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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.09.001 Byline: Erik J. Knorth (a), Annemiek T. Harder (a), Tjalling Zandberg (a), Andrew J. Kendrick (b) Keywords: Meta-analysis; Review; Residential child care; Institutional care; Outcomes Abstract: Residential child and youth care is a radical intervention that in many countries is perceived as a 'last resort' solution that should be avoided if at all possible -- not least because of scepticism about its effectiveness. Against this, there is the view that a residential placement can contribute to the positive development of some youth with serious behavioral and/or emotional disturbances. In this context, it is remarkable that there are so few reviews and meta-analyses of outcomes of residential child and youth care services. In this article, we report on research into outcome studies published in the period 1990-2005. The application of strict inclusion and selection criteria yielded 27 pre- and quasi-experimental studies (PE and QE) covering the development and outcomes for 2345 children and young persons. Since there is variation in the outcome measures, we give an integral overview of all the individual ES's in the studies. However, for seven studies with a PE-design it was possible to calculate an overall ES: the weighted mean effect sizes ranged from .45 (internalized problem behavior) to .60 (externalizing problem behavior; behavior problems in general). QE-studies prove that residential programs applying behavior-therapeutic methods and focusing on family involvement show the most promising short term outcomes. There is very little evidence on long term outcomes of residential care. It also strikes us that many studies lack a specific description of the residential intervention program. Author Affiliation: (a) University of Groningen, The Netherlands (b) Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, Scotland, UK Article History: Received 7 July 2007; Revised 17 August 2007; Accepted 4 September 2007

Despite the importance of training residential youth care professionals to increase their professional competences, little attention has been paid so far to the influence of training on the behaviour and skills of residential professionals. This study aims to gain greater insight into the effects of training on the skills of these professionals. We conducted a systematic literature review using the PsycINFO, Eric, SocIndex and Academic Search Premier databases. Within the 12 studies retrieved, the outcomes of nine different training programme were examined. These nine training programmes include The Solution Strategy (TSS), (Professional) Skills for Residential Child Care Workers (PSRCCW/SRCCW), Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (for Youth Care Worker) (TCIYCW/TCI), Child Teacher Relationship Training (CTRT), a Brief Training Program (BTP), Social Skills Training (SST), Behavior Analysis Services Program (BASP), Mental Health Training (MHT) and a Brief Training Manual (BTM). Our results demonstrate that some training programmes may produce positive outcomes for professionals after a training course. TSS (in both studies), PSFCCW, SRCCW, TCI, CTRT, BTP, SST, BASP and BTM programmes are associated with positive outcomes regarding improvements in professional's individual characteristics or improvements in the work environment. However, two studies also found negative outcomes with regard to decreases in the perceived recognition of youth care workers' value to the agency and a decrease in the knowledge and skills that they learned through training after 6 months (TSS [ Hickey, 1994 ] and PSRCCW). In addition, the most common 'other' outcome was a variable effect of training on the professionals' skills. Although we did find positive and negative training outcomes on the professionals' skills, none of the studies specified the training elements which caused these changes. More thorough empirical studies using an experimental or repeated case study design are needed to identify effective training elements which could further improve the effectiveness of interventions targeting youths in residential youth care. • Little knowledge available about training effects on the skills of professionals • Training may produce positive outcomes on the skills of professionals • Negative outcomes on the skills of professionals through training are limited found • Training can lead to unexpected outcomes on the skills of professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Previous studies on effectiveness of therapeutic residential youth care (TRC) have indicated that, compared to short-term effects, long-term effects are less convincing. Moreover, there is limited evidence on how TRC achieves treatment goals: TRC remains too much of a "black box". To gain durable treatment results we need to know more about how results are achieved, rather than investigating the achieved results itself. One of the factors associated with this process of change is the social climate within TRC institutions. Up until now, no literature reviews about how social climate is affected by institution and youth characteristics, and how social climate affects outcomes has been performed. Objective To provide an overview of the literature on associations between determinants and social climate and between social climate and outcomes in TRC. Method We searched multiple databases with a predetermined set of search criteria in the years 1990 and March 2017. We identified 8408 studies and reduced the final sample to 36 studies. Most studies were empirical assessments with a correlational design and were conducted in Western countries. Results Effect sizes for the studies ranged from small to large and varied between and within studies. Most associations were found between social climate and positive outcomes. The most mentioned social climate constructs were: an open climate, support, and autonomy. Conclusions The results are challenging to summarize due to variations in the concepts and operationalizations of social climate. The organizational culture must support a social climate which is supportive, structured and caring, and provide youth with an environment to grow. A positive social climate must constantly be evaluated and recreated based on combining the perspectives of residents, staff and external perspectives. Highlights • An open climate, autonomy, and support