Improving outcomes for children in out-of-home care: the role of therapeutic foster care

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 1064-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Frederico ◽  
Maureen Long ◽  
Patricia McNamara ◽  
Lynne McPherson ◽  
Richard Rose
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Therapeutic Foster Care ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Outcomes For Children

scholarly journals THE CHOICE BETWEEN ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE AS CHILD PROTECTION RESPONSES

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Gay
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Australian State ◽  
Outcomes For Children

Child protection systems in Australia are struggling to cope with the growing number of children requiring out-of-home care because of abuse or neglect occurring within families. Professionals and governments are grappling with the alternative care options that are available in an attempt to improve children’s health, education and emotional development. Research demonstrates that children suffer if they are exposed to multiple placements throughout childhood and this leads some to believe that the permanency of adoption would better serve the needs of children from broken families. This article considers the recent proposal by the South Australian State Coroner to expand the role of adoption as a child protection response, noting that New South Wales introduced such a model in 2014. It also examines international approaches in this area as well as the findings of studies into foster care and adoption. By drawing together the knowledge gained from different policy and practice approaches to out-of-home care, this article argues that introducing a blanket approach favouring adoption is not an appropriate option. It concludes that the only model likely to achieve the best outcomes for children is one involving individual responses to every child.

Therapeutic Kinship Care: A Carer's Perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne McPherson ◽  
Noel MacNamara
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Kinship Care ◽  
Therapeutic Foster Care ◽  
The Past ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Home Based Care

Kinship-care placements in Australia are now more prevalent than foster care and are the fastest growing form of out-of-home care in this country (AIHW, 2014). On 30 June 2013, 93% of Australian children in out-of-home care were in home-based care, with 43% of these in foster care and 48% in relative/kinship care (AIHW, 2014). The past decade has seen a greater understanding of children's needs in out-of-home care, with models of therapeutic care showing promise in Australia and internationally. These models, however, are designed almost exclusively for children placed in foster care or residential care, and as such do not consider the unique features of kinship care. This paper will identify the needs of children in out-of-home care, before briefly examining the concepts of therapeutic foster care as a response to children who have experienced trauma. Key distinctions between foster care and kinship care will be highlighted and implications for a conceptual model of therapeutic kinship care discussed.

“The Way All Foster Care Should Be”: The Experience of Therapeutic Foster Carers in the Victorian Circle Program

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Frederico ◽  
Maureen Long ◽  
Patricia McNamara ◽  
Lynne McPherson
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Therapeutic Foster Care ◽  
Developmental Trauma ◽  
Child Relationship ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Therapeutic Perspective ◽  
The Way

Central to the success of therapeutic foster care (TFC) is the quality and stability of the relationship between the child and carer. This key relationship may, from a therapeutic perspective, facilitate healing by addressing the impact of complex developmental trauma experienced by the child who has been placed in care. Stability of the carer–child relationship is critical in this context. Therapeutic carers have been shown to be significantly more likely to remain in the role of carer than their counterparts in mainstream foster care. The research reported on in this paper draws upon findings from an evaluation of a TFC programme and gives voice to the Circle Carers, presenting the components of TFC which are important to them. The paper commences with the story of Ruby in TFC as told by a carer. The focus then becomes a detailed exploration of the experience of carers and their capacity to care. Implications for practice are identified.

scholarly journals Interventions and practice models for improving health and psychosocial outcomes of children and young people in out-of-home care: protocol for a systematic review

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e031362
Author(s):  
Emma Galvin ◽  
Renée O'donnell ◽  
Helen Skouteris ◽  
Nick Halfpenny ◽  
Aya Mousa
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Young People ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Psychosocial Outcomes ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Practice Models ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Health

