that all three hypotheses appeared to be supported. These were that adolescents in out-of-home care diagnosed with severe conduct disorder have poor treatment outcomes and that one of the particular difficulties of working with this client group is the issue of attachment. Also, that the diagnosis of severe conduct disorder negatively impacts upon the work professionals undertake with these young people. These findings are discussed within the theoretical frameworks of attachment theory and critical theory, which are utilised in exploring the alienation and oppression of these young people on intrapersonal, interpersonal and societal levels. Finally, implications for social work research and practice are considered.
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Woltman, Heather Ann. "Transition-Age Youth in Out-of-Home Care: Predictors of Readiness Skills for Adulthood." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/37914.
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Objectives: Youth who age out of the child welfare system are among the most vulnerable group of young people entering adulthood today. Unlike their generational peers, foster youth lack the familial supports necessary to postpone major life decisions and gradually enter adulthood. Although there are notable differences between Canadian and American child welfare contexts, young people exiting both systems experience a compressed transition and are tasked with quickly managing adult responsibilities. Few studies have examined pre-transition factors that correlate with adolescents’ readiness skills prior to exiting out-of-home care. Methods: This dissertation presents two studies that examine factors associated with transition-age foster youths’ readiness skills for adulthood. In the first study I used cross-sectional data (n = 278) from Illinois, United States to assess the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on youths’ independent living skills and life domain functioning. I hypothesized that exposure to ACEs would predict lower transition readiness, and that trauma-related stress symptoms and strengths would moderate this association. In the second study I used cross-sectional data (n = 1,026) from Ontario, Canada to identify youth-, placement-, and agency-level factors that predicted youths’ self-care and financial literacy skills. I hypothesized that factors most proximal to individuals would impact readiness (e.g., academic performance, self-esteem). Results: Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that ACEs predicted lower transition readiness. Traumatic stress symptoms moderated these relations, and engagement in risky behaviours partially mediated these relations (study 1). Hierarchical linear modelling indicated that agency-level differences did not impact readiness. In contrast, general linear modelling indicated that a subset of individual- and placement-level factors did impact readiness. Specifically, higher academic performance, higher self-esteem, a greater number of developmental assets, older age, an older age of entry into care, a greater number of placement transitions, and kinship care placement predicted higher transition readiness. A greater number of socioemotional difficulties, a greater number of long-term mental and/or physical health conditions, and a lower frequency of problematic parenting practices combined with a higher frequency of effective parenting practices predicted lower transition readiness (study 2). Conclusion: Findings illustrated that although ACEs exposure predicts lower adult readiness among transition-age youth, whether youth engage in risky behaviours and possess developmental strengths may be better predictors of their readiness to age out of care (study 1). Findings also illustrated that a subset of individual- and placement-level factors predict self-sufficiency skills among transition-age youth (study 2).
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Hudek, Natasha. "Risk and Resilience in the Internalizing Outcomes of Children in Out-of-Home Care." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/37969.
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Internalizing problems are prevalent in childhood and adolescence in both community and out-of-home populations. Internalizing symptoms are frequently associated with problems in other areas of functioning as well. For children in out-of-home care, who face additional adversities such as maltreatment and witnessing traumatic events, internalizing problems have shown increased prevalence while less frequently addressed in research. The current studies used longitudinal data collected across 7 years from a sample of 1,765 children, 5 to 14 years old, in out-of-home care in Maryland, USA. Data consisted mainly of Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessments, as well as demographic information (age, sex, and race/ethnicity) and out-of-home placement type. In Study 1 we examined the trajectories of anxiety and depression across age and time in care separately and evaluated a comprehensive model of resilience for each outcome using hierarchical linear modeling. This exploratory model included both indicators of internal resilience (i.e. cognitive, emotional, spiritual, physical, behavioural) and environmental risk and resilience factors (i.e. family, acculturation, community, placement, school functioning, social functioning) related to internalizing problems in children and adolescents. Results showed anxiety was fairly stable over time in care and age, with few significant predictors aside from already well-known risk factors. Depression results showed a slight increase across age and decrease across time in care with several more significant predictors than the anxiety model. While both models showed overlap in predictors, they also included predictors unique to each outcome. In Study 2 we examined the reciprocal relationships across time between anxiety, depression, and significant risk and protective factors from Study 1. Using time lagged hierarchical linear models we found few significant relationships related to anxiety, and largely unidirectional relationships between depression and relevant factors over time. Two factors, traumatic stress and placement in residential treatment care, displayed reciprocal relationships with depression over time. However, our results largely did not support the direct resilience feedback mechanisms proposed between variables for either outcome, but revealed other possible mechanisms at work (i.e. dual cascades developmental model) to explain maladaptation towards depression in particular, but also anxiety. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications, future research directions, and applied implications for prevention/intervention programs for internalizing problems for children in out-of-home care.
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Mäkelä, Debora. "Historical Child Abuse In Out-Of-Home Care: Finland Disclosing And Discussing Its Past." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Tema Barn, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-120402.
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The main focus in this thesis lies in the observation of how the public debate is formulating and developing in Finland in relation to the current implementation of the Inquiry on historical child abuse and neglect in out-of-home care. This thesis analyses the testimonies published around the investigation and on historical child abuse, in the public domain. The release of two documentaries broadcasted on National TV (YLE TV1) in 2013 and 2014 triggered a, however scarce, online public discussion with few newspapers’ as well as magazines’ articles covering informatively the inquiry. The online debate has so far seen the participation mainly of the victims themselves of historical abuse. Generally, I found a confirmation that the Finnish individualistic culture is hardly prompt to open discussion on such topics. As S.N., a care leaver, explains in the second documentary: (Lehikoinen, Luurankokaappi, 2014) “the culture does not give space” though people have “the need to speak.” My thematic analysis on this debate has nonetheless disclosed an urge to come to terms with a past of institutional abuse, framed in a general context of public mistrust in the Child Welfare4 system. The care-leavers, narrating their stories in the two TV documentaries, disclosed memories of neglect, violence and systematical isolation of the Poor. Their stories are interpreted through the debate on the media as stories of injustice. Their narration portraits a concept of “child care” very far from nowadays’ standards of child welfare. Care-leaver H.S. points his finger on the Finnish child-care institution where he spent his childhood in the ‘50s: “Only a monster can send a child to such a place!” (Lehikoinen, Varastettu Lapsuus, 2013).
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Jurczyszyn, Reeny. "Care to Higher and Further Education." Thesis, Griffith University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/366834.
