This volume covers a broad spectrum of current research findings concerning the participation of young people in foster families and residential living groups in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland as well as cross-nationals perspective on children and young people’s participation in foster and residential care placements in Great Britain and France.

Autistic children's experiences of COVID-19 have been largely absent from current crisis and recovery discourse. This is the first published study to directly and specifically involve autistic children both as research advisors and as research participants in a rights-based participatory study relating to the pandemic. 

Shannon and Star were both brought up in the care system. They have been speaking to BBC News NI about how they want to challenge stereotypes about children in care. They are among a group of young people who have developed a manifesto with Barnardo's NI to lobby politicians.

Irish authorities need more training to spot indicators of human trafficking among children, according to a new report. It is one of several actions urged to be taken by authorities to crack down on human trafficking in Ireland in light of new figures.

Foster carers are losing out on financial supports and pension contributions although most look after children until they are around 23 years of age, an Oireachtas committee was told today. The Irish Foster Care Association presented to the joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands in relation to foster carers and pensions.

This paper describes a mixed methods approach that was applied to evaluate the complex intervention Fostering Connections: The Trauma-Informed Foster Care Programme, a recently developed trauma-informed psychoeducational intervention for foster carers in Ireland.

Many young people in foster care experience significant mental health difficulties, leading to attendance at services where engaging them in psychotherapy that adequately meets their diverse needs is an ongoing challenge. This Ireland-based study illuminates the inherent challenges of working with this population, while informing practice about how to engage with young people in foster care in a meaningful and helpful way.

This study explores the lived experiences of care leavers in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Northern Ireland’s Children’s commissioner has expressed “great concern” about the lack of progress on mental health services for vulnerable children after figures revealed that up to 17 looked after children died over the past five years.

This BBC news article details the emotional and psychological abuse discovered during the public inquiry into historical institutional abuse in the Church and state-run institutions for children in Northern Ireland.