IntroductionChildren and young people placed in out-of-home care (OoHC) are often affected by a history of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Trauma in early childhood can impact on children’s health and psychosocial development, whereas early interventions can improve children’s development and placement stability. Although several interventions and practice models have been developed to improve health and psychosocial outcomes for children and young people in OoHC, there remains a lack of rigorous research examining the impact of these interventions in OoHC settings, as there are no systematic reviews examining the impact these interventions and practice models have on the children and young people they serve. We aim to conduct a comprehensive systematic review to examine the effectiveness of interventions and practice models for improving health and psychosocial outcomes in children and young people living in OoHC and to identify relevant knowledge gaps.Methods and analysisMajor electronic databases including Medline, Medline in-process and other non-indexed citations, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts and all Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews incorporating: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, American College of PhysiciansJournal Club, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects,Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CochraneMethodology Register, Health Technology Assessment and National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, will be systematically searched for any studies published between 2008 and 2018 of interventions and practice models developed to improve health and psychosocial outcomes for children and young people in OoHC. Two independent reviewers will assess titles and abstracts for eligibility according to prespecified selection criteria and will perform data extraction and quality appraisal. Meta-analyses and/or metaregression will be conducted where appropriate.Ethics and disseminationThis study will not collect primary data and formal ethical approval is therefore not required. Findings from this systematic review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019115082.

scholarly journals CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION: THE CHOICE BETWEEN ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE AS CHILD PROTECTION RESPONSES

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Bonfili
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Choice Of Care

This article seeks to expand the conversation started in the primary article by Stephen Gay in this volume entitled ‘The Choice Between Adoption and Foster Care as Child Protection Responses’. It discusses the need for stability and permanence of care arrangements for children and young people living in out-of-home care in Part II before moving on in Part III to consider the option of widening the choice of care arrangements to better meet their needs. The importance of listening to the voices of children and young people and giving them a say in where they live and how they are cared for is also explored in Part IV.

scholarly journals Towards recognising practitioners working in out-of-home care as experts in everyday life: A conceptual critique

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Cameron
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Conditions Of Employment

This conceptual critique elaborates on the phrase ‘experts in everyday life’, which the author first used in 2015 in connection with recognising the contribution of foster carers and residential care workers to the education of children in out-of-home care (OHC). The article examines the case for greater recognition of the children’s workforce in OHC, and situates the concept of ‘expertise’ in the rise of recognition of children’s status as competent social actors, as well as in professionalisation debates. The article examines two examples, drawing on the author’s prior research in residential care and foster care, of expertise in everyday life in OHC. It concludes that, viewed from a social pedagogical perspective, expertise in everyday life refers to the complex milieu, or environment, in which the activity is taking place, as well as the relational encounters and activities themselves. It refers to the capacity for supporting young people in the mundaneness and predictability of everyday events and routines. Recognition of practitioners as experts in everyday life is not a substitute for changes to the structural conditions of employment but is a first step towards it.

scholarly journals HELPING CHILDREN WITH HOME EDUCATION: HOW HOME EDUCATION CAN ENABLE GOOD EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUT-OF-HOME CARE

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karleen Gribble ◽  
Rebecca English
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Home Education ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
History Of ◽  
Outcomes For Children

<p><span style="color: #131413; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">Children who experience maltreatment in their families may be placed in out-of-home care. A large, and increasing, number of children are being raised in these settings in Australia. The history of maltreatment that children in out-of-home care have experienced results in a variety of educational challenges. It is generally believed that schools are best placed to serve the educational needs of these children. However, there is extensive evidence that schools are unable to facilitate learning success for many children in out-of-home care. This paper argues that because home education can provide a low- stress environment and individually tailored learning, it can be an effective method of education for children and young people in out-of-home care. A case study of a home-educated child in out-of-home care is presented.</span></p>

Child Welfare: Overview

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Pecora
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
Home Care ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
Welfare Program ◽  
Out Of Home Care

The mission of child welfare is multifaceted and includes: (a) responding to the needs of children reported to public child-protection agencies as being abused, neglected, or at risk of child maltreatment; (b) providing children placed in out-of-home care with developmentally appropriate services; and (c) helping children find permanent homes in the least-restrictive living situations possible; and (d) providing “post-permanency” services to children so they do not return to foster care. This section describes the mission, scope, and selected issues of major child-welfare-program areas.

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