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This thesis is about access to higher and further education for children and young people in out-of-home care. There are almost 40,000 children and young people living in out-of-home care in Australia. They are consistently identified as one of the most vulnerable population groups in society. The low educational attainment of children and young people in out-of-home care compared to their peers has been noted, including low levels of participation in higher and further education. In Australia, there is a lack of data about higher and further education attainment of young people in out-of-home care with no current mechanisms to identify care leaver outcomes after exiting the care system. The few Australian studies which have been conducted show higher and further education attainment mirrors international trends, which show the low education attainment for this group. Post-secondary education, such as TAFE and university, is an important gateway to health and emotional wellbeing, job satisfaction and financial security in adult life. This is one factor that contributes to children and young people who have been in out-of home care persisting as a highly vulnerable population group in society.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Human Services and Social Work
Arts, Education and Law
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Johansson, Nina. "Social workers’ perspectives on a medical home model for children and adolescents in out of home care : An interview study." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för folkhälso- och vårdvetenskap, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-413383.
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Background: In Sweden, health outcomes for children placed in care have been disappointing. ‘Placed in care’ refers to social out of home care (OHC). Hälsofam is a medical home model for healthcare of children in OHC currently delivered in Uppsala. Aim: To explore how social workers perceive and experience the Hälsofam model. Methodology: A qualitative explorative study with ten semi-structured individual telephone interviews. The criteria for inclusion in the study sample were employees within the social service, working in a specialised case unit and having experience of referring children and/or adolescents to Hälsofam. Results: Working with Hälsofam has offered social workers a way into the health care sector, which is something that previously has been limited. The Hälsofam model has offered the social workers an active collaborative working situation, where focus has been given to organised work across the ‘silos’ of care services for these children. However, the findings raised the question of whether or not all children and adolescents have the same possibility to receive care from Hälsofam. Conclusion: The Hälsofam model appears to have had a positive impact on the interrelations between the social service and the health care sector. Social workers perceive it to facilitate necessary support for children and adolescents in OHC. Yet, findings show that personal views of the social worker and the societal situation in which they operate create limitations for providing care for every child and adolescent.Bakgrund: I Sverige har hälsoutfallen för barn och ungdomar inom socialtjänstens placeringar utanför det egna hemmet varit bristande. Hälsofam är en organisatorisk modell inom hälso- och sjukvård för barn i placeringar utanför det egna hemmet i Uppsala. Syfte: Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att undersöka hur anställda inom Socialtjänsten har upplevt och erfarit Hälsofam-modellen. Metod: En kvalitativ explorativ studie med tio semi-strukturerade individuella telefonintervjuer användes. Kriterier för inkludering i studieurvalet var att personen skulle vara anställd inom Socialtjänsten, arbeta med denna typ av fall samt ha erfarenhet av att remittera barn och unga till Hälsofam. Resultat: Arbetet med Hälsofam har erbjudit anställa inom socialtjänsten en väg in till hälso- och sjukvården, vilket tidigare upplevts begränsat. Hälsofam har erbjudit anställda inom socialtjänsten ett aktivt samarbete, där fokus har lagts på organiserat interprofessionellt arbete. Frågan har också rests, huruvida alla barn och ungdomar har samma möjlighet till vård inom Hälsofam. Slutsats: Hälsofam-modellen har haft en positiv inverkan på det inbördes förhållandet mellan Socialtjänst och hälso- och sjukvårdssektorn. Anställda inom socialtjänsten upplever även att arbetet med att stödja de barn och unga som får vård utanför hemmet, har blivit lättare i och med Hälsofam. Resultatet visar dock att det personliga perspektivet hos den anställda samt den samhälleliga situationen där de arbetar, skapar begräsningar för att erbjuda vård till alla barn och unga.
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Cooper, Kimberlea. "Being a parent, but not : the role of foster and kinship carers in supporting children and young people." Thesis, Federation University Australia, 2020. http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/173693.
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Home-based carers play an important role in the lives of children and young people. In Victoria, Australia, home-based care is now the most common form of alternative care, reflecting national and international trends. However, home-based care does currently face some challenges, such as shortages of carers. Therefore, strengthening this form of care through the training and support of foster and kinship carers is a key priority of Victoria’s reforms of child and family services. In the context of a university-industry collaboration, the current research drew upon the expertise of sixteen foster and kinship carers in the Central Highlands region of Victoria. Using constructivist grounded theory, the research sought to understand how carers support children and young people and how they see their role. In addition, the research sought carers’ perspectives on their interactions with the Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) system, including what they find supportive and challenging. The research revealed that home-based carers see some elements of their role as parenting, and others as going beyond parenting. The carers utilise principles of trauma-informed care to support children and young people, but do not experience trauma-informed support from the OOHC system. This discrepancy suggests that the implementation of trauma-informed care has the potential to increase pressure on home-based carers if it is only encouraged at the interpersonal level between carers and children and does not incorporate associated systems-level change. Therefore, this research proposes that whilst micro-level support and training for carers is necessary and useful, it is crucial to move beyond such initiatives to make macro-level reform. This research also raises doubts regarding the capacity of home-based care to become fully trauma-informed due to potential incompatibilities with the current risk-averse and deficit-oriented paradigm of the child protection system.Doctor of Philosophy
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Magnusson, Mira. "Nurses’ experiences of involving family members in home-based care : A qualitative study with nurses working in home-based care provided out of consultorios in Havana, Cuba." Thesis, Ersta Sköndal högskola, Institutionen för vårdvetenskap, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-4632.
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Background: In Havana, Cuba, they have established a great availability of health centers that work close to the patients and their families, both geographically and socially. Family-centered nursing is something that is sought within the health care in the Western world. Numerous studies have shown that family-centered nursing increases patient safety and patient satisfaction and to provide psychological support to family members has shown to contribute to a better well-being to both them and the patient. Aim: To describe nurses’ experiences of involving family members in home-based care provided through consultorios in Havana, Cuba. Method: A qualitative study was completed with semi-structured interviews with five nurses that was currently working or had been working at consultorios in Havana, Cuba. Analysis was done according to qualitative content analysis based on the approach presented by Graneheim and Lundman. Results: The data resulted in two main-themes. The family members were presented as informants to the nurses, psychological support to the patients and as an asset to the nurse. The nurses further explained the importance of seeing the whole picture of their patient’s situation, how they educate family members to be involved in the care and how they support the family members psychologically. Discussion: The nurses’ experience of family members' role and their work to involve them was discussed in relation to previous research and the concept of family-centered care as presented by Benzein, Hagberg and Saveman.Bakgrund: I Havanna, Kuba, har de upprättat en stor tillgänglighet av sjukvårdsinstanser och hälsocenter som arbetar nära patienterna och deras familjer, både geografiskt och socialt, så kallade consultorios. Familjecentrerad omvårdnad är något som eftersträvas inom sjukvård i västvärlden. Ett flertal studier har visat att familjecentrerad omvårdnad ökat patientsäkerheten och patientens tillfredställelse av vården och att psykologiskt stöd för anhöriga bidrar till en bättre hälsa både för dem och patienten. Syfte: Att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att involvera familjemedlemmar i hemsjukvård som bedrivs utifrån consultorios i Havanna, Kuba. Metod: En kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes och fem sjuksköterskor som arbetade eller har arbetat på consultorios i Havanna, Kuba, deltog. Resultatet bearbetades utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys baserad på den strategi som beskrivits av Graneheim och Lundman. Resultat: I resultatet framkom två huvudteman. Familjemedlemmarna presenterades dels som informanter men också som en tillgång i sjuksköterskans arbete samt som ett psykologiskt stöd till patienterna. Vidare berättade sjuksköterskorna vikten av att se hela bilden av deras patienters situation, hur de utbildar familjemedlemmar i omvårdnaden och hur de stödjer familjemedlemmar psykologiskt. Diskussion: Sjuksköterskornas upplevelse av familjemedlemmars roll och deras arbete med att involvera dessa diskuterades i relation till tidigare forskning och begreppet familjecentrerad omvårdnad som det beskrivits av Benzein, Hagberg och Saveman.
