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• The Double Diamond Model and the Intervention Mapping Protocol emerge as valuable tools for guiding and structuring a co-creation process with the aim of developing a health promotion intervention. • Collaborating with youth workers was important for facilitating access to adolescents, leveraging their trustful relationships and profound understanding of dynamics within youth social work organisations. • Integrating contextualised insights, provided by adolescents and key stakeholders, with theory- and evidence-based information can optimise smoking prevention interventions. • The co-creation process culminated in the KickAsh!-intervention, emphasising creative elements with the expectation of yielding impactful and effective outcomes. Adolescents experiencing societal vulnerability confront a higher risk of smoking initiation, thereby perpetuating health disparities. To develop a smoking prevention intervention tailored to these adolescents, employing a participatory approach such as co-creation with adolescents and key stakeholders can ensure alignment with their needs. Navigating a co-creation process, especially concerning a sensitive topic like smoking, remains uncharted territory in existing literature, particularly when engaging with hard-to-reach youth. This paper describes the co-creative process underpinning the KickAsh!-intervention, a smoking prevention program involving youth workers and 10–15-year-olds experiencing societal vulnerability. Four youth workers (M age = 23.75 ± 0.96 years) and nine adolescents (M age = 13.56 ± 0.73 years) from two social work organisations in Ghent, Belgium, participated in an eight-month co-creation trajectory together with two academic researchers and one design thinking specialist. The Double Diamond Model (DDM) and the Intervention Mapping Protocol (IMP) facilitated this trajectory. The objectives and working methods from each co-creation session are described. The outcomes of each co-creation session and how these findings have shaped the development of the KickAsh!-intervention – a comprehensive website consisting of materials developed in collaboration with youth workers and adolescents – are described. This paper emphasises the value of prioritising participatory designs (such as DDM) structured by a theory- and evidence-based framework for intervention development (such as IMP). This approach enabled us to devise intervention strategies rooted in the lived experiences of adolescents and youth workers, ensuring practicality within the given context. The developed KickAsh!-intervention closely aligns with the preferences of both adolescents and youth workers. It prioritises creative elements informed by theory and scientific evidence with the expectation of achieving impact. However, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the KickAsh!-intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A child and youth participatory model was developed, drawing on current best practice and evidence, to support the co-design of child and youth led service initiatives. • The model was trialled with young people who experienced marginalisation to understand their experiences of service engagement, support the development and testing of their ideas, and to support them as advocates for youth led initiatives. • The model also requires addressing issues of knowledge, capacity and culture within service organisations to increase responsiveness to child and youth engagement in service design and decision making. • The strengths and challenges of model implementation are discussed. The ReSPECT Project (Reconceptualising Services from the Perspectives of Children and Teens) was conducted in a disadvantaged urban community in Australia, with young people who experience marginalisation and who were involved with multiple service agencies across a range of service sectors. Its purpose was to work closely with young people to understand their experiences of service engagement, their perspectives on the service priorities for young people in their area, and to support them in the development, trial and implementation of a youth led service initiative. This paper describes the methodology employed with the young people, its theoretical underpinnings, and the challenges that needed to be overcome in the conduct of this research. Critical to the ReSPECT approach is relationship building and capacity development with local service providers. This aspect of our work is also briefly described in this paper. The ReSPECT approach makes a significant contribution to the participatory methodological literature. It is distinctive from existing approaches because (1) it gives equal attention to the sustained engagement and scaffolding of young people in the development of ideas, and to the capacity building of service providers addressing organisational culture and constraints; (2) it follows the process of service change from the conceptualisation of youth-led ideas, through to development, partnership, implementation and evaluation; and (3) it is designed for engagement with marginalised young people with diverse service experiences, whose voices are so often absent from participatory projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study compares children's participation in child protection (CP) legislative and policy frameworks of Bulgaria, Ireland, Malta, Norway and Serbia. • The study is based on a comparative case study analysis. • The participation of children in child protection service is framed by a complex set of factors, with the necessary infrastructure in terms of legislation and policy and contextually framed resources, knowledge and awareness being central. • Facilitating the implementation of children's participation in the context of child protection requires the necessary financial and human resources. • The exchange of good practices and experiences between countries with more developed CP systems and those who have a shorter history of CP could create innovation to find solutions for better participation of children. This paper compares children's participation in child protection (CP) legislative and policy frameworks and how this is then reflected in practice among five European countries namely Bulgaria, Ireland, Malta, Norway and Serbia. Literature suggests that whereas many countries have adapted their legislative and policy frameworks, there exists a gap between these frameworks and what happens in practice (Wilson et al., 2020; Jensen et al., 2020). This paper will address this gap by considering the contextual forces that facilitate the participation of children in formal CP services, where listening to their voices and involving them in decision-making processes is important. The authors draw on the Eurofamnet national reports (Abela and Dudova, 2021) to provide an overview of the history of child protection, and other important indicators such as poverty. A case study approach is adopted. The comparative analysis of the five countries suggests that whereas all five countries have adapted their legislation to achieve child participation and CP policies are increasingly becoming child-centered, there exists a gap between the legislative and policy frameworks and what is on offer in practice. The participation and protection of children is interdependent on a child protection service with the necessary infrastructure in terms of legislation and policy but also necessitates contextually framed resources, knowledge and awareness about the benefits of such a policy for the wellbeing of children and their families. The exchange of good practices, knowledge and experiences in terms of child participation between countries with more developed CP systems and those with a shorter history of CP practices could create long-term collaborations and innovation in the area for those