Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood in European and Postcommunist Eastern European and Central Asian Societies

Mike Stein, Australian Social Work, 2014, Vol. 67, No. 1, 24–38

This study compares the data on young people transitioning from out of home care from 9 non-communist European countries examined in the INTRAC document with 14 post-communist countries reviewed in the SOS and INTRAC publications. 

Leaving Care with “Cultural Baggage”: The Development of an Identity within a Transnational Space

Åsa Söderqvist, Australian Social Work Vol 67, Issue 1

The aim of this article is to examine unaccompanied minors’ experiences of leaving care in Sweden, and to explore the experience in relation to perceptions about ethnicity and culture within a transnational space.

What neuroscience and social science tell us about the effect of care environments on children

Dr. Kathryn Whetten & Dr. Charles Nelson, Christian Alliance for Orphans

This video features a segment of a talk on the effects of care environments on children, hosted by the Christian Alliance for Orphans. The key speakers featured include Dr. Kathryn Whetten & Dr. Charles Nelson, who discuss the Positive Outcomes for Orphans study (POFO) and the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), respectively.

Children on the Run: Unaccompanied Children Leaving Central America And Mexico and the Need for International Protection

UNHCR

This report, issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, examines the situation and needs of unaccompanied children who emigrate from Central America and Mexico to the United States, and offers recommendations based on those needs. 

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Country Care Review: Jordan

Better Care Network

This country care review includes the care-related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of their examinations of the periodic reports of Jordan.

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Country Care Review: Kyrgyzstan

Better Care Network

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of its examination of the third and fourth periodic reports of Kyrgyzstan (CRC/C/KGZ/4-5) during its 65th Session at its 1880th and 1881st meetings held on 28 May 2014, and adopted, at its 1901st meeting, held on 13 June 2014.

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Country Care Review: India

Better Care Network

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 as part of the Committees' examinations of the periodic reports of India. 

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Care of unaccompanied and trafficked children: Statutory guidance for local authorities on the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children

Department for Education, UK

This guidance sets out the steps local authorities should take to plan for the provision of support for looked after children who are unaccompanied asylum seeking children and child victims of trafficking.

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Country Care Review: Saint Lucia

Better Care Network

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of its examination of the second to fourth periodic reports of Saint Lucia (CRC/C/LCA/2-4) during its 65th Session at its 1892nd and 1893rd meetings held on 6 June 2014, and adopted, at its 1901st meeting, held on 13 June 2014.

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Country Care Review: Indonesia

Better Care Network

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child as part of its examination of the third and fourth periodic reports of Indonesia (CRC/C/IND/CO/3-4) during its 65th Session at its 1890th and 1891st meetings held on 5 June 2014, and adopted, at its 1901st meeting, held on 13 June 2014.

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Continuities and Discontinuities: Issues Concerning the Establishment of a Persistent Sense of Self Amongst Care Leavers

Harriet Ward - Children and Youth Services Review Volume 33, Issue 12 - Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood

This paper utilises findings from a longitudinal study of looked after children (including interviews with care leavers) to explore how the evidence from Canadian research into the significance of perceptions of self continuity for identity formation can improve our understanding of care leavers' experiences and the factors that may act as barriers to their making a smooth transition.

The Mental Health of Young People Aging Out of Care and Entering Adulthood: Exploring the Evidence from England and France

Mike Steina, Annick-Camille Dumaretb - Children and Youth Services Review Volume 33, Issue 12 - Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood

This paper explores the research evidence from England and France on the mental health of young people aging out of care and into adulthood.

School Performance in Primary School and Psychosocial Problems in Young Adulthood Among Care Leavers from Long Term Foster Care

Marie Berlina, Bo Vinnerljunga, Anders Hjernd - Children and Youth Services Review Volume 33, Issue 12 - Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood

This article, from the Children and Youth Services Review special issue on ‘Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood’ examines the school performance and psychosocial wellbeing of care leavers in Sweden.

Leaving Family Care: Transitions to Adulthood from Kinship Care

Jorge F. del Vallea, Susana Lázaro-Visab, Mónica Lópeza, Amaia Bravoa

The authors of this article carried out a follow-up study of 143 young adults leaving kinship care. They assessed the young adults’ transition to adulthood with interviews and questionnaires. A small part of the sample presented serious problems of social exclusion. Seventy percent had found employment or were in higher education. The youth had frequently suffered the loss of foster carers and lack of support.