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Zhao, Ting. "A qualitative case study of youth transition from out of home care (residential care) in China : variation on an international theme?" Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2017. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.728840.
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The transition of young people from out of home care has received increasing attention internationally. It has been reported that generally young people in care tend to be exposed to more risk than those who have not been looked after by the state. Whether or not that is the case in China is not so clear. The meaning of ‘transition from residential care’ in mainland China has not yet been fully explored through child-centric approach. This study adds to what is known about the leaving care in mainland China through the exploration of the life experience of children in care when they are facing the transition. The research is designed as a qualitative case study. Through semi-structured interviews, participant observation and document analysis, the research aim to provide an insight into youth's experience in residential care in mainland China to Illustrate the challenge they face in terms of their transition. Opinions from both young people and care workers are collected in order to understand the transition experience. The findings of the study suggest that the experience of transition from out of home care in mainland China shows a similarity to other national transition research but has its own particular features. This reflects the marginal place within contemporary Chinese child welfare policy of children placed in care due to the absence of parenting. Although education is central to provision for these children it is not sufficient to meet their varied needs. This case study of current provision and practice as young people come to face discharge shows that it is not able to provide the support for youth to make their transition effectively. The study suggests that using an ecological perspective and thinking about attachment, resilience and identity could help develop and improve existing policy, services and practice.
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Leon, Sonia. "A culturally sensitive mentoring program for youth placed in out-of-home care| A grant proposal." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1527975.
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The purpose of this project was to design a mentoring program, identify potential funding sources, and write a grant to fund a culturally sensitive mentoring program. This mentoring program targets Latino youth receiving child welfare services from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. This mentoring program aims at assisting foster youth avoid potential maladaptive outcomes by increasing their self-esteem, academic achievement and life skills. An extensive literature review increased awareness about the benefits of a mentoring program for at-risk youth. The Stuart Foundation was selected as the best funding sources to support this project. A grant proposal was then written to support a culturally sensitive mentoring program targeting Latino foster youth.
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Filbert, Katharine M. "Developmental Assets as a Predictor of Resilient Outcomes Among Aboriginal Young People in Out-of-Home Care." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/23325.
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These two mixed method studies are among the first to focus on resilience among Canadian Aboriginal (i.e., First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) youth living in out-of-home care. The first study was quantitative and consisted of cross-sectional and longitudinal components. For the cross-sectional investigation, the participants consisted of 510 First Nations (237 females, 273 males aged 10-16 years), 39 Métis (15 females, 24 males aged 10-16 years), and 10 Inuit young people (2 females, 8 males aged 10-16 years) who were drawn from an ongoing study of young people in out-of-home care in Ontario collected during 2007-2008. The second Canadian adaptation of the Assessment and Action Record (AAR-C2-2006; Flynn, Ghazal, & Legault, 2006) from the ongoing Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project was used to collect data. The criterion variables were the young person’s self-esteem, score on a suicidality index, educational performance, pro-social behaviour, and positive emotional and behavioural development. The predictor variables included the young person’s gender, ethnicity, age, behavioural difficulties, cognitive impairments, attainment of LAC goals, and number of developmental assets. The longitudinal investigation used the same design as study one, but examined the OnLAC data for year eight (2008-2009) in following 260 young people from the sample in study one. The second study was qualitative and involved interviewing 21 First Nations children and adolescents residing in out-of-home care in northern Ontario to obtain their views about resilience and the factors related to the presence or absence of resilient outcomes. The results provided some support for the hypothesis, in that a greater number of developmental assets were related to more positive outcomes on four of the five criterion variables. The results of the focus groups and in-depth interviews suggested that family members, members of the community (coaches), teachers, and child welfare workers, all play important roles in fostering the youths’ success.
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Murphy, Sara K. "Factors utilized in screening and substantiation decisions of reports of maltreatment of children in out of home care /." The Ohio State University, 1994. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487857546388532.
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Waller, Jakia L. "SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN WHO EXPERIENCE MULTIPLE OUT OF HOME PLACEMENTS." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1029869019.
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Withington, Tania L. "Factors that influence the placement trajectories of children in out-of-home care: Perspectives of carers and children." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2017. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/107159/4/Tania_Withington_Thesis.pdf.
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With increasing numbers of children being placed in out-of-home care it is vital that we have a better understanding of the factors that influence the placement journey, specifically placement stability and placement movement. This convergent mixed method research investigated factors influencing placement trajectory from the perspective of children and carers in the out-of-home care system. Child-carer engagement at the levels of individual child or carer, family-care context and child protection system were found to be critical. A key outcome was the recommendation to structure out-of-home care policy and practice around the placement trajectory concept, placing relationship at the centre, and using child-focused outcomes to evaluate out of home care.
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Derlein, Kelly. "Collaboration between county social workers and school counselors with child maltreatment victims in out-of-home care." Menomonie, WI : University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2005. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2005/2005derleink.pdf.
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McGinniss, David. "Histories of the Ballarat District Orphan Asylum, Ballarat Orphanage and Ballarat Children’s Home, 1866-1983." Thesis, Federation University Australia, 2019. http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/178623.
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The thesis outlines the development of three children’s residential institutions on the site of 200 Victoria Street, Ballarat East: the Ballarat District Orphan Asylum (1866-1909), the Ballarat Orphanage (1909-1968), and the Ballarat Children’s Home (1968-1983). These institutions are the historical precursors to the contemporary community service organisation now known as Child and Family Services Ballarat, or simply Cafs. The thesis focuses particularly on the shifting cultures of these institutions, to identify waves of change, surging and receding to form long patterns of alternating reform and repose. Established ways of operating overlapped with new and developing ideas, to create a dynamic environment constantly negotiating its relationships with government, communities and of course the families and children who came to rely on them. As a result, when transformative change occurred, it was difficult for leaders and policy-makers to recognise it as such at the time, as it was often experienced more as crisis and response. This provides a useful set of historical examples for current leadership and practitioners to learn from. Most critically, however, it locates the thousands of children who were institutionalised - eating, sleeping, playing, learning and working – as central to the narrative formation of identity for the historic institutions themselves, the contemporary organisation they have become, and the communities of Ballarat and beyond. Children were sent to these institutions from all over Victoria and Australia and made their homes in many different places when they left. Nevertheless, the stories and lives of the children from these institutions and the adults they have become are a key part of contemporary collective identity. The institutions are remembered with complex and contradictory mixtures of regret, loss, trauma and fondness, reflecting the mixed legacies that these institutions have left in contemporary Ballarat and beyond.Doctor of Philosophy
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Baldini, Myung Hwa. "Perceptions from foster care practitioners on the best interest of children and teenagers within the Brazilian strategy for reforming out-of-home care." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Tema Barn, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-179783.
