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This special section of the journal of Research on Social Work Practice focuses on adoption breakdown. The introduction reads; "Adoption breakdown is not a new phenomenon, and research into adoption breakdown has existed for some decades now. However, in recent years, the existence of adoptive placements ending prematurely due to serious difficulties in the family’s life together has attracted increased attention by researchers, policy makers, and practitioners. In particular, the nature, incidence, and characteristics of the breakdown experience are the subjects of interdisciplinary research…
Abstract
Foster care is currently preferred over institutional care when children are in the care of the state. There seems to be a consensus on the voluntary origins of foster care, nonetheless there also seems to be a growing momentum for the professionalisation of this form of youth care. We contribute to the debate by means of an analysis of 33 semi-structured interviews with foster families in Flanders, exploring the tensions between voluntaristic and professionalising tendencies in foster care. Foster parents overall labelled themselves as loving volunteers as this creates a space to…
Abstract
For those who have been in the care of the State as children, access to records can be critical to securing justice and redress for past wrongs. This article outlines the arguments made in recent litigation undertaken by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) on behalf of young people who requested access to legal audits conducted on their files by the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Family and Community Services (FACS). It documents the policy change that was achieved as a result of the litigation and makes recommendations for further reform to better realise the rights…
Purpose of the Manual
This Manual provides the materials needed for the Department of Social Welfare and Foster Care Agency (where applicable) to conduct the following foster care related activities:
- Foster parent recruitment drives;
- Foster parent orientation sessions; and
- Foster parent training.
- Foster parent recruitment aims to identify and motivate people in the community to apply to be a foster parent.
- The goal of foster parent recruitment is to ensure that a sufficient number of…
Abstract
In this article, we reflect on a pilot project implementing a mindfulness-based stress reduction program among traumatized youth in foster and kinship care. We adapted a mindfulness intervention to teach self-regulation skills in a supportive, interactive, social group setting environment. Our hypothesis was that teaching mindfulness skills would enhance youth competency in stress management by giving them tools for self-regulation. In response to youth request for social groups, we adapted a mindfulness intervention aimed at stress reduction to include supervised social…
Abstract
The use of child soldiers has been increasing in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. To understand the implications of this on regional security, the study employed a strict textual analysis of the relevant literature on the use of child soldiers in these countries. The study found that the limited protection of refugee camps, poverty, and kidnappings are the major factors contributing to the recruitment of child soldiers. Moreover, the conflict over resources and that of religious differences has torn families apart and increase…
Abstract
Introduction Every year, up to 1 billion children are victims of violence worldwide. Most child abuse takes place in the context of punishment. The Families First Programme, an adaptation of the Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting Programme to the West Java context, is a parenting support programme anchored on children’s rights that gives parents guidance on child development, parenting and positive discipline practices. This trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the Families First Programme compared with a waitlist control group.
Methods…
Abstract
Cumulative harm is a major child protection concern, with significant consequences for child well‐being and development often into adult life. This systematic literature review examines how the construct of cumulative harm is understood and operationalized within current Australian child protection legislation, policy, and practice and situates this within an international context. Scholarly articles and grey literature were qualitatively analysed to explore two main research questions: How is cumulative harm to children identified, assessed, and ultimately incorporated into child…
Abstract
Indigenous children have a long history of overrepresentation in child protection systems. This exploratory, mixed methods study examined practitioner perceptions of risk in response to client ethnic group (n = 67). A staged online survey elicited responses to a blinded vignette. Half the sample received the vignette as a Pākehā (White) family and the other half as Māori (Indigenous). Apart from this, family descriptions were identical. Respondents rated their perceptions of the children's risk and related constructs and stated what decisions they would make.…
Abstract
In Sweden, when needed, children of mothers with cognitive limitations are placed in foster homes. There is a lack of knowledge about the mothers with cognitive limitations, their experiences of their maternal role, whether they get the support needed to maintain the relationship with their children, and whether the support system is adapted to mothers with cognitive limitations. The aim was to describe the experiences of the maternal role and support given in mothers with cognitive limitations who have children in placement. An explorative and qualitative design was used. Eleven…