Children Going Home

by Bullock, Roger; Gooch, Daniel; Little, Michael

• ISBN13: 9781840144963
• ISBN10: 1840144963
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-11-01
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Ltd

Summary

This Dartington child care study looks at the return experiences of children looked after by local authorities. It shows that although the vast majority of children go back to their families and home communities, little is known about the process. How can professionals and carers make the transition as easeful as possible? The book charts patterns of separation and return, considers the experiences of those involved and highlights factors associated with the likelihood of return and its success. As the factors are confirmed in a blind prospective study, they are among the most robust indicators available.

Table of Contents

Index of tables and figures	vii
Acknowledgements	x
Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(11)
Return in child-care policy and law	12	(12)
The return expereince identified in child-care research	24	(18)
Return in other contexts	42	(17)
Designing the study	59	(7)
The intensive study	66	(7)
General themes from the intensive study	73	(15)
Separation from home	88	(15)
Return becomes an issue	103	(16)
The child back at home	119	(9)
Long-term outcomes	128	(11)
Children's return to contexts outside the family	139	(16)
General patterns of return	155	(10)
Children for whom return issues are relatively straightforward	165	(14)
Children for whom issues of return are more complex	179	(16)
Predicting return outcomes	195	(10)
The revised checklists	205	(12)
Conclusions	217	(28)
Appendices
A The statistical analysis used to predict return outcomes	225	(9)
B Making assessments of the quality of relationships between the members of the families of children in care	234	(5)
C The old and revised checklists compared	239	(6)
References	245	(13)
Index	258