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Within the Brazilian strategy to reform out-of-home care services, efforts have been directed to the prioritization of foster care over congregate care. This study draws from the perspective that childhood is socially construed, therefore child protection systems are dependent of notions and ideals of childhood, especially concerning the child deprived of parental care. Interviews with ten professionals involved in the implementation and execution of foster care services in different cities were conducted for this study. Thematic analysis of interviews was triangulated with the contents of National Guidelines for out-of-home care services and legal provisions with the aim of investigating how ideas on children deprived of parental care and their best interests are translated into practice. Three research questions guided the study: (1) how participants perceive the out-of-home care reform and the provisions of rights in different care modalities, especially regarding how children placed in different types of out-of-home care are perceived, (2) how participants view children’s best interests and which practices are believed to secure them and (3) how practitioners’ views relate to the contents of the National Guidelines. Five themes emerged in the analysis: a scientific and legal defense of (1) foster care as the most up to date form of out-of-home care, the prioritization of (2) children’s needs for individualized parental care, that (3) practitioners’ strong discretion is conditioned by foster families’ choices, that (4) institutionalization and group are detrimental to children, and the invocation that (5) children must be onboard. The study concludes that a clearer conceptualization of the rights and bests interests of children deprived of parental is required to better inform the reform of child protection and its practices, where consideration to children’s participation could be extended over acceptance to decisions.
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McGrath-Lone, Louise. "Using longitudinal administrative data to characterise the use of out-of-home care among looked after children in England." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2017. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10038396/.
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BACKGROUND: Children in out-of-home care are a vulnerable population. In England, disaggregated data related to out-of-home care have been collected since 1992 through the Children Looked After (CLA) dataset. However, official analyses of CLA data produce annual statistical ‘snapshots’, which cannot account for the complexity of care placements throughout childhood. AIM: To characterise the use of out-of-home care among children in England using longitudinal administrative data. METHODS: Using longitudinal CLA data for a large, representative sample of children born 1992-94 (N=19,848), I estimated the cumulative incidence of placement in out-of-home care during childhood, described variation in childhood care histories and identified latent classes of out-of-home care. I also explored the stability of care placements and exits from care using sequence analysis and Cox proportional hazards modelling. Finally, I described how the use of out-of-home care changed over time using data for children born between 1992 and 2012 (N=93,652). RESULTS: Overall, one in thirty children born 1992-94 (3.3%) entered out-of-home care by age 18, with higher rates observed among ethnic minorities. Although childhood care histories were varied, distinct sub-groups based on legal status, duration and stability of care were evident and more than 40% of children had a single, short, voluntary placement. Most children appeared to achieve some form of permanence either within or outside the care system; however, some groups were at increased risk of exiting and re-entering care. Since 1992, the cumulative incidence of entering care has increased and placements have become longer and more stable. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal analyses of administrative social care data can refine our understanding of how out-of-home care is used as a social care intervention among children in England. However, the utility of the CLA dataset for evaluating changes in practice and policy is limited by the scope of information it collects.
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Sharrock, Patty. "Efforts to Engage Parents and Case Outcomes in the Child Welfare System." Scholar Commons, 2013. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4579.
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The vast majority of child maltreatment in the United States is perpetrated by parents and over half of maltreated children placed in out-of-home care are reunified with the parents from which they were removed. Additional victimization of these children sometimes necessitates their reentry into out-of-home care. These realities emphasize the need to engage parents in assessment, planning, and services throughout the life of a child welfare case. Engagement is a key ingredient in social work practice and is widely accepted in the child protection arena as critical to successful service planning and participation. However, little research has focused on the relationship between engaging parents and child welfare case outcomes. Utilizing data systematically collected by the Florida Department of Children and Families as part of its quality assurance program, this study examined the relationship between case worker efforts to engage parents in case planning, decisions impacting the child, and services; and the length of a child's stay in out-of-home care related to being discharged within 12 months of entering out-of-home care, and a child's reentry into out-of-home care within 12 months of being reunified with his or her parents. Cox regression analyses revealed that Hispanic children were less likely to be discharged from out-of-home care within 12 months of entry and younger children were more likely to reenter out-of-home care within 12 months of being reunified with their parents. Multivariate models revealed that case worker efforts to engage fathers in case planning and decisions impacting the child were significant predictors of children being discharged from out-of-home care within 12 months of entry, though this did not hold true for efforts to engage mothers. No case worker efforts to engage parents were significant predictors of children reentering out-of-home care within 12 months of being reunified with their parents. Although this study took an important step in more fully understanding how engaging parents may influence case outcomes, the findings suggest considerations for social work practice and research. Additional training to enhance cultural awareness and cultural competency skills could aid case workers in tailoring their engagement efforts to the race/ethnicity of children and families with whom they work. Further research into the lack of association between engaging mothers and length of stay, and between engaging parents and reentry into out-of-home care is also warranted. Quantitatively measuring engagement from the parents' perspective should also advance the line of inquiry into the relationship between engagement and child welfare case outcomes.
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Harding, Leith Forbes. "Where is home: Foster and kin carer's perceptions of their role." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2020. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/204191/1/Leith_Harding_Thesis.pdf.
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The thesis by publication is comprised of three published studies that examined the experiences of foster and kin carers in Australia specific to carer stress, the stress-satisfaction relationship in providing care, and a comparative look at the wellbeing of foster and kin carers. An anonymous self-report online survey assessed carer reported stress and role satisfaction, their perceptions of the child in their care, and the child protection system in which they provide care. Four main areas were identified specific to carer stress, satisfaction in the care role, access to services, resources and support, and the negative impact of the uncertainty of the child protection system for caregivers. The research highlights the complex and challenging role of caregivers in Queensland.
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Menozzi, Clare. "Performance based contracting as a policy tool for promoting timely exits from out-of-home care : a comparative analysis." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2016. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3473/.
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Ever since the late 1950s, one of the main objectives of child protection policies in the United States has been to reduce the amount of time children spend in out-of-home care. For nearly four decades, policymakers have sought to achieve this goal primarily by providing various types of services to help children reunify with their parents more quickly. However, in recent years a new approach has emerged which emphasises the use of quantitative targets to expedite exits from care, even when this entails terminating parental rights or pursuing alternatives to family reunification such as child adoption. Since then, states have adopted very different policy approaches to promote timely exits from out-of-home care. Yet relatively few comparative studies have been undertaken to examine which approaches have yielded better outcomes. Further, the evidence base on whether some approaches may be associated with negative distortionary effects, particularly with regard to permanency outcomes, remains limited. In this research, I focus on performance-based contracting (PBC); a type of policy approach which links compensation of child welfare agencies to the achievement of specific quantitative targets. My analysis focuses on four states: two that have employed PBC to reduce the amount of time children spend in care—Illinois and North Carolina—and two that have not—New Jersey and Washington state, using multi-year, multi-state entry cohorts based on the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). I find that PBC states recorded greater improvements in the timeliness of permanency outcomes compared to states that do not employ PBC during the period considered. I also find that compositional effects related to the race of children entering care and the type of placement setting chosen, in combination with other influences including secular trends, may play a part in shaping this outcome for particular groups. I am, however, unable to conclude whether these outcomes are the result of PBC alone or a combination of other factors, which I am not able to capture or control for with the data utilised. Further, my analysis cannot conclusively determine whether some of these outcomes might be accompanied by various distortionary effects, including “cherry picking” or other types of gaming. My research, however, does cast doubt on some of the “mechanisms” through which changes in the timeliness in permanency outcomes are achieved as well as raises the need for a more nuanced and complex theoretical framework to explain how PBC might shape the timeliness of permanency outcomes.
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Kaufman, Angela M. "Keeping the White Family Together: Racial Disparities in the Out-of-Home Placements of Maltreated Children." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1306351829.
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Smith, Rebecca Ann. "Factors that influence decision-making for out-of-home placement of Alzheimer's disease patients by caregiver wives." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1998. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1776.
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Lean, Rachel Emma. "The Mental Health Outcomes of Children Born to Methadone Dependent Mothers : The Role of Out-of-Home Care at Age 4.5-Years." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/6865.
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Children born to methadone maintained mothers are at high risk of adverse socio-emotional and behavioural outcomes. However, existing studies inadequately report the extent of maternal methadone and other drug use, focus on a narrow range of outcomes, and have given little consideration to the possible impact of child protection and placement experiences. As part of a prospective longitudinal study, mothers of 53 methadone-exposed (ME) children and 54 non-exposed comparison children were interviewed at four time-points from term to the child turning 4.5-years. Detailed information about infant clinical, maternal and family background characteristics was recorded. The nature of all child out-of-home placements was reported at regular intervals using life history calendar methods. At 4.5 years, all caregivers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and were interviewed using the Developmental and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) to examine the extent of child socio-emotional and behavioural adjustment problems as well as risk for a range of clinical disorders.
By age 4.5 years, ME children were rated by their caregivers as having higher levels of emotional (p = .01), peer-relationship (p = .01), hyperactivity/inattention (p = .01), conduct (p = .01) and total problems (p = .01) than comparison children on the SDQ. Between-groups differences persisted for conduct problems (p = .003) and total difficulties (p = .006) even after controlling for a range of covariates associated with maternal methadone maintenance therapy, including single motherhood, maternal educational achievement, family socioeconomic status (SES), and other drug use in pregnancy. On the DAWBA, children in the ME group were also significantly more at risk than comparison children for externalising disorders spanning ADHD (p = .02), hyperkinesis (p =.01), oppositional defiant disorder (p < .001), and conduct disorder (p = .007). Examination of all study children‟s family situation at 3-monthly intervals over the first 4.5-years revealed that 43% of children in the ME group had experienced at least one foster care placement (range: 1 – 7). In contrast, no comparison children had any placement experience (p < .01). Within the methadone group, maternal risk factors that predicted the likelihood of child placement included maternal methadone dose in pregnancy (p <.01), SES (p = .03), maternal depression (p <.01) and the extent of tobacco (p = .01) and illicit substance use while pregnant (p = .05). ME children exposed to placement showed some increased risk for internalising disorders such as separation anxiety disorder (p = .35) and specific phobia disorder (p = .35), whereas ME children remaining in their biological mothers‟ care tended to have an increased risk for externalising disorders such as ADHD, hyperkinesis and oppositional defiant disorder, although these differences did not reach statistical significance (ps < .05). Child placement did not appear to be independently contributing to the later mental health risks for ME children, at least to age 4.5-years. Rather, a very similar set of maternal psychosocial risk factors were associated with both out-of-home placement and child adjustment problems, thus highlighting the importance of socio-environmental adversity leading to both child removal from parental care and externalising behaviour problems. Further longer-term follow-up of ME children will be important to fully understand the emerging relationships between out-of-home care and the mental health outcomes of ME children.
These study findings have important clinical and public health implications. First, the increased risk for socio-emotional and behavioural adjustment problems and disorder as observed among the ME group suggests that appropriate clinical support is needed to address the problems experienced by these children, with the preschool years being a timely opportunity for early targeted interventions. Second, given that high risk ME children are also a population likely to encounter considerable early environmental instability, public healthcare protocols should be introduced to meet the specific developmental needs of young ME children as they transition through and adjust to the placement process.
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Stevens, Keilah. "Teachers’ Experiences With Students Who Live in Foster Care." University of Dayton / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1406916914.
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Golding, Frank. "Care leavers recovering voice and agency through counter-narratives." Thesis, Federation University Australia, 2021. http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/177497.
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The publications in this thesis discuss recurring issues in the historical context of out-of-home Care (OOHC). They were written for various audiences but are arranged not by date of publication but thematically so as to present a coherent argument about the recovery of voice and agency by those who experienced OOHC. The thesis begins with an Overview which discusses autoethnographic and multi-layered approaches to history and shows how subject matter helps determine the choice of methodology and sources and, in turn, how methodologies influence the selection of sources and shape content. Authorities in Australia have a long history of removing children from their families when they are deemed to be neglected or ‘in moral danger’. Out of the public gaze, these children were often rendered silent, their voices simply unheard or deliberately supressed by the exercise of total institutional power. This thesis analyses how children were marginalised, cast as ‘the other’, and framed as deserving no better than they got. In the aftermath of a series of inquiries into institutional child maltreatment—some of which came about as a result of survivor advocacy and relied heavily on direct testimony—we now better understand children’s institutional experiences. In this changing environment, advocacy groups are effectively challenging the received accounts of historical Care. Their challenge has gained impetus from the opening up of records through rights legislation, especially access to personal case files. Large numbers of Care leavers have found their files inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading, and this discovery has stimulated many to produce compelling counter-narratives of the lived experiences of their childhood, and the living experiences that endure. The thesis concludes with an extended analytical commentary reflecting new interpretations of emerging histories, assessing changes in the status of Care leavers, and identifying directions warranting further development in OOHC.Doctor of Philosophy
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Osborn, Alexandra L. "A national profile and review of services and interventions for children and young people with high support needs in Australian out-of-home care." Click here to access, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/37849.
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One of the major challenges currently being faced by out-of-home care services is the issue of placement breakdown and multiple placements, and the psychological effects of these experiences. Previous longitudinal research by Barber and Delfabbro (2004) indicates that approximately 15-20% of young people in Australian out-of-home care have significant emotional and behavioural problems or 'high support needs' that often condemns them to a life of repeated placement instability and further psychosocial harm. This thesis reports the findings of Australia's first national comparative study of 364 children with this placement profile in four Australian States (Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia). Based on detailed interviews with case-workers, case-file reading, and comprehensive analysis of objective placement data, this study provides a detailed analysis of the social and family background of this population of children, their psychosocial profile, service history, and their placement experiences. It was found almost all of the children with high support needs in Australian out-of-home care had been subjected to traumatic, abusive, and highly unstable family backgrounds. A proportion of young people had experienced over 30 placement changes and approximately 70% scored in the clinical range of emotional and behavioural disturbance. The young people in the sample were generally very similar in their characteristics. Children within this population appear to form one single cluster based upon very common family experiences; namely, the combined effects of domestic violence, substance abuse, physical violence and neglect. Such findings suggest very strongly that out-of- home care policy cannot, and should not, be considered in isolation from other important areas of social policy and public health. Following the review of the characteristics of the children, the thesis examined the range of therapeutic interventions and placement options that might be suitable to address their needs. This section involved a literature review, an extensive internet search of care and service options and a review of program information wherever this was available. It is clear from the review that it is very difficult to maintain this population of children and young people in stable family-based foster care arrangements within the existing out-of-home care system. This thesis highlights the need for a greater integration of services and a greater focus on ensuring an ongoing commitment to addressing the entrenched psychological and social difficulties contributing to placement instability. There is also a great need for a re-structuring and re-thinking of the continuum of care services available to children in out-of-home care, including the possible development of professional foster care services and an increased use and availability of treatment group residential care options. Most importantly, a re-structuring of the way child protective services and family, social and mental health services are provided and coordinated by State governments is felt to be desperately needed.Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Psychology, 2006.
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Hall, Kelcey L., Jill D. Stinson, and Michele R. Moser. "Impact of Childhood Adversity and Out-of-Home Placement for Male Adolescents Who Have Engaged in Sexually Abusive Behavior." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2017. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/4966.
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Child maltreatment and household dysfunction have long been linked to delinquency, adult criminality, and sexual offending. However, the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), factors related to out-of-home placement, and the onset of maladaptive behaviors has not thoroughly been explored in adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior. In the present study, we examined archival records of 120 male youths who have received treatment for sexually abusive behavior. As expected, the male adolescents in this sample have experienced higher rates of ACEs than samples of adult males in the community, adult males who committed sexual offenses, and juvenile justice–involved males as reported in the literature. Discrete-time survival analyses yielded increased risks of onset of aggression and sexually abusive behavior during early childhood and mid-to-late childhood, with significant associations between higher ACE scores and a greater number of out-of-home placements. Implications and future directions are discussed.
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Alford, Keith Anthony. "A qualitative study of an Africentric Rites of Passage Program used with adolescent African American males in out-of-home care: Looking for unexpected themes /." The Ohio State University, 1997. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487943610785367.
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Andrews, R. "Placing a child with learning disabilities into out-of-home care : parents' and caregivers' decision making processes and 'breaking point' : a grounded theory exploration." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2014. http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/23436/.
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Research suggests that parents of children with learning disabilities are particularly vulnerable to stress and that parental distress impacts negatively on family functioning, parenting roles and relationships, behaviours, socialisation and the psychological well-being of both parent and child; as a consequence many parents reach ‘breaking point’ and will choose to place their child in out-of-home care. However, the research literature outlining this process is limited. The purpose of this research was twofold: to explore the process leading to ‘breaking point’ in parents and caregivers of children with learning disabilities and how this impacted on the decision making process leading to out-of-home care, and secondly, to formulate a grounded theory of this process and its consequences. The study used a social constructionist grounded theory methodology. Fourteen participants were interviewed and three participants completed a qualitative survey. The sample included two birth fathers, twelve birth mothers, one adoptive mother, one sibling and one guardian. The level of their child’s learning disability varied from mild to severe. In all cases, the child had additional diagnoses, such as autism, fragile-X syndrome and Down’s syndrome. A grounded theory was constructed from the data outlining the basic psychosocial process which led to ‘breaking point’ and the decision to place the child in out-of-home care. Parents developing awareness of their child’s disability combined with social prejudice, contributed to the development of a negative parental identity. To defend against this, parents created a compensatory good parent identity and in doing so convinced themselves that they could cope with the 24/7 child. This increased stress, caused relationship breakdowns, financial difficulties and mental health problems. Parents faced additional stressors when screaming to be heard by professionals as they sought guidance, diagnosis and support. Eventually breaking point was experienced as they became overwhelmed. This initiated the decision making about out-of-home care. Once the move occurred, a process of adjusting and managing the loss of role was entered, linking to evaluation and constant monitoring of care. In this sense parental responsibility was never relinquished and parental roles were redefined. The findings outline a lack of support, information and guidance for parents and families based on their experiences of prejudice and dismissal of concerns by society, professionals and on occasion family and friends. Suggestions for future research and research limitations are explored. The implications for practice and more generally for counselling psychology are also considered.
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Al-idani, Dua, and Daniella Habib. "Skolgång i samhällets vård : En intervjustudie om unga vuxnas erfarenheter av sin skolgång under placeringstiden." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för socialt arbete och kriminologi, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-30013.
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Uppsatsen syftade till att förstå hur unga vuxna som tidigare varit samhällsplacerade retrospektivt beskriver sin skolgång. Fem unga vuxna i åldrarna 21-26 år intervjuades i en kvalitativ studie. Teorin KASAM hjälpte oss att identifiera de resurser och faktorer som bidrog till graden av informanternas känsla av sammanhang. Resultatet visade att samtliga intervjupersoner blev placerade i olika åldrar och hade skilda erfarenheter av sin skolgång under placeringstiden. Samtliga intervjupersoner fick stöd från vuxna med sina studier vilket hade en positiv inverkan på deras skolgång. Resultatet visade även att vissa informanter hade en negativ erfarenhet av skolgången under placeringstiden på grund av mobbning, psykisk ohälsa och ett flertal omplaceringar. Då vi endast intervjuade fem personer gick det inte att generalisera resultatet till en större kontext i förhållande till tidigare forskning. Gemensamt för samtliga informanter var att de hade läst på högskolenivå eller hade planer på att göra det.The aim of this study was to understand how young adults whom previously had been in out-of-home care retrospectively described their schooling. Five young adults between the ages of 21-26 were interviewed in a qualitative study. The theory KASAM helped identify the resources and factors that influenced the informants’ sense of coherence. The results showed that the informants were put in out-of-home care at different ages and had different experiences with their studies while in care. They received help from adults in regards to their studies, which had a positive impact on their schooling. Some informants had negative experiences from their schooling while in care caused by bullying, mental health issues and having to move multiple times. Because of our small sample we could not generalize the results. What the informants had in common was the fact that they had college-level education or were planning to receive it.