are the most studied social climate concepts. • A strength-based treatment showed strong associations with positive social climates. • Youths diverse clinical profiles predicted negative perceptions of social climate. • Open climates, structure, growth, and support showed many positive outcomes in care. • Repressive staff behavior showed most associations with negative outcomes for youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Young people who have been in care show relatively poor outcomes in comparison to young people who have not been in care, and run a high risk of social exclusion. Therefore, the transition to adulthood of young people leaving care is an important topic for research. However, there is still little knowledge about the different research approaches and research instruments that are being used in studying this topic. The aim of the present study is to review the approaches and instruments that are used in empirical studies that focus on young care leavers'' transitions to adulthood. The results show that the studies apply a diversity of topics and instruments, but that there is also considerable overlap. To make better comparisons on the transition from out-of-home care to adulthood between different countries, a common research framework and one or more research instruments should be developed that can assess this transition and the situation of young care leavers in diverse social contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Many adolescents who make the transition to adulthood experience problems after their departure from secure residential care. Research suggests that these young people are often in need of support after they have left secure care. Little is known about the experiences and perceptions of adolescents during and after this transition. The aim of this article is to assess these experiences for a group of 24 adolescents in the Netherlands that have left secure residential care. The results show, in line with previous studies, that many adolescents experience problems during their transition from secure care, especially with regard to finances, school and employment, and living arrangements. In contrast to other studies, a majority of the adolescents reports to have received support in the year following their departure. Relatively few adolescents move to independence after their departure, which suggests that many adolescents are not ready for making a true transition into adulthood yet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Using a person-centered approach identified two setting types and four youth groups. • Few social climate differences exist between family-style and larger group settings. • The youth group with severe problems experienced the social climate most negatively. • The family problems group perceive involvement positively in family-style settings. • Policymakers should reject the one size fits all approach in residential youth care. Limited research exists on how therapeutic residential youth care (TRC) achieves treatment outcomes. More specifically, little is known about the association between contextual factors such as treatment organization, youth characteristics, and experienced social climate in TRC. Therefore, this study aims to investigate differences between latent classes of TRC and youth characteristics and their association with a positive perceived social TRC climate. We applied a person-centered approach in a cross-sectional design with a sample of 400 adolescents and 142 staff leaders. We analyzed youth and TRC characteristics in a latent class analysis and established associations with social climate for these two groupings. The two types of TRC settings we found, i.e., larger TRC settings and family-style TRC settings, show small differences in social climate. These settings only differed on youth activities and staff shifts type (more cohabitation and unorganized activities outside TRC in family-style TRC). We identified four adolescent classes: A severe problems group, youth with incidental problems, family problems, and a migrant background group. The migrant background group showed the most positive perceptions of social climate, followed by youth with incidental problems, family problems, and severe problems. TRC staff should acknowledge how perceived social climate is connected to TRC characteristics and the heterogeneity of adolescents in care. As social climate is subjective and dynamic, a continuous dialogue about TRC social climate between staff and youth is recommended. Future research should investigate how these aspects are associated with treatment outcomes to increase our understanding of achieving positive outcomes in TRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Research on care leaving has increased rapidly over the last two decades. • This article summarizes principles based on research that can guide practice. • e.g. the importance of supporting the autonomy of care leavers is underscored. • Ensuring preparation for leaving care is critical, and must include education. • The principles align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The transition to adulthood for young people leaving care has become a significant subject of research over recent decades, especially given consistent findings that suggest that alumni of care are at high risk of adverse outcomes. However, there is no definitive consensus on how findings from research can best inform practice with youth in transition out of care. The aim of the present article is to provide principles that can support practice based on a project mounted by a group of international care leaving researchers. These principles include, among others, the importance of listening to the young people, to supporting their autonomy during and after care as well as their cultural identity and diversity, to ensuring their access to education after care, to ensure preparation for leaving care and ensure that care leavers rights are upheld so that they get the support they need. The discussion considers these principles in light of the micro-, meso- and macrosystem levels in Bronfenbrenner's social ecological model (1994) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and reviews the challenges of generating these principles. In addition, implications for policy are highlighted in relation to rights, entitlements and access to services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]