The effectiveness of a child day-care program in child welfare services

Victoria Hidalgo, Lucía Jiménez, Víctor Grimaldi, Lara Ayala-Nunes, Isabel López-Verdugo - Children and Youth Services Review

This study analyzed the impact of a novel child day-care program on children's quality of life, adjustment and development, and explored the moderating role of different child and family dimensions on the program's impact.

Japanese residential care quality and perceived competency in institutionalized adolescents: A preliminary assessment of the dimensionality of care provision

Yuning Zhang, Emiko Tanaka, Tokie Anme, Shigeyuki Mori, Robert Bradley, Jennifer Y.F. Lau - Children and Youth Services Review

The current study uses a culturally and contextually modified early adolescent version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory (EA-HOME-JP) in Japanese child welfare institutions (CWIs) to provide preliminary data on relevant variables in the caregiving environment that associate with domains of perceived self-competency.

Investing in Innovation - Transformation of the Dominant Care Model: Emerging Practice of Alternative Care for Children in Cambodia Research Findings

Family Care First

This study and documentation of existing reintegration and alternative family care services in Cambodia was designed to build the capacity of existing service providers to take emerging good practice to scale as an increased number of residential care institutions transition.

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Emerging Practice of Alternative Care for Children in Cambodia Research Findings - Summary Report

Family Care First (FCF) - USAID, Save the Children, Holt International, Department of Social Work of the Royal University of Phnom Penh

Family Care First (FCF) supported the study and documentation of existing reintegration and alternative family care services provided by seven implementing partners in Cambodia. This brief includes an outline of key findings of the study and concludes with recommendations based on those findings.

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Children looked after in England (including adoption), year ending 31 March 2017

UK Department for Education

This Statistical First Release (SFR) provides information about looked after children in England for the year ending 31 March 2017, including where they are placed, their legal status, the numbers starting and ceasing to be looked after, and the numbers who go missing or are away from their placement without authorisation.

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Building Futures for Thailand: Support to Children Living in Construction Site Camps

UNICEF

This report is based on in-depth interviews with migrant children and parents, real estate and construction companies, government Ministries, and NGOs. It explores the challenges faced by children living in construction site camps, and suggests solutions that can be scaled to foster social responsibility within Thailand’s construction sector.

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Randomized controlled trial of a parenting program to reduce the risk of child maltreatment in South Africa

Jamie M. Lachman, Lucie Cluver, Catherine L. Ward, Judy Hutchings, Sindisiwe Mlotshwa, Inge Wessels, Frances Gardner - Child Abuse & Neglect

This study is the first randomized controlled trial design to rigorously test the effectiveness of a parenting program on reducing the risk of child maltreatment in sub-Saharan Africa using both observational and self-report assessments.

Nurturing Care Framework

WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank

The Nurturing Care Framework provides an evidence-based road map for action and outlines how policies and services can support parents, families, other caregivers and communities in providing nurturing care for young children.

An Exploration of Complex Longitudinal Relationships Between Care Factors and Post-Care Outcomes in South Africa

Adrian D. van Breda - Children Australia

This paper serves to illustrate challenges in research on care-leavers and the various ways that research results can be interpreted by drawing on data from a study being conducted in a residential care programme in South Africa.

Changes in out of home care and permanence planning among young children in Scotland, 2003 to 2017

Woods, Ruth & Henderson, Gillian - Adoption and fostering

The current study addressed gaps in research on early out of home care and permanency planning through a comparison of two samples of children in Scotland: 110 children born in 2003, and 117 born in 2013, all of whom were placed under compulsory measures of supervision prior to three years of age.

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Tackling Child Neglect in Scotland :Follow-up survey 2016

Jane Scott and Brigid Daniel, Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection, University of Stirling

A 2016 survey was commissioned by the Scottish Government to inform the Child Protection Improvement Programme and the Neglect Improvement Pilot. This report presents the findings and analysis from the survey, including achievements and challenges in providing child protection services.

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The Assessment of Children and Young People for Adoption Support The evidence from 20 referrals to the National Adoption and Fostering Team at the Maudsley

Matt Woolgar, Carmen Pinto and Olivia Tomaselli, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

This Briefing Note adds to the developing picture of adoption support issues by analysing data on 20 children and young people consecutively referred to the special adoption and fostering service at the Maudsley – a wellrespected and established national CAMHS service.

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How Has the Presence of Zimbabwe’s Victim-Friendly Court and Relevant Child Protection Policy and Legal Frameworks Affected the Management of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse in Zimbabwe? The Case of Marondera District

Anthony Shuko Musiwa - Journal of Interpersonal Violence

The study intended to assess, based on the perceptions of Victim-Friendly Court (VFC) professionals in Marondera District in Zimbabwe, how the presence of the VFC and relevant child protection policy and legal frameworks has affected the management of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA) in Zimbabwe.

Comparative Study of Psychological Health Status, Emotions and Cognitive Transformation of Children Held in Foster Centers Associated with Yazd Province’s Welfare Organization with Those of the Ordinary Children

V. Alinia & M. Fesahat - Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences

The present study tries investigating and comparing the psychological health status, emotions and cognitive transformation of the children held in foster centers associated with Yazd Province’s Welfare Organization with those of the ordinary children.

