Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T08:04:08.669Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pre-placement Planning: Examining Continuity and Connections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2014

Clare Tilbury  and
Jennifer Osmond
Clare Tilbury*
Affiliation:
School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, Australia
Jennifer Osmond
Affiliation:
School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Clare Tilbury, School of Human Services and Social Work, Griffith University, Australia, Q 4131. E-mail: c.tilbury@griffith.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

It is well recognised that children and young people in out-of-home care require stability and a sense of security. Focus has been given to the importance of stable placements with the same carers and maintaining or establishing positive relationships with significant others, such as parents and siblings. Undoubtedly, placement and family relationships are critical, but there are additional avenues for enhancing children's wellbeing when planning for continuity and connections. This paper reports on how continuity and connections for children in out-of-home care are dealt with in the placement planning process. Sixteen case managers were interviewed from a non-government placement service in two Australian states about pre-placement planning, connections, continuity and discontinuity. The findings suggest that continuity and connection planning should be a more elevated and explicit part of the process of pre-placement planning, as it has the potential to create a more seamless and coherent experience for children.

Keywords

placement planningmatchingstabilitycontinuityfoster care
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 161 - 168
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2013). Child protection Australia: 2011–2012. Child Welfare series no. 55. Cat. no. CWS 43. Canberra: AIHW.Google Scholar
Beaudan, E. (2006). Making change last: how to get beyond change fatigue. Ivey Business Journal, January/February, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berridge, D. (2000). Placement stability. Quality Protects Research Briefings, 2. Retrieved from www.rip.org.uk/Google Scholar
Brown, J. D., & Campbell, M. (2007). Foster parent perceptions of placement success. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 1010–1020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cashmore, J., & Paxman, M. (1996). Wards leaving care – a longitudinal study. New South Wales: University of New South Wales and New South Wales Department of Community Services.Google Scholar
Cashmore, J., & Paxton, M. (2006). Predicting aftercare outcomes: the importance of ‘felt’ security. Child and Family Social Work, 11, 232–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dudley, J. R. (2011). Research methods for social work. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Ferguson, H. B., & Wolkow, K. (2012). Educating children and youth in care: A review of barriers to school progress and strategies for change. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 1143–1149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernandez, E. (2008). Unravelling emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes in a longitudinal study of children in foster care. British Journal of Social Work, 38, 1283–1301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ficaro, R. C. (1999). The many losses of children in substance-disordered families. In Webb, N. B. (Ed.), Play therapy with children in crisis (2nd ed., pp. 294–317). New York: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Fong, R., Schwab, J., & Amour, M. (2006). Continuity of activities and child well-being for foster care youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1359–1374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fowler, H. W., & Fowler, F. G. (1964). The concise Oxford dictionary of current English (5th ed.). Oxford: The Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Gilbertson, R., & Barber, J. (2003). Breakdown of foster care placement: Carer perspectives and system factors. Australian Social Work, 56 (4), 329–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilligan, R. (1998). The importance of schools and teachers in child welfare. Child and Family Social Work, 3, 13–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilligan, R. (2008), Promoting resilience in young people in long-term care – the relevance of roles and relationships in the domains of recreation and work. Journal of Social Work Practice, 22 (1), 37–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Happer, H., McCreadie, J., & Aldgate, J. (2006). Celebrating success: What helps looked after children succeed. Edinburgh: Social Work Inspection Agency.Google Scholar
Howe, E., Dooley, T., & Hinings, D. (2000). Assessment and decision-making in a case of child neglect and abuse using an attachment perspective. Child and Family Social Work, 5, 143–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jack, G. (2010). Place matters: The significance of place attachments for child wellbeing. British Journal of Social Work, 40, 755–771.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, L. J., White, C. R., O’Brien, K., DiLorenzo, P., Cathcart, E., Wolf, M., . . . Cabrera, J. (2010). Exploring spirituality among youth in foster care: Findings from the Casey Field Office Mental Health Study. Child and Family Social Work, 15, 107–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jackson, S. (2002). Promoting stability and continuity in care away from home. In McNeish, D., Newman, T. & Roberts, H. (Eds.), What works for children: Effective services for children and families (pp. 37–58). Buckingham: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Miles, M., & Huberman, A. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Mudaly, N., & Tucci, J. (2002). Child abuse and family violence: The losses for children. Grief Matters, Summer, 43–46.Google Scholar
Norgate, R., Warhurst, A., Hayden, C., Osborne, C., & Traill, M. (2012). Social workers’ perspectives on the placement instability of looked after children. Adoption & Fostering, 36 (2), 4–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pölkki, P., Vornanen, R., Pursiainen, M., & Riikonen, M. (2012). Children's participation in child-protection processes as experienced by foster children and social workers. Child Care in Practice, 18 (2), 107–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poso, T., & Laakso, R. (2014). Matching children and substitute homes: some theoretical and empirical notions. Child and Family Social Work, early online DOI: 10.1111/cfs.12144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sellick, C., & Thoburn, J. (1996). What works in family placement? London: Barnardos.Google Scholar
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision. (2013). Report on Government Services 2013. Melbourne: Productivity Commission.Google Scholar
Triseliotis, J., Borland, M., & Hill, M. (2000). Delivering foster care. London: BAAF.Google Scholar
Van Nijnatten, C. (2010). Children's agency, children's welfare. Bristol: The Policy Press.Google Scholar
Ward, H. (2009), Patterns of instability: Moves within the care system, their reasons, contexts and consequences. Children and Youth Services Review, 31, 1113–1118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, H. (2011), Continuities and discontinuities: Issues concerning the establishment of a persistent sense of self amongst care leavers. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 2512–2518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waterhouse, S., & Brocklesby, E. (2001). Placement choice in temporary foster care. Adoption and Fostering, 25 (3), 39–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar