The digital divide: The impact on the rights of care leavers in Scotland

Dr Autumn Roesch-Marsh, Kenny McGhee and Dr Fern Gillon - CELCIS

This report shares the findings of a focused piece of research carried out in Scotland by CELCIS and partners at the University of Edinburgh. The aim of the research was to understand care leavers' experiences of digital exclusion before and during the COVID-19 restrictions in Scotland in 2020.

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Webinar: The digital divide - The impact on the rights of care leavers in Scotland

CELCIS

This webinar event launched the report 'The digital divide: The impact on the rights of care leavers in Scotland,' which shares the findings of a focused piece of research that sought to understand care leavers' experiences of digital exclusion before and during the COVID-19 restrictions in Scotland in 2020.

Associations between Early Psychosocial Deprivation, Cognitive and Psychiatric Morbidity, and Risk-taking Behavior in Adolescence

Mark Wade, Devon Carroll, Nathan A. Fox, Charles H. Zeanah & Charles A. Nelson - Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology

This article from the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology examines the extent to which psychosocial deprivation increases the risk of later cognitive and psychiatric difficulties and the downstream consequences of this for risk-taking behavior in adolescence. The current study included 165 children, 113 with a history of institutionalization and 52 with no such history.

Te Kuku O Te Manawa: Moe ararā! Haumanutia ngā moemoeā a ngā tūpuna mō te oranga o ngā tamariki

Office of the Children’s Commissioner

The Children’s Commissioner of New Zealand undertook a thematic review of the policies, processes and practices of Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children relating to care and protection issues for pēpi Māori (Māori infants) aged 0-3 months. This second report comes to the clear conclusion that to keep pēpi in the care of their whānau, Māori must be recognised as best placed to care for their own.

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Te Kuku O Te Manawa: Ka puta te riri, ka momori te ngākau, ka heke ngā roimata mo tōku pēpi

Office of the Children’s Commissioner

The Children’s Commissioner of New Zealand undertook a thematic review of the policies, processes and practices of Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children relating to care and protection issues for pēpi Māori (Māori infants) aged 0-3 months. This first report presents the insights gained from interviews with mums and whānau (family) who had experience with pēpi (aged 0-3 months) who had either been removed, or were at risk of being removed, from their whānau by Oranga Tamariki or its predecessor Child, Youth and Family.

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Personal and professional impacts of work-related stress alleviation strategies among child welfare workers in child advocacy center settings

Oliver W. J. Beer, Rebecca Phillips, Megan M. Letson, Kathryn G. Wolf - Children and Youth Services Review

This study analyzed three open-ended responses from a national online survey examining compassion fatigue in Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) to understand the impact of work-related stress on child welfare workers (CWWs).

What does research tell us about young people’s participation in decision making in residential care? A systematic scoping review

Lynne McPherson, Meaghan Vosz, Kathomi Gatwiri, Natalie Parmenter, Noel Macnamara, Janise Mitchell, Joe Tucci - Children and Youth Services Review

This article reports on a systematic scoping review which investigated research publications on participation in making life-impacting decisions by young people.

Continuidad en el Cuidado de Huérfanos y Niños Vulnerables

Faith to Action Initiative

Esta guía es la tercera publicación en una serie producida por the Faith to Action Initiative (Iniciativa de Fe en Acción) para proporcionar a las iglesias, a las organizaciones basadas en la fe, e individuos de fe con información para ayudar a guiar la “mejor práctica”. La guía proporciona una visión general de una gama de opciones de cuidado alternativo para los niños que han sido separados del cuidado parental.

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Sexual victimization and intellectual disabilities among child welfare involved youth

Ann Carrellas, Stella M. Resko, Angelique G. Day - Child Abuse & Neglect

This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding older youth with intellectual disabilities who are sexually victimized and pushed to engage in transactional sex while they are transitioning from child welfare systems involvement. It does so by examining risk and protective factors at the individual, micro, exo, and macro systems levels.

What does it take for a Community Health Centre to be a “Health Hub” offering integrated care for children and young people in Out of Home Care?

Geary - International Journal of Integrated Care

This article evaluates a pilot project in 2016 aiming to improve health care access for children in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Victoria, Australia and identifies significant systems issues.

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Exploring mechanisms of change in a dyadic relationship intervention for siblings in foster care

Jeffrey Waid, Brianne H. Kothari, Jessica A. Dahlgren, Bowen McBeath, Lew Bank - Child & Family Social Work

The current study aimed to identify the critical components of an efficacious dyadic relationship enhancement intervention for siblings in foster care through a secondary analysis of fidelity of implementation and trial outcome data.

Children expressing their views in child protection casework: Current research and their rights going forward

Asgeir Falch‐Eriksen, Karmen Toros, Ingrid Sindi, Rafaela Lehtme - Child & Family Social Work

This paper examines the academic discourse in child protection research concerning how Article 12 of the CRC is implemented and how it is manifested in child protection service (CPS) casework practices.