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McRae, Lynda. "‘You can’t hear a child you don’t see’ : Frontline workers’ perspectives on engaging young people in out-of-home care in the decisions affecting their lives." Thesis, Federation University Australia, 2020. http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/174038.
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Traditionally, young people in out-of-home care have been marginalised from the most important decision-making processes that affect their lives. A compelling, contemporary evidence base confirms that this dilemma persists despite the ratification of young people’s participation rights in legislation and policy, which has grave implications for young people’s wellbeing, the quality of decisions and subsequent interventions. This place-based, participatory action research drew on the perspectives of case and program managers at the frontline of out-of-home care service delivery in Inner Gippsland to provide unique insights into the barriers and opportunities to increased inclusion of young people in the decisions being made about them. The study was supported through a university–industry research collaboration within the Inner Gippsland Children and Youth Area Partnership. This thesis contends that a confluence of factors in response to unprecedented demand on the Inner Gippsland child welfare service system has significantly eroded the time and opportunity for face-to-face practice between workers and young people, which is fundamental to the facilitation of young people’s engagement in decision-making. The research process was underpinned by a blend of critical theory and the capability approach. New insights were developed to advocate for diverse, context-specific interventions and broader system reforms to expand the capacity for workers to engage in face-to-face practice with young people. An authorising environment that legitimises participatory practice is required to support connections between workers and young people. This thesis argues that the alignment of rights-based participation principles with critical components of the system—policy, performance management regimes, compliance and administrative practices and professionalisation strategies—could transform decision-making processes for young people. This is especially vital for a growing cohort of young people who live in out-of-home care. Keywords: participation, decision-making processes, face-to-face practice, children, young people, critical theory, capability approach, action research, out-of-home care researchDoctor of Philosophy
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Magnusson, Ilja. "Hur ser ungas övergång från familjehemsplacering till vuxenlivet ut och hur hanteras den? - ur ett professionellt perspektiv." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-189634.
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In research, the transition from foster care to adult life has been pointed out as a significant and problematic period in young people´s lives. However, we know less about how this transition is handled professionally. Through qualitative interviews, this study examines social worker´s views and experiences of this transition process. The research questions focus on what needs social workers see in young people´s transition, how they describe their own work, and what strategies and tools that may promote the transition. The results are analyzed using the following theoretical concepts – discretion, emotional support, informative support,instrumental support and evaluative support. The study shows that young people need long-term relationships, certain practical skills and each type of support. Work with the transition is based on these needs. Here, social workers have an exploratory and coordination role thatconsists of many tasks. While they describe some specific strategies and tools, the results show that there are difficulties within this work. The roles of foster carers and social workers in young people´s transition to adulthood are discussed.
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Omoregie, Jenny. "Kontakten mellan det dygnsplacerade barnet och dess ursprungsfamilj : En kvalitativ studie om socialsekreterares arbete gällande kontakt mellan dygnsplacerade barn och deras ursprungsfamilj." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Institutionen för hälsa och välfärd, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-38403.
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Bakgrund: Tidigare forskning visar på vikten av att stötta barn i dygnsvård i deras kontakt med ursprungsfamiljen. Det finns flertalet studier som belyser barnet och ursprungsfamiljens upplevelser av kontakten dem emellan. Hur socialsekreterarna arbetar med kontakten i Sverige är dock inte ett lika utforskat område.Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare arbetar med kontakten mellan barn i dygnsplacering och barnets ursprungsfamilj samt vilka risker och skyddsfaktorer de såg med kontakten mellan det dygnsplacerade barnet och dess ursprungsfamilj.Metod: Metoden som användes var kvalitativ där kvalitativa intervjuer samt en fokusgrupp ligger som grund för resultatet.Resultat och slutsats: Socialsekreterarna ansåg att deras arbete kräver en förmåga av att vara kreativ i hur de planerar kontakten samt i deras egna bemötande till ursprungsfamiljen. Det framkom att utöver vårdnadshavare var övriga personer i ursprungsfamiljen bortglömda eller bortprioriterade då kontakten planerades.Background: Earlier studies show the importance of supporting the contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth-family. There are several studies that highlight the experiences of the contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth-families. How social workers in Sweden work with the contact is an unexplored area.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how social workers manage contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth-family and the risk and safety factors regarding the contact between the child in out-of-home care and its birth-family.Method: The basis for the qualitative study were individual interviews and a focus group.Results and conclusion: The social workers considered that their work required an ability to be creative in how they plan the contact between the child and its birth-family and how they respond to the birth-family. The study also demonstrates how others from the birth-family than the child’s parents were forgotten or ignored in the contact planning.
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Hoare, Sarah. "Understanding end-of-life admissions : an interview study of patients admitted to a large English hospital shortly before death." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2017. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/275055.
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Hospital admissions for patients close to the end of life are considered ‘inappropriate’ in contemporary English health policy. Hospitals are supposedly unable to offer a ‘good’ death for patients, and dying there is thought to contradict patient choice, since patients are assumed to want to die at home. However, almost half of all deaths in England in 2015 occurred in hospital, and of these, nearly a third died within three days of admission. This thesis seeks to explore why these admissions are considered to be a problem and how they occur. Through a systematic review of UK literature I found that it cannot be stated that most patients want to die at home, because of the extent of missing data (preferences not asked, expressed, reported or absent). This finding challenges the justification that admissions are inappropriate because they contravene patient choice. Similarly inconclusive evidence about the undesirability, cost, and lack of need for patients to be in hospital were also found in a review of policy. Together with analysis of historical trends in hospital and hospice provision, it is apparent that attitudes towards end-of-life admissions reflect existing tensions about the role of hospital as an acute provider, and as a place of death. An analysis of interviews conducted with healthcare staff and next-of-kin involved in the admission of patients (case-patients) who died shortly after being admitted to Meadowbridge, a large English hospital explored these tensions further. I found that whilst hospital was not recognised as a place where ‘good’ deaths typically occurred, it was acknowledged as an emergency place of care. In this context, patients without obvious need for hospital care were nevertheless admitted to the hospital and the environment was subsequently recognised to offer distinct benefits. The need for emergency care reflected the difficulties of providing end-of-life care in the community. For dying to occur appropriately, home had to be adapted and care organised by healthcare staff. Both tasks were complicated by the unpredictability of dying, and family carers helped to absorb much of the uncertainty and support patients to die at home. Ambulance staff became involved when patients had care needs that exceeded care quickly and easily available in the community. When called to the case-patients, ambulance staff instituted familiar practices in transferring them to hospital. Hospital was recognised as a default place of care because ambulance staff struggled to facilitate alternative care and lacked sufficient professional authority to keep patients at home. The admissions of the case-patients represent the best attempts of staff to navigate the tangled practices of end-of-life care. These practices are the result of the actions of the staff, which in turn both constrained and enabled their action in providing care to patients. The term ‘inappropriate’ to describe admissions does not encompass these attempts, and moreover, devalued the significant care provided by healthcare staff in the community and hospital.
