Revitalizing Residential Care for Children and Youth: Cross-National Trends and Challenges

by James K. Whittaker, Lisa Holmes, Jorge Carlos Fernandez del Valle, Sigrid James

Overview

Revitalizing Residential Care for Children and Youth: Cross-National Trends and Challenges addresses the question of how societies with developed welfare and social service systems assess current needs and future directions in their residential child and youth care sectors. This includes dealing with 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 sector of service within the broader area of child welfare. Each of the sixteen countries selected for inclusion is examined through a common matrix including the current policy context, key trends and initiatives, characteristics of children and youth served, preparation of residential care personnel, promising programmatic innovations, and present strengths and challenges. Individual country analyses are supplemented by regional exemplars of innovative residential programs and practice in areas such as family engagement, helping youth with the transition from care to community, promising model programs and reflections on recent policy reform initiatives. In addition to take-aways from each country, the book's closing chapter identifies specific implications for policy reform, empirical research and residential program innovation. What sets this book apart is its systematic cross-national appraisal of residential care for children and youth with an eye toward identifying innovative policies and practices undergirded by research. In so doing, it offers a unique contribution to the international child welfare literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197644300
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/13/2022
Series:	INTERNATIONAL POLICY EXCHANGE SERIES
Pages:	488
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 6.60(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

Dr. Whittaker is a Charles O. Cressey Endowed Professor Emeritus in School of Social Work at University of Washington. His research and teaching interests encompass the integration of evidence-based practices into contemporary child & family. Dr. Whittaker is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the Association of Children's Residential Services (ACRC) in 2011 and The European Scientific Association for Residential and Family Care (EUSARF) in 2018.

Lisa Holmes joined The University of Sussex in January 2022 as Professor of Applied Social Science. Prior to this she was an Associate Professor and Deputy Director of Research in the Department of Education, University of Oxford. Between 2018 and 2021 Lisa was also the Director of the Rees Centre, within the same Department. In 2005 Professor Holmes was seconded into the English Government Department for Children, Schools and Families. Along with her colleagues, Professor James Whittaker and Professor Jorge F del Valle, Lisa is co-chair of the International Work Group for Therapeutic Residential Care.

Jorge F. del Valle is Full Professor of Psychosocial Intervention at the University of Oviedo (Spain) and he is the Director of the Child and Family Research Group (Grupo de Investigación en Familia e Infancia-GIFI). Professor del Valle is author/co-author/editor of 15 books and nearly 100 peer review papers and book chapters in the field of child welfare.

Sigrid James is a full professor in the Department of Social Work and Social Welfare at the University of Kassel in Germany. She received her social work education in the United States receiving a doctorate from the University of Southern California in 2003. Professor James is part of the Editorial Board of several peer-reviewed social work journals and is a frequent reviewer for multiple journals and research organizations. She herself has written and published numerous papers and chapters in English and more recently in German.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Foreword. Harriet Ward

PART 1 Introduction
CHAPTER 1. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Cross-National Perspective. James K. Whittaker, Lisa Holmes, Jorge F. del Valle and Sigrid James
CHAPTER 2. Residential Care Across Jurisdictions: Understanding Context and Comparing Data. June Thoburn
CHAPTER 3. A Cross-National Comparison of Residential Care: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations. Sigrid James

PART 2 Anglo-American Exemplars
CHAPTER 4. Residential Care for Children and Youth in England. Lisa Holmes, David Berridge and June Thoburn
CHAPTER 5. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Scotland: Keeping the Promise? Dan Johnson and Laura Steckley
CHAPTER 6. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Canada: Making Sense of the Mosaic. James P. Anglin, Marie Saint-Girons and Nico Trocme
CHAPTER 7. Residential Care for Children and Youth in the United States. Bethany R. Lee and Christopher Bellonci
CHAPTER 8. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Ireland. Robbie Gilligan

PART 3 A View from the Field: Anglo-American Promising Practices
Editor's introduction. James K. Whittaker, Lisa Holmes, Jorge F. del Valle and Sigrid James
CHAPTER 9. Innovation and Impact in Residential Services: North Yorkshire County Council's “No Wrong Door®” Program. Janice Nicholson
CHAPTER 10. The CARE Program Model. Martha J. Holden, Deborah E. Sellers and Elliott G. Smith
CHAPTER 11. A Review of the Teaching Family Model/Boys Town Family Home Program. Daniel L. Daly and Ron Thompson
CHAPTER 12. Harnessing the Power of Families in Residential Child and Youth Care: Innovations in Operationalizing Family Driven Care in U.S. Residential Settings. Millie Sweeney

PART 4 Continental European Exemplars
CHAPTER 13. The Changing Character of Residential Care for Children and Youth in Spain. Amaia Bravo, Eduardo Martín and Jorge F. del Valle
CHAPTER 14. Residential Care for Children and Youth in the Netherlands: High Difficulties in Low Lands. Erik J. Knorth and Annemiek T. Harder
CHAPTER 15. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Germany: A Participatory Rights-Based Approach. Sigrid James and Juri Kilian
CHAPTER 16. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Denmark. Mette Lausten
CHAPTER 17. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Italy: An Evolving System. Laura Palareti, Cinzia Canali, Alessandra Rigamonti and Laura Formenti
CHAPTER 18. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Portugal: A Change as Necessary as Urgent. Maria A. Barbosa Ducharne and Joana Soňares
CHAPTER 19. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Finland. Eeva Timonen-Kallio
CHAPTER 20. Residential Care for Children and Youth in France: A Solid System Facing Major Challenges. Bernadette Tillard and Hélène Join-Lambert

