Background Despite a global policy push toward the advancement of family- and community-based care, residential care for children and youth remains a relevant and highly utilized out-of-home care option in many countries, fulfilling functions of care and accommodation as well as education and treatment. Objective As part of a larger project involving five European countries (Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, and Spain), the objective was “to map” the context and content of residential care in each country, thereby building a foundation for meaningful comparisons and deepened understanding of each system’s inherent logic. Within the context of global deinstitutionalization efforts, the study also aimed to understand factors that hinder or enhance the transformation of residential care. Method Using an embedded multiple-case design, data was gathered by each country on its residential care macro context as well as salient variables related to three units of analysis–residential care system/program features, residential care training and personnel, characteristics of youth. Cross-case synthesis was used to summarize and compare cases across relevant dimensions. Results The analysis highlighted areas of overlap and singularity, particularly with regard to utilization rates, concepts and methods, workforce professionalization, and characteristics of youth. Conclusions Findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how residential care continues to be viewed and utilized in some countries, challenging the ‘residential-care-as-a-last-resort-only’ rhetoric that is currently dominating the discourse on residential care. It further provides an understanding of historical and sociocultural factors that need to be considered when trying to transform services for children, youth, and their families.
This article reports on the 18-month formative evaluation of a model project aimed at preparing young adult refugees (YARs) for entry into vocational education training (VET) as an essential step toward the labor market. Qualitative methods were used to gain insight into the perspectives of YARs, program staff, and vocational instructors as well as explore program dynamics. Within a longitudinal research design, 45 qualitative semistructured interviews were conducted with 22 of 27 program participants. Additionally, program staff and vocational instructors were interviewed. Qualitative content analysis guided the analytic process. Outcome data indicated that 83.3% of program completers or 55.6% of the program participants entered a VET within the evaluation period. Triangulated qualitative data revealed relevant program processes and generated hypotheses about factors that facilitate or hinder the difficult transition for YARs. Implications for program development as well as needed structural changes are discussed.
This chapter notes the long historical tradition of residential care in Germany and its current expression in a wide variety of settings. Residential care programs mostly consist of small community-based group homes and supported living units with about seven to 10 youths and four or five pedagogical staff. Some homes offer specialized services (e.g., therapeutic residential care, wilderness programs, mother–child homes). The authors note that residential care is guided by general pedagogical principles and concepts, emphasizing learning through a milieu-based and “life-space-oriented” perspective (Lebensweltorientierung), which stresses an individualized, participatory, and relationship-based approach. Parent engagement and youth participation are also noted as important, as are the growing numbers of unaccompanied minors and their impact on the residential care system. The chapter concludes with the matrix used throughout the book, which provides information about 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.
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