Emotion‐oriented coping and parental competency: An evidence‐based parenting intervention for parents of children with special educational needs

Man Yee Ho and Siya Liang - Child & Family Social Work

This study examines a promising new coping and parental competency (CPC) intervention for parents of children with special educational needs that targets parents' mental health outcomes.

Suicidality among children and youth in Nordic child welfare services: A systematic review

Anne Marita Milde, Hedda Bjanger Gramm, Ingeborg Paaske, Pia Granli Kleiven, Øivin Christiansen, Karen J. Skaale Havnen - Child & Family Social Work

The overall aim of this article to gain updated knowledge on how children and youth who have received or are receiving child welfare (CW) interventions from the Nordic CWS fare in relation to suicidality.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Institutionalization of Children and Alternative Family-Based Care Options for Children in Kenya

Association for Alternative Family Care of Children, in collaboration with the National Council for Children Services and Department of Children’s Services

This booklet emphasizes the importance of family based care for the care of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Kenya, provides answers to regularly asked questions, and lists current government efforts to support OVC, including the policy and legal frameworks and existing forms of family and community-based care.

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Analytical report: Consultation on unregulated provision for children in care and care leavers

Professor David Greatbatch and Sue Tate - Department for Education

The Department launched a consultation on the use of independent and semi-independent children's care settings that are not required to register with Ofsted (unregulated provision) as a matter of urgency, ahead of the Government’s anticipated wider care review. This report presents the key findings from an independent analysis of responses to the consultation.

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Exploring mechanisms of change in a dyadic relationship intervention for siblings in foster care

Jeffrey Waid, Brianne H. Kothari, Jessica A. Dahlgren, Bowen McBeath, Lew Bank - Child & Family Social Work

The current study aimed to identify the critical components of an efficacious dyadic relationship enhancement intervention for siblings in foster care through a secondary analysis of fidelity of implementation and trial outcome data.

Government response to Sir Martin Narey’s Independent Review of Residential Care

Department for Education

In July 2016, the UK government committed to implementing several recommendations laid out in Sir Martin Narey’s independent review of children’s residential care. This report sets out more detail on each of these recommendations and also sets out the government’s response to the recommendations in Sir Martin’s report.

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The place of residential care in the English child welfare system: Research report

Di Hart and Ivana La Valle (University of East London) with Lisa Holmes (CCfR, Loughborough University) - Department for Education

This rapid review of the literature on residential care for looked-after children in the UK aims to describe the use of residential care for children within the child welfare systems of England and other relevant countries; review the evidence on children’s outcomes from residential care; and review the quality of the evidence and identify gaps in the evidence base in order to inform future research priorities.

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Opportunities to improve the system of social protection of graduates of institutional institutions in Uzbekistan

Zaitov E. Kh, Abdukhalilov A. A - Academica: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal

The article analyzes the results of a sociological study of the prospects for improving the system of social protection of graduates of institutional institutions in Uzbekistan.

Meta-Analyses of the Associations Between Disinhibited Social Engagement Behaviors and Child Attachment Insecurity or Disorganization

Lory Zephyr, Chantal Cyr, Sébastien Monette, Maude Archambault, Stine Lehmann & Helen Minnis - Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

This meta-analysis aims to clarify the size of the associations between disinhibited social engagement behavior (DSEB) and attachment insecurity or disorganization.

Relationship-based practice and service system expertise to support young people transitioning from out-of-home care in Victoria: The Salvation Army Westcare Continuing Care program evaluation final report

Jade Purtell, Philip Mendes - Monash University Department of Social Work

This is the final report of the evaluation of the Salvation Army Westcare Continuing Care Program, which aimed to provide relationship-based support to assist the planning, preparation and support needs of young people during their transition from out-of-home care (OOHC) to independent living.

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Kinship Care in Pennsylvania: Creating an Equitable System for Families

Heidi Redlich Epstein, Lucy Johnston-Walsh, Jennifer Pokempner, Kathleen Creamer, Karissa Phelps - Penn State Dickinson Law IDEAS

"While Pennsylvania has made great strides in ensuring family preservation, placement with kin and the maintenance of kinship connections, there is an opportunity to identify strategies to increase these outcomes and become a national leader in putting families first," this report argues. The paper outlines concrete policy solutions that "can improve this trajectory, making Pennsylvania a model for other states [in the U.S.]."

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‘Private Family Arrangements’ for Children in Ireland: The Informal Grey Space In-Between State Care and the Family Home

Kenneth Burns, Conor O’Mahony, Rebekah Brennan - The British Journal of Social Work

This article explores evidence which shows that the use of ‘private family arrangements’ is motivated partly by a concern for subsidiarity, and partly by necessity: they provide a source of placements in cases where regulatory requirements and a lack of resources would otherwise make the placement challenging or impossible.