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Family Care for Children with Disabilities: Practical Guidance for Frontline Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Elayn M. Sammon and Gwen Burchell - World Learning, Partnerships for Every Child, USAID

Family Care for Children with Disabilities: Practical Guidance for Frontline Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries was developed to help front-line personnel (social service workers and others) in low- and middle-income countries to work effectively with children with disabilities and their families.

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Out-of-Home Care and the Educational Achievement, Attendance, and Suspensions of Maltreated Children: A Propensity-Matched Study

Miriam J. Maclean, Catherine L. Taylor, Melissa O'Donnell - The Journal of Pediatrics

The objective of this study was to estimate the influence of out-of-home care on reading scores, attendance, and suspensions by comparing a matched sample of maltreated children who entered out-of-home care and maltreated children who remained at home.

The emotional and behavioural symptom trajectories of children in long-term out-of-home care in an English local authority

Rachel M. Hiller & Michelle C. St. Clair - Child Abuse & Neglect

The current service-data study explored the emotional and behavioural symptom trajectories of 207 young people under the long-term care of a local authority in the South West of England, over their first five years in the care system.

Rethinking Child Protection in Emergencies

Cyril Bennouna, Hanna-Tina Fischer, Michael Wessells and Neil Boothby - International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition

This article reviews recent evidence from a range of disciplines to inform efforts to adapt to changes in the global political environment, trends in armed conflict and displacement, and advances in science and technology, especially as they relate to the protection of children.

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Call to Action: Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa

Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa

The participants of the Continental Conference on Access to Justice for Children in Africa titled “Spotlighting the Invisible”, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 8 - 9 May 2018, following up on the 2011 Kampala Conference and its outcomes, have issued a Call to Action "recognizing the adverse and lasting impact that gaps in access to justice have on children in Africa."

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Call to Action: Strengthening the Social Service Workforce to Better Protect Children and Achieve the SDGs

Global Social Service Workforce Alliance & partners

This Call to Action makes recommendations at the country and global level for governments to initiate, lead and engage in dialogue with partners in order to strengthen the social service workforce and better protect children.

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In-home support or out of home care? Thresholds for intervention with abused and neglected children

Nina Biehal, Helen Baldwin, Linda Cusworth, Jim Wade, Victoria Allgar - Children and Youth Services Review

This study compared the histories, circumstances and pathways of children receiving quasi-compulsory home-based support (under a child protection plan) to those for children ever placed in out of home care.

Parent perspectives of engagement in the strengthening families program: An evidence‐based intervention for families in child welfare and affected by parental substance use

Becci A. Akin, Michelle Johnson‐Motoyama, Sharah Davis, Megan Paceley, Jody Brook - Child & Family Social Work

This study sought to understand parents' experiences of the supports and barriers to engagement in an evidence‐based parenting intervention (EBPI).

Strategic actions of transnational migrant parents regarding birth registration for stay‐behind children in Lombok, Indonesia

Leslie Butt & Jessica Ball - Population, Space and Place

This multimethod qualitative study in 4 high‐migration communities in East Lombok, Indonesia, explored the strategic actions migrant parents take regarding birth registration.

‘We Don't do Measure and Quotes’: How Agency Responses Criminalise and Endanger the Safety of Children Missing in Care in New South Wales, Australia

Emma Colvin, Kath McFarlane, Alison Gerard, Andrew McGrath - The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice

This article presents qualitative data from interviews with 46 welfare and justice professionals to examine the criminalisation of children who go missing within the Out‐Of‐Home‐Care (OOHC) residential environment.

Best Gift To A Child is Family

Mtoto News

This video from Mtoto News features interviews with several experts in the field of children's care and protection who discuss the importance of deinstitutionalization, particularly in the Eastern and Southern Africa context, and efforts being made to reduce or end the institutionalization of children.

How Collaboration, Early Engagement and Collective Ownership Increase Research Impact: Strengthening Community-based Child Protection Mechanisms In Sierra Leone

Michael Wessells, David Lamin, Marie Manyeh, Dora King, Lindsay Stark, Sarah Lilley and Kathleen Kostelny

Using inter-agency action research in Sierra Leone, this chapter provides a case study on how a highly collaborative approach can enable child protection research to achieve a significant national impact.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Young Adult Health Outcomes among Youth Aging Out of Foster Care

Rebecca Rebbe, Paula S. Nurius, PhD, Mark E. Courtney, Kym R. Ahrens - Academic Pediatrics

This paper uses person-centered latent class analysis (LCA) methods to examine the relationship between different profiles of ACE exposures and divergent health trajectories amongst this high-risk population.

Tracing the pathway from mental health screening to services for children and youth in foster care

Michael D. Pullmann, et al - Children and Youth Services Review

This study presents longitudinal analyses of the case flow of youth aged 3–17 in Washington State's foster care system, tracking rates of screening, scoring above or below clinical criteria cutoff scores, and service receipt.