This chapter appears in Child Maltreatment in Residential Care: History, Research, and Current Practice, a volume of research examining the institutionalization of children, child abuse and neglect in residential care, and interventions preventing and responding to violence against children living in out-of-home care settings around the world.
Abstract
Currently, congregate or group care is seen in the United States as being a less desirable form of taking care of children and adolescents who have experienced maltreatment in their biological families or who live in struggling families. Among many other reasons, congregate care, especially long-term living arrangements, often deprives children of having the opportunity to develop a nurturing relationship with an attachment figure and experience parental control and authority in the context of the intrinsic need for autonomy. Furthermore, congregate care is not seen as a substitute for a home environment, and it could cause physical and psychological harm or increase the likelihood of problem behaviors. However, congregate care arrangements have been part of the childcare landscape prior to the 1800s. Currently, congregate care includes approved group homes that provide 24 h care in small group settings of 7–12 children or approved institutions which provide 24 h care and/or treatment typically for 12 or more children. Throughout the history of congregate care in the United States, basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter have not always been met adequately in these settings, and emotional and psychological needs have been met to a lesser degree.