Is residential care 'inherently harmful'? This book argues that this conventional wisdom is wrong and is, itself, harmful to a significant number of children and youth. The presumptive view is based largely on overgeneralizations from research with infants and very young children raised in extremely deprived environments. A careful analysis of the available research supports the use of high-quality residential care as a treatment of choice with certain groups of needy children and youth, not a last resort intervention. The nature of high-quality care is explored through child development theory and research and two empirically supported models of care are described in detail. It will be of interest to all scholars and students of child development, child welfare, youth work, social work and education as well as professionals working within these fields.

"This volume addresses the question of how societies with developed welfare and social service systems are assessing current needs and future directions in their residential child and youth care sectors. This includes dealing with the historical concerns raised about the placement of children and youth in residential care settings as well as identifying innovative strategies, which offer new pathways for the integration of this often neglected area of service with families and communities. This review builds on an emergent and growing literature of cross-national child welfare policies and practices including child protection arrangements (Gilbert et al., 2011) and meeting the needs of migrant children (Skivenes et al., 2014). Our contributors share a common child welfare goal of seeking to ensure healthy growth and development for children served in order to achieve desired social outcomes for the community at large. Each of the sixteen countries selected for inclusion will be viewed through a common template including the policy context (historical developments, key trends and policy initiatives), promising programmatic innovations, and information obtained from a matrix developed in an earlier research effort (Erasmus+ Project) by Sigrid James and colleagues from five European countries (James et al., 2021). The Erasmus+ project, along with the matrix and rationale for its use, is described in detail in Chapter 3"--

This book explores a key phenomenon that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis, namely, the crossroads at which social welfare professionals find themselves. This is a crossroads where, on the one hand, there is an accelerated digitalization process and a reorganization of social programs, while on the other hand, we are confronted by the basic challenge of designing social policies and their methods of evaluation, that is, the generation of robust data that will allow better evaluation of social projects and programs. Rigorously analyzing the crossroads at which social welfare programs find themselves and the new demands for the education of professionals involved in social welfare programs, several key issues can be discerned; • the theoretical debate surrounding the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the process of redefining globalization in which we are immersed. • the challenges to be met by welfare programs, and the good practices that are being implemented. • the key issue of how to generate more robust data in the field of social services and social protection. • how to increase the competencies of professionals through education in schools of social work. Providing 15 newly written chapters drawn from both the global north and the global south, it offers a set of recommendations to address the challenges of inequality and social inclusion in the coming years. It will be of interest to all academics, students and practitioners working in the fields of social work, social welfare and social development.

This book provides an accessible, research-informed text for social work educators, students, and practitioners interested in the use of story to engender the connection of human experiences with ideas, theories, and skills. A broad lens is also taken to the ways in which fiction has been used as a teaching tool in other degrees, ranging from medicine to engineering to philosophy and economics. Although the research explored is social work specific, this text has applicability for any educator looking for creative methods to teach complex theories, skills, and concepts. Showing how fiction can be used in social work education, it explains why story matters to social work and how fiction can emulate these stories, as well as the capacity of fiction to evoke empathy. Ways in which educators can enlist fiction to create a ‘safe space’ for the exploration of complex emotional terrain are explored, as are the ways in which a community of practice can be created through fiction. Woven within the end of every chapter are some practice examples and author conversations which work to locate the research into a practice context. The text concludes with examples of how fiction has been effectively utilised by the authors, in order to provide a starting point for those interested in exploring this pedagogical approach further.

Therapeutic Residential Care For Children and Youth takes a fresh look at therapeutic residential care as a powerful intervention in working with the most troubled children who need intensive support. Featuring contributions from distinguished international contributors, it critically examines current research and innovative practice and addresses the key questions: how does it work, what are its critical “active ingredients” and does it represent value for money? The book covers a broad spectrum of established and emerging approaches pioneered around with world, with contributors from the USA, Canada, Scandinavia, Spain, Australia, Israel and the UK offering a mix of practice and research exemplars. The book also looks at the research relating to critical issues for child welfare service providers: the best time to refer children to residential care, how children can be helped to make the transition into care, the characteristics of children entering and exiting care, strategies for engaging families as partners, how the substantial cost of providing intensive is best measured against outcomes, and what research and development challenges will allow therapeutic residential care to be rigorously compared with its evidence-based community-centered alternatives. Importantly, the volume also outlines how to set up and implement intensive child welfare services, considering how transferable they are, how to measure success and value for money, and the training protocols and staffing needed to ensure that a programme is effective. This comprehensive volume will enable child welfare professionals, researchers and policymakers to develop a refined understanding of the potential of therapeutic residential care, and to identify the highest and best uses of this intensive and specialized intervention.

Residential treatment for children and youth (RTCY) programs not only need to be explored for the efficacy of the programs, but also in the actual assessment of various aspects of those programs. Assessment in Residential Care for Children and Youth provides practical information on the placement of children in residential care programs, the efficacy of those programs, staff issues, and outcomes for youths in the programs. Respected authorities examine issues on assessment upon entering residential care, treatment issues during care, and programmatic concerns from a larger systems perspective. Unlike other resources on this topic, this book uniquely focuses solely on assessment. The book comprehensively offers strategies and practical assessment tools addressing the full spectrum of issues from the child’s or youth’s entrance in residential care to their exit, such as placement, treatment, and outcomes. This valuable text is extensively referenced and includes helpful figures and tables to clearly present data. Topics discussed include: assessment processes and tools to enhance therapeutic childcare interventions the unique needs of GBL youth in residential care settings a strengths-based assessment tool developed specifically for use in juvenile justice programs staff satisfaction rates as compared to client satisfaction development of the Staff Implementation Observation Form that assesses staff competence delivering an intervention to youth in group home care with behavioral disorders differences in two residential care giving models in providing continuity of care for youth in residential placement an assessment technique that uses the point of view of children. This book is a valuable resource for Residential Administrators, program directors and coordinators, counselors, and staff who have a role in assessing residential treatment programs for children and youth at any level. This book was published as a special issue of Residential Treatment for Children and Youth.