Traumatic Brain Injury, Abuse, and Poor Sustained Attention in Youth and Young Adults Who Previously Experienced Foster Care

Michael D. Cusimano, Stanley Zhang, Xin Y. Mei, Dana Kennedy, Ashirbani Saha, Melissa Carpino, and David Wolfe; on behalf of the Canadian Brain Injury and Violence Research Team - Neurotrauma Reports

The purpose of the present study was to identify the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI), adverse childhood experiences (ACE), and poor sustained attention and the associations of these events in youth and young adults who previously experienced foster care.

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Network governance among actors involved in the government’s contracting out of foster care services: A case study in China

Wei Lu & Yanfeng Xu - International Journal of Social Welfare

To understand network governance among actors involved in contracting out foster care services, service funders, service providers, and service users were interviewed. A thematic analysis of interviews combined with a critical review of archival data was conducted.

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Building financial capability in youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood

Amy M. Salazar, Jacquelene M. Lopez, Sara S. Spiers, Sara Gutschmidt, Kathryn C. Monahan - Child & Family Social Work

This study assesses whether youth in foster care in the United States who are over age 18 have better financial capability and related supports compared with younger youth and whether there are associations between supports and financial capability.

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Stopping Out and its Impact on College Graduation Among a Sample of Foster Care Alumni: A Joint Scale-Change Accelerated Failure Time Analysis

Angelique G. Day, Richard J. Smith, Emiko A. Tajima - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research

This study examines whether former foster youth are more likely to stop out of a 4-year university than low-income, first-generation students who did not experience out-of-home care.

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Young Teenagers’ Views Regarding Residential Care in Portugal and Spain: A Qualitative Study

Carme Montserrat, Paulo Delgado, Marta Garcia-Molsosa, João M. S. Carvalho and Joan Llosada-Gistau - Social Sciences

A qualitative study was designed highlighting the voices of children, analysing their fostering experience, interpersonal relationships, their participation in daily decisions, and future aspirations.

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Supporting the First 1,000 Days of A Child’s Life: An Anti-Racist Blueprint for Early Childhood Well-Being and Child Welfare Prevention

Alexandra Citrin, Siri Anderson, Valery Martínez, Ngozi Lawal, and Shadi Houshyar - Center for the Study of Social Policy

This report offers a blueprint for creating equity-centered, anti-racist policies that support the health and well-being of children and families of color.

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Tools for Working with Children in Institutional Care

Kshipra Marathe - Counsel to Secure Justice

This knowledge resource discusses and provides examples of practice tools and calming techniques (in English and Hindi) which counsellors and adults can use while working with children who are in institutional care. The paper reviews evidence on the impact of institutionalisation on children as well as evidence-based interventions that can help mitigate this impact.

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Building Bridges for Every Child: Reception, Care and Services to Support Unaccompanied Children in the United States

UNICEF

UNICEF’s new report, Building Bridges for Every Child: Reception, Care and Services to Support Unaccompanied Children in the United States, considers global discussions on adequate reception and care for unaccompanied migrant and asylum-seeking children. Following the journey of children traveling alone from northern Central America to the U.S. – entering, navigating and leaving the U.S. reception and care system and transitioning to community life – this report presents eight overarching recommendations for the realization of a better and more equitable system of care and support for every child.

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Has deinstitutionalization improved the situation of children in Bulgaria?

Joanna Rogers, Elayn M. Sammon, Luba Devetakova - UNICEF Bulgaria

UNICEF Bulgaria's project, "Family for Every Child," aimed to demonstrate that viable alternatives to institutionalization exist, and that as long as a network of suitable support services is in place, deinstitutionalization is achievable. UNICEF Bulgaria commissioned this evaluation to establish whether the project had been successful

Governing belonging through attachment: marriage migration and transnational adoption in Denmark

Mons Bissenbakker & Lene Myong - Ethnic and Racial Studies

Based on analysis of legal documents on family reunification and educational material concerning transnational adoption in Denmark, this article suggests that the concept of attachment may be conceptualized as a specific operationalization of belonging, and that belonging and biopower may be viewed as intertwined (rather than opposites).

A Systematic Review of Internet Communication Technology Use by Youth in Foster Care

Melanie Sage & Sebrena Jackson - Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal

This systematic narrative review of the literature reports on the experiences of foster youth regarding the use of Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as social media, focusing only on studies that include youth voice.

Effectiveness of a Brief Preventive Parenting Intervention Based in Self-Determination Theory

Wendy S. Grolnick, Madeline R. Levitt, Alessandra J. Caruso & Rachel E. Lerner - Journal of Child and Family Studies

This study examined the effectiveness of a two-session preventive parenting intervention, the Parent Check-In. The intervention, grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), is designed to facilitate adaptive parenting, specifically autonomy support, structure and involvement, and parenting efficacy, and to increase autonomous self-regulation and decrease behavior problems in children.

The Haitian orphanage crisis: Exporting neoliberal family ideals in the debate on vulnerable childhoods in Haiti

Diane M. Hoffman - Children & Society

This article offers a critical cultural reading of narratives on family reunification in Haiti in social media and advocacy discourse, revealing how this approach privileges Northern assumptions about proper parenting and family life.