Children Looked After in England – Reflections on the Past, Present and Future

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 304-309
Author(s):  
Anna Gupta

This paper explores the debates surrounding out-of-home care for children who are unable to live with their birth parents and become looked after by the state in England. The historical context for the provision of out-of-home care is considered. Themes, including the use of residential care, foster care, adoption and placements of children from Black and minority ethnic children, are identified. These themes are re-examined in light of the current political and policy context, including the impact of globalisation. The paper concludes some reflections on future trends.


Author(s):  
Joelle H. Fong ◽  
Jackie Li

Abstract This paper examines the impact of uncertainties in the future trends of mortality on annuity values in Singapore's compulsory purchase market. We document persistent population mortality improvement trends over the past few decades, which underscores the importance of longevity risk in this market. Using the money's worth framework, we find that the life annuities delivered expected payouts valued at 1.019–1.185 (0.973–1.170) per dollar of annuity premium for males (females). Even in a low mortality improvement scenario, the annuities provide an expected value exceeding 0.950. This suggests that participants in the national annuity pool have access to attractively priced annuities, regardless of sex, product, and premium invested.



Author(s):  
Philip Mendes ◽  
Bernadette Saunders ◽  
Susan Baidawi

This chapter reports on exploratory research in Victoria, Australia, involving focus groups and interviews with service providers and Indigenous care leavers to examine the impact of existing support services. Indigenous children and young people are highly overrepresented in the Australian out-of-home care system. To date, neither specific research focusing on this group’s experiences as they transition from care nor an assessment of the Indigenous-specific and non-Indigenous supports and services available to them have been undertaken. Findings suggest that Aboriginal Community Controlled Organizations (ACCOs) play a positive role in working with non-Indigenous agencies to assist Indigenous care leavers. Participants identified a few key strategies to improve outcomes, such as facilitating stronger relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous services and improving ACCO resourcing.



2017 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
JoAnn S. Lee ◽  
Jennifer L. Romich ◽  
Ji Young Kang ◽  
Jennifer L. Hook ◽  
Maureen O. Marcenko


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e031362
Author(s):  
Emma Galvin ◽  
Renée O'donnell ◽  
Helen Skouteris ◽  
Nick Halfpenny ◽  
Aya Mousa

IntroductionChildren and young people placed in out-of-home care (OoHC) are often affected by a history of trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Trauma in early childhood can impact on children’s health and psychosocial development, whereas early interventions can improve children’s development and placement stability. Although several interventions and practice models have been developed to improve health and psychosocial outcomes for children and young people in OoHC, there remains a lack of rigorous research examining the impact of these interventions in OoHC settings, as there are no systematic reviews examining the impact these interventions and practice models have on the children and young people they serve. We aim to conduct a comprehensive systematic review to examine the effectiveness of interventions and practice models for improving health and psychosocial outcomes in children and young people living in OoHC and to identify relevant knowledge gaps.Methods and analysisMajor electronic databases including Medline, Medline in-process and other non-indexed citations, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycInfo, Sociological Abstracts and all Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews incorporating: Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, American College of PhysiciansJournal Club, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects,Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CochraneMethodology Register, Health Technology Assessment and National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, will be systematically searched for any studies published between 2008 and 2018 of interventions and practice models developed to improve health and psychosocial outcomes for children and young people in OoHC. Two independent reviewers will assess titles and abstracts for eligibility according to prespecified selection criteria and will perform data extraction and quality appraisal. Meta-analyses and/or metaregression will be conducted where appropriate.Ethics and disseminationThis study will not collect primary data and formal ethical approval is therefore not required. Findings from this systematic review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019115082.



2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 599-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Mendes ◽  
Samone McCurdy

Summary Government and parliamentary inquiries into child protection have historically exerted a significant impact on policy and practice reform. Yet to date, there has been no analysis of the impact of such inquiries on programme and service supports for young people transitioning from out-of-home care (often termed leaving care). This article uses a content analysis methodology to critically examine and compare the findings of six recent Australian child protection inquiries (five at state and territory level and one Commonwealth) in relation to their discrete sections on leaving care. Attention is drawn to how the policy issue is framed including key terminology, the major concerns identified, the local and international research evidence cited and the principal sources of information including whether or not priority is given to the lived experience of care leavers. Findings All six inquiries identified major limitations in leaving care legislation, policy and practice including poor outcomes in key areas such as housing, education and employment. There was a consensus that post-18 assistance should be expanded, and most of the reports agreed that greater attention should be paid to the specific cultural needs of the large number of Indigenous care leavers. Applications Care leavers universally are a vulnerable group; leaving care policy should be informed by the lived experience and expertise of care leavers; governments have a responsibility to provide ongoing supports beyond 18 years of age, particularly in areas such as housing and education, training and employment



PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. A26-A26

In 1987, 55% of women with preschoolers worked in the paid labor force, up from 35% in 1977. During that decade, trends in child care also changed. According to the Census Bureau, most children under the age of five are cared for in a home setting—66% in 1987. But out-of-home care has become more common in the past 10 years. In 1977, only 13% of children under the age of five were in organized child-care facilities. In 1987, the share was 24%. The share of preschoolers watched in their own home has dropped to 30% from 34%, and the share watched in someone else's home has fallen to 36% from 41%. The share of children cared for by their mother at work, either in the home or workplace environment, declined to 9% from 11%. Even with a stable child-care arrangement in place, disruptions occur. Altogether, 7% of working mothers with children under the age of 15 lost time from work in the month before the survey because child-care arrangements went awry. Women whose youngest child was one to two years old had the highest rate, 10%.



2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adina Rahamim ◽  
Philip Mendes

Young people transitioning from out-of-home care (OHC) are a vulnerable group. One particular manifestation of disadvantage is poor mental health outcomes which may reflect both the traumatic effects of childhood abuse, and a lack of support on leaving care. This article presents the findings of a small qualitative study undertaken in Victoria which explored the views of OHC and mental health service providers regarding the mental health support needs of care leavers. The findings are consistent with existing research results internationally in highlighting a number of key factors that influence mental health outcomes including the impact of pre-care, in-care and transition from care experiences.



2010 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Cuthbert

A series of harrowing reports across the 1990s on the past removal of children, black and white, from their families have impacted on children and family policy in contemporary Australia, and on the way in which this is reported by the media and understood by the public. This paper briefly surveys some of these consequences and asks how we, as a community, can learn from the past with respect to questions of the welfare of children, without being burdened by that past.



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