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Poletto, Michele. "Bem-estar subjetivo : um estudo longitudinal com crianças e adolescentes em situação de vulnerabilidade social." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/31938.
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O bem-estar subjetivo e eventos de vida estressores foram investigados transversalmente (Estudo I), longitudinalmente (Estudo II) e como grupo de Attrition (Estudo III) com 1080 participantes de ambos os sexos, 7-16 anos, em situação de vulnerabilidade, que viviam com a família ou em instituições de acolhimento. Foram utilizados: entrevista estruturada, Inventário de Eventos Estressores, Escala de Afeto e Escala Multidimensional de Satisfação de Vida. Os resultados mostraram que os participantes das famílias vivenciaram menos eventos estressores, estavam mais satisfeitos com a família e com o self, vivenciaram menos afeto negativo e mais positivo, quando comparados aos institucionalizados. No entanto, o grupo do acolhimento preservou a satisfação com a escola e com as amizades e, ao mesmo tempo, aumentou a satisfação com o self e self comparado ao longo do tempo, possivelmente devido aos cuidados recebidos no acolhimento e ao afastamento das situações adversas na família. Subsídios para intervenções são discutidos.The subjective well-being and stressful life events were investigated transversally (Study I), longitudinally (Study II), and as a group of Attrition (Study III) in a total sample of 1080 participants of both sexes, 7-16 years in a situation of vulnerability, separated in two groups: living with family or out-of-home care institutions. A structured interview, a Stressful Events Inventory, an Affect Scale and a Multidimensional Scale of Life Satisfaction were used. The results showed that living with family group experienced fewer stressful events, were more satisfied with family and their selves, experienced less negative affect, and had more positive, comparing to the institutionalized. However, that group kept the school and friendship satisfaction, and increased satisfaction with self over time. The institutionalization and removal from adverse situations at home may be an explanation for those results. Support interventions are discussed.
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Nyberg, Anna, and Alexander Svärling. "Trösklar till placering i jourhem och risker för sammanbrott : Kvantitativ studie om jourhemsplaceringar i sex kommuner inom Storstockholm." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete - Socialhögskolan, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-173433.
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The aim of this study was to examine whether certain background variables (sex, age group, reasons for placement, amount of problems, involuntary placement/voluntary placement) affect the probability of children/youths being placed in emergency homes (jourhem) and whether these variables correlate with the occurrence of placement breakdown. The material consists of 445 requests for children/youths to be placed in emergency homes in six municipalities within the Stockholm region during a three-year-period (2016-2018). Frequency tables, cross tables and simple and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data and Bronfenbrenner's theory of developmental ecology was used as the theoretical framework. Results show that emergency homes differ from other types of placement in some regards: behavioral problems reduced the probability of placement occurring significantly compared to problems relating to the parent's abilities as a caregiver. Youths had a significantly higher risk for placement breakdown than children. Involuntary care reduced the likelihood of placement occurring and increased the risk for placement breakdown compared to voluntary placement. The prevalence of placement breakdowns was similar to the figures found in prior research on other forms of placements. The implications for social work and the need for further research is discussed.
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Qatanani, Abdulwahid, and Zeid Amd Abu. "Vi måste trolla med knäna : Socialsekreterares erfarenheter av eftervård till unga som lämnar dygnsvården." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Socialt arbete, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-32875.
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Titel: Vi måste trolla med knäna- Socialsekreterares erfarenheter av eftervård till unga som lämnar dygnsvården Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka vad socialsekreterare anser attsamhällsplacerade unga har för behov i övergången mot ett självständigt vuxenliv, samtderas erfarenheter av de stöd- och hjälpinsatser som erbjuds de unga eftersamhällsplaceringens avslut. Metod: För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar genomfördes tvåfokusgruppsintervjuer på två olika avdelningar inom en Socialtjänst i Sverige. Resultat: Resultatet av studien visade att socialsekreterarna anser att de unga somlämnar dygnsvården har olika förutsättningar och är i stort behov av socialt stöd ochpraktiskt stöd. Resultatet visade även att de eftervårdsinsatser som erbjuds idag intetillgodoser de identifierade behoven. Socialsekreterarna måste således trolla med knänaoch hitta egna lösningar. Diskussion: Samhället har ett stort ansvar för de placerade barnen även efter avslutadplacering och därför behöver lagen kring eftervård bli tydligare.Title: Leaving social care in Sweden- Social workers experiences of working with young care leavers Aim: The study aims at examining what social workers consider necessary for youngcare leavers during their transition to adulthood, together with social workers experiences of working with aftercare. Method: To achieve the aim of the study, two focus group interviews were conductedwith social workers from two different sections of social services in one municipality in Sweden. Results: The result showed that according to the social workers, the young care leaversare a vulnerable group and in need of social and practical support. The study alsoshowed that the existing aftercare policies and services offered to care leavers does notmeet the identified needs. The social workers cannot therefore provide for the needs ofthe care leavers thus being forced to make things work out of the impossible. Discussion: The social services within municipalities are solely responsible for care andaftercare of the out of home placed children and youth. Therefore, there is need fordistinct policies and guidelines on aftercare.
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Lagerlöf, Hélène. "Samhällsvård och välfärdsresurser : En studie av skolgång, fritid och kamratrelationer bland unga i familjehem och institutioner." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete - Socialhögskolan, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-73901.
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The dissertation analyses access to welfare resources within the areas of schooling, leisure and peer relations for youth in out of home care. The study was conducted in three counties in mid Sweden and is a replication of the recurrent Swedish surveys of living condition of children in general populations. By using the same design, children aged 13–18 (n=272) in foster care and residential care were approached. Throughout the analysis results are compared with conditions for peers living at home, based on data from the 2004/2005 survey on living conditions for children (Child-ULF). Furthermore the results are linked to the young people’s experience of psychosomatic complaints and emotional wellbeing and discussed within the theoretical framework of childhood sociology. Questions regarding society’s ability to convey resources to youth while in care as well as young persons’ potential to exercise determination while in care are also discussed. The study shows that youth in care in general have access to fewer resources than those in general populations in the studied areas. For youth in residential care the differences compared to peers living at home are substantial, while conditions for youth in foster care are more alike those of young people in general. Youth in residential care have fewer school related resources and fewer contacts with friends than peers living at home. Youth in foster and residential care are more subjected to bullying than the general population. The overall conclusions are that society, in the form of foster parents and residential staff fails in certain areas to convey resources to youth in care. The young people’s lack of resources poses limitations to their potential to exercise self-determination while in care. The study points out areas where targeted efforts might be needed to improve the living conditions for youth in out of home care and perhaps broaden their potential to exercise self-determination while in care as well as after.Välfärd i samhällsvården? En levnadsnivåundersökning av barn och ungdomar i socialtjänstens dygnsvård