The Experiences of Jordanian Care Leavers Making the Transition from Residential Care to Adulthood: The Influence of a Patriarchal and Collectivist Culture

Rawan W. Ibrahima, David Howeb - Children and Youth Services Review Volume 33, Issue 12 - Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood

The study explores the post-care experiences of young Jordanian care leavers. Material struggles were similar to peers internationally. The distinct difference for Arab care leavers was the cultural influence. Patriarchy, family life and collectivism impact the care leavers' experiences. A cultural dimension increases understanding of leaving-care.

Procedures When Young People Leave Care – Views from 111 Swedish Social Service Managers

Ingrid Höjera, Yvonne Sjöblomb - Children and Youth Services Review Volume 33, Issue 12 - Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood

Few local authorities had elaborated programmes or routines for care leaving. Many small municipalities had few young people in care, which made it difficult to organise elaborated programmes for care leaving. Manager’s expected a rapid and linear transition to adulthood. Little awareness of the yo-yo transition pattern common for other young people. Managers were worried that continued contact with social services would lead to young people being dependant on support. Only 6% of managers had any information of young people’s whereabouts, once they had left care.

Constructing a Global Understanding of the Social Ecology of Leaving Out of Home Care

John Pinkerton - Children and Youth Services Review Volume 33, Issue 12, Young People's Transitions from Care to Adulthood

Understanding youth transitions from out of home care must include developing countries. A model is presented to facilitate this global integration. The model combines resilience and social capital within a social ecology of support. Use of the model is illustrated by a South African youth mentoring scheme for care leavers.

Receipt of Help Acquiring Life Skills and Predictors of Help Receipt Among Current and Former Foster Youth

Mark E. Courtneya, JoAnn Leeb, Alfred Pereza - Children and Youth Services Review

Foster youth in the US do not appear to be receiving many forms of help that are called for in federal law. Over one-third did not receive help they would have liked to have received. System factors play a stronger role than individual indicators of need in help receipt. Independent living services should be more widely available and better targeted.

Helping Parents, Helping Children: Two-Generation Mechanisms

Future of Children Volume 24 Number 1 Spring 2014 - Princeton-Brookings

This issue of the US-based journal Future of Children, entitled ‘Helping Parents, Helping Children: Two-Generation Mechanisms,’ reviews intervention programs for children and families of low socioeconomic status and on the mechanisms of child development that those intervention programs are trying to influence.

Kids Count Data Book 2014

Annie E. Casey Foundation

The KidsCount Data Book for 2014 is produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It is the 25th edition of this data book, which measures state trends and demographics in child wellbeing in the United States.

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Child Welfare Policies, Services And Their Aptitude For Care And Protection Of Vulnerable Children And Their Families

Project EDU-CARE, Department of Social Work at St. Xavier's College

The Technical Team under the Project “EDU-CARE: Social Operators Active in the Protection of the Children and in the Promotion of the Children’s Rights in Nepal” reports on the child care practices, policies, and programs currently in effect in the country.

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Orphans and Economics

The Lost Daughters - Aselefech Evans

This piece, written by Aselefech Evans, a woman adopted from Ethiopia when she was five years old, addresses the issue of family preservation and international adoption.

Does Family Matter? The Well-Being of Children Growing Up in Institutions, Foster Care and Adoption

Christie Schoenmaker, Femmie Juffer, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, and Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg - In A. Ben-Arieh et al. (eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

In this chapter of the Handbook of Child Well-Being, the authors review the findings from research on the cognitive and social-emotional development of children growing up in institutions, foster care and adoption.

An Exploration of the Differential Usage of Residential Childcare Across National Boundaries

Frank Ainsworth and June Thoburn, International Journal of Social Welfare 2014: 23: 16–24

This article reviews some of the language and conceptual issues that need to be addressed to be able to meaningfully compare differential usage of residential childcare services across national boundaries. 

Contextual Adaptation of Family Group Conferencing Model: Early Evidence from Guatemala

Jini L. Roby, Joan Pennell, Karen Rotabi, Kelley McCreery Bunkers, and Sully de Ucles, British Journal of Social Work (2014) 1–17

This article discusses the challenges in protecting Guatemalan children and their families from involuntary separation and presents the process, results and implications of a pilot training in which Guatemalan participants from government and civil society explored the efficacy and feasibility of the FGC model in their country.

Children, Orphanages, and Families: a Summary of Research to Help Guide Faith-based Action

Kelley Bunkers, Amanda Cox, Sarah Gesiriech, and Kerry Olson, Faith to Action Initiative

This Summary of Research provides a concise overview of a range of studies and findings that can inform approaches to caring for children who, through orphanhood, abandonment, or other causes, have been separated from parental care.

