Abstract
This chapter aims to (1) review results of recent studies, conducted in different countries, on the subjective well-being of children; (2) provide an overview of residential care in Brazil; (3) discuss recent research findings from the Research Group on Community Psychology (GPPC) of well-being in children in southern Brazil; and (4) discuss the specifics of the research context with children on state protection. For the first part of the chapter a review of the literature was conducted using the terms “well-being + child * + residential care” or “foster care” or “care system”, from which 15 articles were selected. These studies provided data on well-being for children in out of home care, such as differences between genders and diverse types of care, stability, interpersonal relationships, contact with the birth family, leisure and free time activities, etc. The second part dealt with the history of institutional care in Brazil from the period of colonization to the present day. The understanding of how the construction process of institutional care happened in Brazil offers ground for results of current GPPC research on well-being in residential care, presented in the third and last part of the chapter. As a whole, the chapter allows us to reflect on the effectiveness of protective measures in Brazil, as well as ways to improve the subjective well-being of children in care. Final considerations include the importance of the individual plan developed with each child, but also aspects such as the time in the care system, the monitoring of families and the options for youth aging out of foster care.