Sibling placement in State care in England: an examination of the decision-making process and the views of children

英国将兄弟姐妹安置在国家照顾中：对决策过程和儿童观点的审查

• 批准号: 2722664
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2722664
• 关键词: Sibling; placement; State; care; England

At any one time more than 80,000 children and young people in England are in State care (Department for Education, 2020), mainly due to experiences of abuse or neglect, family dysfunction, the family being in acute distress or absent parenting (Ofsted, 2021). In many instances it is not just one child, but a group of siblings that is in need of a care placement. The law states that local authorities must ensure that siblings in care are placed together unless this is not in the best interest of a child or practicable ("Children Act," 1989). Various international studies have shown the positive effects of placing siblings together on placement stability and outcomes for children such as permanency, children's mental health and well-being (Hegar, 2005; Jones, 2016; Meakings, Sebba, & Luke, 2017; Washington, 2007). However, there is currently little official data about the extent of sibling separation. A recent survey found that of the 94% of children in care who had a sibling, only 35% lived with (at least one of) them (Wijedasa, Yoon, & Schmits, 2021). Some previous international research has identified factors that complicate placing siblings together such as the age-gap between siblings, their time of entering care or the placement availability (Drapeau et al., 2000; Hegar, 2005; Shlonsky, et al., 2003; Wulczyn & Zimmerman, 2005). However, in England, very few empirical studies have examined the decision-making process and the factors influencing sibling placement in care, even though it is recognised as one of the great challenges in the field (The independent review of children's social care, 2020) This study will focus on the decision-making process on sibling placement in care.Aim and research questionsThe aim of this research is to understand the decision-making process and the barriers and facilitatorsof placing siblings together in care. The study aims to answer the following research questions:1. What are the facilitators and barriers to placing siblings together in a care placement?2. What alternate solutions to placing siblings together can be provided based on children's perspectives?Methodological approachThis study proposes an explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods design to address the research questions. First a quantitative case file analysis, based on a retrospective longitudinal design, will be conducted. This will provide a detailed view of facilitators and barriers to placing siblings together. Case files and case documentation such as care plans and child looked after reviews will be used, which are the formal records of decision-making about sibling placement in care. Secondly, interviews with children in care will be conducted, to provide a more in-depth qualitative analyses of how children view siblings placement and what alternate solutions could become part of the sibling placement decision. The study aims to work with two local authorities in the South-West of England.

在任何时候，英格兰都有超过8万名儿童和年轻人接受国家护理（教育部，2020年），主要原因是遭受虐待或忽视、家庭功能障碍、家庭处于严重痛苦或缺乏父母（英国教育标准办公室，2021年）。在许多情况下，需要看护的不只是一个孩子，而是一群兄弟姐妹。法律规定，地方当局必须确保被照顾的兄弟姐妹被安置在一起，除非这样做不符合儿童的最佳利益或不可行（1989年《儿童法》）。各种国际研究表明，将兄弟姐妹安置在一起对安置稳定性和儿童的结果（如永久性、儿童心理健康和福祉）有积极影响（Hegar, 2005; Jones, 2016; Meakings, Sebba, & Luke, 2017; Washington, 2007）。然而，目前几乎没有关于兄弟姐妹分离程度的官方数据。最近的一项调查发现，94%有兄弟姐妹的儿童中，只有35%与他们（至少一个）住在一起（Wijedasa, Yoon, & Schmits, 2021）。先前的一些国际研究已经确定了使兄弟姐妹安置复杂化的因素，如兄弟姐妹之间的年龄差距，他们进入护理的时间或安置的可用性（Drapeau等人，2000;Hegar, 2005； Shlonsky等人，2003;Wulczyn & Zimmerman, 2005）。然而，在英国，很少有实证研究考察了决策过程和影响兄弟姐妹安置在护理中的因素，尽管它被认为是该领域的巨大挑战之一（儿童社会护理的独立审查，2020年）。本研究将重点关注兄弟姐妹安置在护理中的决策过程。目的和研究问题本研究的目的是了解将兄弟姐妹放在一起照顾的决策过程以及障碍和促进因素。本研究旨在回答以下研究问题：1。将兄弟姐妹一起安置在看护机构的促进因素和障碍是什么？根据儿童的观点，可以提供哪些将兄弟姐妹放在一起的替代解决方案？本研究提出一个解释性的、顺序的、混合方法的设计来解决研究问题。首先，将基于回顾性纵向设计进行定量案例档案分析。这将提供一个详细的观点，促进和障碍把兄弟姐妹在一起。病例档案和病例文件，如护理计划和儿童照顾审查将被使用，这是关于兄弟姐妹安置护理的正式决策记录。其次，将对被照顾的儿童进行访谈，以提供更深入的定性分析，了解儿童如何看待兄弟姐妹安置以及哪些替代解决方案可能成为兄弟姐妹安置决策的一部分。这项研究旨在与英格兰西南部的两个地方当局合作。