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World Family Map 2014: Mapping Family Change and Child Well-being Outcomes

Child Trends, Doha International Family Institute, Institute for Family Studies, Focus Global, and the Social Trends Institute

The second annual edition of the World Family Map investigates how family characteristics affect children’s healthy development around the globe and includes a new essay focusing on union stability and early childhood health in developing countries.

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Without Dreams: Children in Alternative Care in Japan

Human Rights Watch

This report by Human Rights Watch examines Japan’s alternative care system for children. It describes its organization and processes, presents current data on the use of different forms of alternative care and highlights the problems found in the institutionalization of most children (including infants), as well as abuses that take place in the system.

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Inter-Agency Statement on the 2014 United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the Rights of the Child

New York and Geneva Working Groups on Children Without parental Care

A coalition of over 40 international, regional and national NGOs and networks have issued a joint call to member States of the United Nations General Assembly (UN GA) to focus the 2014 Resolution on the Rights of the Child on strengthening family care and providing appropriate alternative care for children.

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How the Republic of Georgia has Nearly Eliminated the Use of Institutional Care for Children

Aaron Luis Greenberg and Natia Partskhaladze

The Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article documents how between 2005 and 2013, the Government in the Republic of Georgia closed 32 large, state-run institutions housing children without adequate family care.

From Institutional Care to Family Support: Development of an Effective Early Intervention Network in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russian Federation

Dana E. Johnson, Svyatoslav V. Dovbnya, Tatiana U. Morozova, Melinda A. Richards and Julia G. Bogdanova

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article documents an initiative to establish a replicable professional model that would direct the child welfare system in the Nizhny Novgorod Region away from institutional care and toward services for young children and their families that reduce the risk of institutionalization. 

Adoption Policy and Evidence-Based Domestic Adoption Practice: A Comparison of Romania, Ukraine, India, Guatemala, and Ethiopia

Victor Groza and Kelley M. Bunkers - Infant Mental Health Journal

This article uses data collected from adoptive parents’ postadoption and governmental data in Romania, Ukraine, India, Guatemala, and Ethiopia to focus on domestic adoption in each of these countries. The article highlights both promising practices in domestic adoption as well as policies and practices that require additional research.

Effects of an Intervention to Promote Socioemotional Development in Terms of Attachment Security: A Study In Early Institutionalization in Chile

Felipe Lecannelier, Jaime R. Silva, Marianela Hoffmann, Rolando Melo and Raquel Morales

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article reports on a quasi-experimental study commissioned by the Chilean government that had two general aims: (a) to assess infants’ psychoaffective developmental levels and (b) to evaluate whether an intervention based on the promotion of socioemotional development modifies the infant's psychoaffective development. 

Residential Care for Abandoned Children and their Integration into a Family-Based Setting in Uganda: Lessons for Policy and Programming

Eddy J. Walakira, Eric A. Ochen, Paul Bukuluki and Sue Alllan

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article describes a model of care for abandoned and neglected infants in need of urgent physical, social, and medical support as implemented by the Child's i Foundation, an international, nongovernmental organization operating in Uganda. 

From Maid to Mother: Transforming Facilities, Staff Training, and Caregiver Dignity in an Institutional Facility for Young Children in Nepal

Amy Conley Wright, Dhirendra Lamsal, Mukunda Ksetree, Aalok Sharma and Kenneth Jaffe

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article provides a case study of a project to improve the health, safety, and development of children birth to 6 years old in a large orphanage in Nepal.

Psychopathology in Young Children in Two Types of Foster Care Following Institutional Rearing (Romania)

Florin Tibu, Kathryn L. Humphreys, Nathan A. Fox, Charles A. Nelson and Charles H. Zeanah

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. In this study the authors assessed internalizing disorders, externalizing disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 54-month-old children living with foster families in Bucharest, Romania.

Behavior Problems in Children Transferred from a Socioemotionally Depriving Institution to St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) Families

Rifkat J. Muhamedrahimov, Varvara V. Agarkova, Elena A. Vershnina, Oleg I. Palmov, Natalia V. Nikiforova, Robert B. McCall and Christina J. Groark

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. In this article, behavior problems were studied in fifty 5- to 8-year-old children transferred from a socioemotionally depriving Russian institution to domestic families. 

Maltreatment and Mental Health in Institutional Care—Comparing Early and Late Institutionalized Children in Tanzania

Katharin Hermenau, Tobias Hecker, Thomas Elbert and Martina Ruf-Leuschner

Infant Mental Health Journal has published an important Special Issue on Global Research, Practice, and Policy Issues in the Care of Infants and Young Children at Risk. This article describes the adverse mental health effects of violence and abuse in an institution in Tanzania.