PART 5 A View from the Field: Continental European Promising Practices
Editors' Introduction. James K. Whittaker, Lisa Holmes, Jorge F. del Valle and Sigrid James
CHAPTER 21. PLANEA Program: Equipping young people for transition to adulthood from care. Laura García-Alba and Jorge F. del Valle
CHAPTER 22. Creating safe and welcoming residential care placements for LGBTQIA+ youth. Mónica López López, Gerald P. Mallon, and Leo Wieldraaijer-Vincent

PART 6 Australian, Middle Eastern and Latin American Exemplars
CHAPTER 23. Australian Residential Care: Creating Opportunities for Hope and Healing. Patricia McNamara and Shelley Wall
CHAPTER 24. Residential Child and Youth Care in Israel: Trends and Directions. Anat Zeira and Emmanuel Grupper
CHAPTER 25. Residential Care for Children and Youth in Argentina. Mariana Incarnato and Dana Borzese.

PART 7 A View from the Field: Australian, Middle Eastern and Latin American Promising Practices
Editors' Introduction. James K. Whittaker, Lisa Holmes, Jorge F. del Valle and Sigrid James
CHAPTER 26. Therapeutic Residential Care in Australia: A New Dawn or More of the Same? Frank Ainsworth and Howard Bath
CHAPTER 27. The 'New Era' in Victorian Therapeutic Residential Care: A Decade on. Patricia McNamara
CHAPTER 28. Doncel and The Leaving Care Law in Argentina: Supporting Transitions from the Field. Mariana Incarnato and Dana Borzese

PART 8 Editor's Conclusions
CHAPTER 29
Future Prospects and Challenges for Residential Child Care: Seeking Direction from a Cross-National Analysis. James K. Whittaker, Lisa Holmes, Jorge F. del Valle and Sigrid James

Editorial Reviews

"This is a rigorously constructed appraisal capturing the global diversity of ways of theorising, researching, delivering and evaluating residential care for children and youth. The 49 contributors from 16 countries illustrate through rich data sources, exemplars and critical analyses how the emotional, health, educational and cultural needs of vulnerable children and youth can be supported through well designed residential care. A detailed matrix embedded in each of the country specific chapters offers an accessible and thorough summary of data trends, policy initiatives, program models, quality standards and research advances to enhance the potential for cross national comparisons and future program innovations. A progressive blueprint and landmark contribution, this volume is essential reading for clinicians, managers, researchers, educators and students." — Professor Elizabeth Fernandez, School of Social Sciences, UNSW Sydney Australia

"This book offers concise summaries and incisive analysis by distinguished scholars of residential care policies and practices in 16 developed countries... Collectively, these scholars provide a much needed opportunity to reflect on similarities and differences in countries' use of residential care and to reevaluate the potential for improving a type of care no country has been able to eliminate for the out- of- home placement of severely behaviorally troubled youth...This book identifies promising practices and practice models and articulates aspirations for program improvements that transcend national boundaries." — Dee Wilson , author of Sounding Board commentaries., USA

"This book is an important addition to the literature on residential care for children and youth and is to be commended for its rigorous approach and its breadth and scope." — Andrew Kendrick, Professor Emeritus, University of Strathclyde

"The expertise gathered in these pages successfully navigates best practices in therapeutic residential interventions while continuing to emphasize the critical role of research." — Kari Sisson, Director, Association of Children's Residential Centers( ACRC), USA

"Analysing and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of residential care policies and practices in different countries and socio-cultural contexts has proven to be an elusive goal. Without a careful analysis of the characteristics of each child social protection system, this task would be extremely difficult to achieve. This highly anticipated and much needed book is a serious step forward to fill this gap and, because of its very broad international perspective, it provides a good basis for continuing the assessment task. Promising practice models cannot be evaluated without understanding their macro-context - and without this understanding, their benefits cannot be adapted to other contexts. This publication -addresses this extremely complex challenge. It is highly recommended for researchers, practitioners and policy makers. We are no more alone inside each country in our attempts to improve out-of-home care." — Ferran Casas, Emeritus Professor. University of Girona. Spain

"This book provides the reader with valuable, wide-ranging international evidence concerning the innovative ways that residential care can be developed to meet children's needs and the issues that need to be faced before change can be effected." — Harriet Ward, CBE, Emeritus Professor of Child and Family Research, Loughborough University and Honorary Research Fellow, Rees Centre, Oxford University

"I cannot recommend more highly that Revitalizing Residential Care for Children and Youth: Cross-National Trends and Challenges be made accessible to all students enrolled on courses in child and youth care." — Leon Fulcher, Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care: An international journal of group and family care experience Volume 23.1

From the Publisher