Continuing ConcernsContinuing Concerns

Care Matters: Transforming Lives – Improving Outcomes Conference

Incorporating the 8th International Looking After Children Conference

Keble College, Oxford, UK, 7 - 9 July 2008

Better Futures?Better Futures?

Experience and Experience and Outcomes of Outcomes of Children and Children and

Young People in Young People in Residential Residential

CareCare

Andy KendrickAndy Kendrick

Continuing ConcernsContinuing Concerns

Historical Abuse Systemic Review

Poor practice in residential child care

Headline figures of poor outcomes of children leaving residential care

Issues of ComparisonIssues of Comparison

Very different use of residential care across Europe / internationally

On the Margin – Scotland and Finland Twice as many children in residential care in

Finland Finland – high proportion very young children Scotland – larger numbers of children locked up

IoE study – England, Germany, Denmark Under-16s not at school - E (12%), G & D (2%) Over-16s not in education or employment – E

(55%), G (23%), D (5%) Rate of offences – E (1.73), D (0.158), G (0.092)

● Almost all had moved on by 18, two-thirds by 16

● Less than 30% had qualifications● High levels of unemployment● Three-quarters had moved

accommodation in the 12 months after leaving care (average 5 moves)(Dixon, 2008)

Care Leavers in Care Leavers in ScotlandScotland

Use of Residential Use of Residential CareCareStudy of 22 care homes in 6 local authorities – 215

children

● 24% of children under 12 years old

● Majority of admissions unplanned

● 44% of placements planned return home

● 34% of placements lasted less than 1 week

● 61% of placements achieved aims; 24% partly achieved

(Milligan, Hunter & Kendrick, 2006)

6-year comparison of 6-year comparison of children who return home children who return home in the USAin the USA

Follow up of 149 children in ‘foster care’ – 63 returned home

• Children who returned home reported more:• Lifetime risk behaviours

• Self-destructive behaviours• Substance use• Delinquent behaviours

• Negative life course outcomes• Arrests/tickets• Dropped out of school• Received lower grades

• Current sympomatology problems• Internalizing behaviour• Total behaviour problems• Total confidence

(Taussig, Clyman & Landsverk, 2001)

Education of care leavers

Factors in quality residential Factors in quality residential carecare

● Clear Roles and Objectives

● Congruence in Values and Goals

● Leadership styles

● Strong staff culture

● Stability

● Formal and informal personal support

Reviews and Meta-Reviews and Meta-analysesanalyses

Focus on:

● social skills / social competence

● family focused work

● behaviour modification programmes

● after care and ‘step down’ approaches

● relationships

Preference for Residential Preference for Residential CareCare

• Worth recalling that research studies have shown that young people can prefer residential child care

• Sinclair and Gibbs (1998) interviewed 223 children in residential care

• ‘even those with experience of foster care chose residential care in preference to it by a ratio of three to one’ (p. 46)

Preference for Preference for ResidentialResidential CareCare

Celebrating Success

We met a number of participants who had experienced feeling accepted, secure and a sense of belonging in residential care. In the best experiences, participants thought of their residential carers as a kind of family… What often characterised the positive relationships in residential care was the continuing sense of security and safety, which could be relied on.

(Happer, MacCreadie and Aldgate 2006, p.17)

ReferencesReferences

● Cameron, C. & Boddy, J. (2007) Staffing, training and recruitment: Outcomes for young people in residential care in three countries. In Kendrick, A. (2007) Residential Child Care: Prospects and Challenges. London: Jessica Kingsley

● Dixon, J. (2007) Young people leaving residential care: Experiences and outcomes. In Kendrick, A. (2007) Residential Child Care: Prospects and Challenges. London: Jessica Kingsley

● Happer, H., MacCreadie, J. & Aldgate, J. (2006) Celebrating Success: What Helps Looked After Children Succeed. Edinburgh: Social Work Inspection Agency.

● Francis, J., Kendrick, A. & Poso, T. (2007) On the margin: Residential child care in Scotland and Finland. European Journal of Social Work. 10(3), 337-352.

● Kendrick, A. (2008) Residential Child Care: Prospects and Challenges. London: Jessica Kingsley

● Knorth, E.J., Harder, A.T., Zandberg, T. & Kendrick, A.J., Under one roof: A review and selective meta-analysis on the outcomes of residential child and youth care, Children and Youth Services Review (2007), doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.09.001

● Milligan, I., Hunter, L. & Kendrick, A. (2006) Current Trends in the Use of Residential Child Care in Scotland. Glasgow: SIRCC.

● Sinclair, I. & Gibbs, I. (1998) Children’s Homes: A Study in Diversity. London: Wiley

● Taussig, .N., Clyman, R.B. & Landsverk, J. (2001) Children who return home from foster care: A 6-year prospective study of behavioural health outcomes in adolescence. Pediatrics, 108, e10