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The metaphor of the 'black box' has often been used in recent years to refer to characteristics of residential care that - although of pivotal importance - are not sufficiently transparent or known. Considering its importance for positive outcomes and the lack of research on this topic within the context of residential care, the current special issue focuses on the 'components' that facilitate change in behaviour and well-being of youth in residential care through an explicit orientation towards the perspectives and experiences of young people and professionals. This form of study can be called 'voices research'. The included studies present insights on the aspects of the residential youth care process that are important for the development and well-being of the youth in care and, therefore, the outcomes of care. Topics that will be addressed include the youth-adult relationship in residential care; the adolescents' perceptions of participation in secure care; the experience of pain in secure care; clients' and professionals' perspectives on the quality of care; the threats to the therapeutic milieu aspects of residential care; and the discovered benefits of workers' in-service training according to positive parenting practice models.

Pen picture accounts of four young people in the Netherlands’ care system help to focus attention on the needs of young people and their families. This also highlights issues facing the Dutch care system and how it is organised and funded. In one of the world’s most densely populated countries, the child protection and welfare system in the Netherlands focuses on family preservation and community-based interventions. However, the number of young people in out-of-home care facilities has increased over the past decade and a half. The New Act on Care for Children and Young People which came into effect in 2015 has made far-reaching changes to Dutch child and youth care policy, and administrative and financial practices that are now re-located to municipalities.

Dit rapport 'Je beter voelen' Ervaringen, behoeften en verbeterpunten van jongeren en medewerkers ten aanzien van mentorgesprekken in twee instellingen voor residentiële jeugdhulp is geschreven in het kader van het onderzoeksproject ‘Een betere basis: De ontwikkeling en evaluatie van een interventie voor goede allianties tussen jongeren en professionals in de residentiële jeugdzorg’. Met dit project wordt getracht om in samenwerking met jongeren en medewerkers in de residentiële jeugdzorg een op de individuele jongere gerichte interventie te ontwikkelen en te evalueren, waarmee medewerkers ondersteund worden in hun alliantie met de jongere. De interventie richt zich specifiek op één-op-één gesprekken welke medewerkers met jongeren voeren. Dit rapport brengt de ervaringen en de behoeften van zowel de medewerkers als de jongeren in kaart met betrekking tot deze één-op-één gesprekken., Dit rapport, 'Je beter voelen'. Ervaringen, behoeften en verbeterpunten van jongeren en medewerkers ten aanzien van mentorgesprekken in twee instellingen voor residentiële jeugdhulp, is geschreven in het kader van het meerjarige onderzoeksproject ‘Een betere basis: De ontwikkeling en evaluatie van een interventie voor goede allianties tussen jongeren en professionals in de residentiële jeugdzorg’. Met dit project wordt getracht om in samenwerking met jongeren en medewerkers in de residentiële jeugdzorg een op de individuele jongere gerichte interventie te ontwikkelen en te evalueren, waarmee medewerkers ondersteund worden in hun alliantie met de jongere. De interventie richt zich specifiek op één-op-één gesprekken welke medewerkers met jongeren voeren. Dit rapport brengt de ervaringen en de behoeften van zowel de medewerkers als de jongeren in kaart met betrekking tot deze één-op-één gesprekken.

This chapter discusses the development of a methodology for the assessments of the best interests of recently arrived unaccompanied minor refugees. The assessment reports provide evidence and child rights-based information to the migration authorities, which should be taken into account when the asylum decision is made. The Study Centre had been mainly practising BIC assessments with refugee children who had been residing in the Netherlands for a long time. The chapter describes why it is necessary to perform a best interests of the child (BIC) assessment for unaccompanied minors in migration procedures and how those BIC assessments are performed by the Study Centre for Children, Migration and Law (Study Centre). It explains how the BIC assessments are performed by the Study Centre and how this methodology was adapted to the situation of recently arrived refugee children. With the case of Elsa, the chapter illustrates how the adapted methodology for recently arrived refugee children is practised.

Pen picture accounts of four young people in the Netherlands’ care system help to focus attention on the needs of young people and their families. This also highlights issues facing the Dutch care system and how it is organised and funded. In one of the world’s most densely populated countries, the child protection and welfare system in the Netherlands focuses on family preservation and community-based interventions. However, the number of young people in out-of-home care facilities has increased over the past decade and a half. The New Act on Care for Children and Young People which came into effect in 2015 has made far-reaching changes to Dutch child and youth care policy, and administrative and financial practices that are now re-located to municipalities.

Residential child and youth care is not only the oldest but nowadays also one of the least 'sexy' forms of assistance for children and young people in need. Among other things, questions have been raised as to the effectiveness of residential placements, especially in comparison with well-conceptualized non-residential alternatives. The empirical proof for the ascribed lack of effectiveness is small. Outcome studies indicate a moderate-high level of change, i.e. reduction of problem behaviour in children and young people. It is likely that the care and assistance provided by group care workers is a key factor in bringing about positive change. In this article we investigate care worker functioning, their job satisfaction and their working methods in this discipline. Our focus will be on the quality of the social interaction and the working relationship between child and care worker. Research points to the importance of this common treatment factor. In addition to broadening the study of outcomes, in terms of both measurement type and time, we argue for a greater emphasis in research and practice on the status and personal characteristics of residential workers, partly in relation to the needs of children in their care.

Despite its relevance and effectiveness in adjoining fields, still surprisingly little attention has been paid to Motivational Interviewing (MI) in the context of residential youth care. This study aims to analyse observed interactions between adolescents and group care workers during one-on-one conversations from a MI perspective. We specifically focused on the MI adherent and MI non-adherent behaviours of care workers on the one hand, and motivation for change in terms of 'change talk' and 'sustain talk' by adolescents on the other. Audio recordings of 27 conversations show that care workers most often use the MI non-adherent behaviours 'persuasion without permission' and 'confronting' when they try to change adolescents' attitudes or behaviours. MI adherent behaviours, i.e. 'being affirming', 'seeking collaboration' with and 'emphasizing autonomy' of the adolescent, are rarely used during the conversations. In terms of motivation for change, adolescents equally use 'change talk' and 'sustain talk' and often respond 'neutrally' to care workers. 'Change talk' and 'sustain talk' by the adolescent do not consistently follow MI adherent and non-adherent behaviours of care workers, and vice versa. The results suggest that MI training of care workers and more research on MI in residential youth care is wanted.

Participatie in het domein van de zorg voor jeugd ligt genuanceerd. Cliënten hechten belang aan participatie en spreken zich uit voor kwaliteitscriteria in termen van aspecten van participatie. Verschillende niveaus in participatie zijn te onderkennen, maar volledige participatie en verantwoordelijkheden zijn afhankelijk van de situatie. Het is van belang om met cliënten in de jeugdhulp te bespreken, dat de mogelijkheid bestaat om op deze hogere niveaus te participeren. Het gaat er om het potentieel van cliënten maximaal te erkennen en hen in de gelegenheid te stellen om te participeren op een zo hoog mogelijk niveau. Uit onderzoek naar participatie in de zorg voor jeugd wordt geconcludeerd dat participatie het resultaat van de zorg vergroot. Maar participatie is niet vanzelfsprekend en wordt niet altijd door professionals actief bevorderd. Voor die vergroting van de participatie zijn echter voldoende werkwijzen en instrumenten voorhanden. Zaak is die te benutten.