out-of-home care research
- Attachment and the role of foster carers
- Attachment: Key issues
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Contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth families
Legislation and government policy are based on the principles of children’s rights and best interests and are intended to guide professional practice in the area of contact between children in out-of-home care and their biological families.
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Importance of attachment in the lives of foster children
Attachment theory is concerned with how children’s early relationships affect their development and their capacity to form later relationships. The concepts derived from attachment theory have been widely embraced by those who work in child welfare as they offer a framework for understanding the developmental importance of close relationships.
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Is all contact between children in care and their birth parents ‘good’ contact?
Under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 new powers were conferred on the New South Wales Children’s Court to make orders in relation to contact between birth relatives and children placed in out-of-home care. These changes, which took effect in 2000, have generated further discussion and debates in NSW about the impact of contact visits on children, birth parents and foster carers, and the optimal levels of contact.
- Longitudinal study of wards leaving care
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Longitudinal study of wards leaving care - four or five years on
How well young people fare four to five years after leaving care is a function of a complex interaction of factors. These factors relate to their in-care experience (and their experiences before coming into care), the timing and circumstances of their transition from care, and their supportive network after leaving care.
- Making decisions about contact
- Mental health of children in out-of-home care in NSW
- Methodological design issues in longitudinal studies of children and young people in out-of-home care
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Models of service delivery and interventions for children and young people with high needs - literature review
Children and young people with high needs generally present with complex problems, including significant histories of abuse (as victims, perpetrators or both), serious mental health issues, ‘challenging’ behaviours, intellectual and learning disabilities, histories of school suspension/expulsion, and difficult familial relationships. The high level of need of children and young people requiring out-of-home care should be matched by appropriate and effective services and interventions.
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Outcomes for children and young people in kinship care
The increased use of kinship care as an out-of-home care placement is an international phenomena that commenced in the late 1980s. The trend is likely to continue and perhaps increase, despite there being no concrete evidence that this type of care produces better outcomes for children.
- summary - Permanency planning and placement stability
- Trends in the numbers of children and young people in out-of home care in NSW
- Young people leaving out-of-home care
