Residential Care

Residential care refers to any group living arrangement where children are looked after by paid staff in a specially designated facility. It covers a wide variety of settings ranging from emergency shelters and small group homes, to larger-scale institutions such as orphanages or children’s homes. As a general rule, residential care should only be provided on a temporary basis, for example while efforts are made to promote family reintegration or to identify family based care options for children. In some cases however, certain forms of residential care can operate as a longer-term care solution for children.

Residential care can be a positive alternative for some girls and boys when it is used appropriately and meets certain standards. For example, small group home living arrangements or supported independent living can work well in cases where children (often older teenagers) don’t feel comfortable in a family setting, or where large groups of siblings want to stay together. Similarly in cases where children have suffered trauma, severe abuse or neglect, have a severe disability or require specialised support, small group settings where trained staff can provide therapeutic care may be an appropriate care option. As much as possible, residential facilities should be small, community-based, organised to resemble a family-type or small-group situation and allow for sufficient staff to provide individualised attention to children.

It is important to distinguish between residential care and institutional care, which should only be used as a last and temporary resort for children. Institutional care refers to large-scale group care within big institutional facilities and has been associated with a wide range of problems for children including physical, social and emotional under-development - with babies and infants under the age of three especially vulnerable to lasting harm. Long periods in an institution can deprive children of positive individual attention from consistent caregivers, make it difficult for them to assimilate back into a family and community, and are often linked to increased risk of sexual and physical abuse, a lack of stimulation, and harsh discipline.

In recent years, deinstitutionalisation has been at the heart of national care reform efforts, which seek to reduce reliance on institutional care and to promote family and community based care options for children instead. This includes efforts to promote ethical volunteerism within residential care centres, educate donors and to avoid proliferation of orphanages and children’s homes after humanitarian emergencies.

The documents in this section outline residential care options for children, examine the damaging impact of institutions, explore family and community-based care alternatives and describe care reform efforts including initiatives around ethical volunteerism.

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School satisfaction among youth in residential care: A multi-source analysis

Marta Garcia-Molsosa, Jordi Collet-Sabé, Joan Carles Martori, Carme Montserrat - Children and Youth Services Review, 05 Jul 2019

The aim of this article is to analyse the evaluations made by the main stakeholders involved in the school situation of young people in residential care and propose an explanatory model of their level of school satisfaction (SS) based on variables related to the youngsters' subjective well-being.

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Peer relationships at residential care institutions for unaccompanied refugee minors: An under-utilised resource?

Guro B Omland & Agnes Andenas - Qualitative Social Work, 02 Jul 2019

Without access to their own families, how do young, unaccompanied refugee minors re-establish their social lives in ways that facilitate a sense of togetherness in their everyday lives during resettlement? This question was approached by exploring young persons’ creation of relational practices and the kinds of sociomaterial conditions that seemed to facilitate the evolvement of these practices in Norway, including the professional caregivers’ contributions.

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Country Care Review: Tonga

Better Care Network, 02 Jul 2019

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Twenty first century contact: young people in care and their use of mobile communication devices and the Internet for contact

Jennifer Eyvonne Simpson - Edinburgh Research Archive, 01 Jul 2019

This thesis paper explores (1) how children in care in the UK are making use of mobile communication devices for contact with members of their familial and friendship networks; (2) to what extent devices like the smartphone, tablets and computers either improve or hinder communication; and (3) how contact using mobile communication devices and Internet is being managed by foster carers and social workers.

Psychosocial Adjustment Among Abused Children in Residential Care

Ropizah Rohani, Zakiyah Jamaluddin, Abd Razak Abd Manaf - Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies, 30 Jun 2019

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework on the key determinant of psychosocial adjustments in terms of behavior, social, emotion and mental health among abused children in residential care.

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Country Care Review: Malta

Better Care Network , 26 Jun 2019

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Social Image of Families of Children and Youth in Residential Care: A Characterization and Comparison With Mainstream Families With Different Socioeconomic Status

Joana Nunes Patrício, Diniz Lopes, Margarida Vaz Garrido, Maria Manuela Calheiros - Journal of Family Issues, 13 Jun 2019

This study explored the social images of families of children and youths in residential care in a sample of 176 participants with and without professional contact with this population.

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Risk profiles for antisocial behavior in adolescents placed in residential care

Lorena Maneiro, José Antonio Gómez-Fraguela, Laura López-Romero, Olalla Cutrín, Jorge Sobral - Children and Youth Services Review, 13 Jun 2019

The aim of the current study is to identify different subgroups of adolescents placed in Residential Care (RC) on the basis of different dynamic factors and analyze their relation with antisocial behavior and family violence.

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Children living in households with members of the Stolen Generations

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 11 Jun 2019

This report presents analyses of selected outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who live in households with members of the Stolen Generations.

From Institutions to the Community: The Fundamor Experience of Transforming Care for HIV-Positive Children and Young People in Colombia

Lumos, 07 Jun 2019

This report documents Fundamor's process of closing its institution in Colombia and moving children to family-based care, drawing out successes and challenges.