countries who most need it. The influential role of international institutions is also an important driving force, especially for those countries who may not have a welfare regime context that is supportive of entering into a conversation with children when they most need protection and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Childcare policy responses towards Covid-19 differed in European welfare states. • Policy responses cause informalization of childcare to different degrees. • Informalization of childcare is mainly connected with social risks for women. • Cultural and institutional differences help to understand varying policy responses. The closure of extra-familial childcare facilities by European governments in 2020 was an important part of interventions against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. One consequence was that childcare was provided by parents at home, mainly by women. As a result, women mainly experienced financial and employment risks related to this "informalization" of childcare. The childcare policies of European welfare states differ in the extent to which they include measures to reduce the social risks related to informalization. Against this backdrop, this paper asks: How should one understand cross-national differences in childcare policies during the pandemic? We are also particularly interested in the effects of childcare policies on the social risks connected with the informalization of childcare and what these mean for the gendered division of paid work and care. Differences in childcare policies during the pandemic are commonly explained in terms of the path dependence of such policies. Using the theoretical approach of "care arrangement," this article introduces a broader theoretical framework that considers the role of cultural and institutional factors for understanding the cross-national differences in childcare policies during the pandemic. We introduce the findings of a comparative empirical study of childcare policies in three European welfare states—Denmark, Germany and England—that represent different types of care arrangements. This paper uses policy and media documents, quantitative data on childcare and women's employment, cultural ideas and secondary analysis of empirical studies. We find that governments did not per se respond to the pandemic based on institutional path dependence regarding childcare policies, while the integration of culture into the theoretical framework allows for a more comprehensive understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Many mental health disorders first emerge during early childhood or adolescence. • Wait times for children's mental health services have been an international and widespread problem. • Long wait times prolong the emotional distress of children and/or adolescents and their caregivers which can exacerbate mental health difficulties. • The majority of research in this area has been conducted in the United Kingdom and Canada and focus on one waitlist strategy. • Common strategies include alternative service delivery models, increasing system capacity, and improving intake and assessment processes. Background: Although many mental health disorders first emerge during early childhood or adolescence, there is a significant gap between demand and availability of mental health resources, leading to long waitlists for services. Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to identify and characterize the research literature related to the range of waitlist management strategies that have been implemented in outpatient child and adolescent mental health care. Methods: Electronic databases reviewed included: Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), PubMed, PsychINFO, SCOPUS, CINAHL, and ISI Web of Science. Grey literature databases included: OpenGrey, Conference Papers Index, and Proquest Digital Dissertations. Articles were screened by two reviewers in two steps: first by title and abstract, then full text level. Data were extracted using an a-priori developed data extraction framework, which was piloted and modified iteratively. Results: A total of 119 papers related to waitlist interventions in child and adolescent mental health were reviewed. Of these 119 papers, 11% were reviews, summary, or theoretical papers; 8% used a randomized control trial design and 2.5% were trial protocols. Most studies used less rigorous designs, such as uncontrolled before-and- after designs. The large majority focused on just one waitlist strategy each. The most commonly used approaches included: prioritization/triage and initial assessment; brief consultation and advice or brief therapy approaches; group-based models; interim services; increasing capacity; and strategies to decrease non-attendance. Most studies were conducted in the United Kingdom or Canada. Discussion: While mental health systems are complex, most studies examining waitlist initiatives explored the implementation of single initiatives. It is unlikely that a single waitlist strategy can be effective in managing wait times for children's mental health. Rather, consistent and systemic approaches to address wait times that consider the impact of the reduction approach on the patient, the program, and the community are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Family Support as an approach to supporting and protection children, young people and parents. • Pan-European issues involved in family support. • A social justice perspective on supporting and protection children, young people and parents. • Implications for policy, practice, research, evaluation and academia. • Based on a wider range of academic, policy and practice contributions. Family support as an approach to working with children, youth, parents, and families is widely practiced across Europe albeit with a range of diverse meanings and interpretations. This paper responds to this ambiguity and provides a conceptual understanding of the delivery of family support in Europe. In doing so it applies a social justice approach critically examining the extent to which Family Support reflects the right of families, children, youth, and parents to be supported. It identifies and critically examines similarities and differences in the meaning and application of family support as a key concept in the European context. It is based on a comprehensive review of literature, mapping multi-disciplinary approaches to the provision of support, based on academic material from 2015 to 2020 and adopting a broad and inclusive definition of family. The paper considers the complexities in developing a universally accepted understanding of family support that: has value for practitioners and managers; is selected as a focus by policy makers; is open to evaluation and research; is compatible with academic research; and most importantly provides responsive and effective support to children, youth, parents and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Value system of a society is often shaped by its constitution, affecting how society perceives family. • Modern constitutional provisions on family implicitly lean towards traditional family forms. • The notion of Family Support is rarely expressly mentioned in constitutions of European countries. • Family Support is seen as a part of supervision authority or general duty of states to assist families. • More inclusive constitutional provisions with a constructive, rights-based approach are needed. This paper aims to explore the extent in which contemporary constitutional concepts of the family influence the recognition of the importance and the implementation of family support in European context. The authors start from the premise that constitutions lay the foundation for national legislation and policy, at the same time indicating a state's recognition of internationally agreed standards in a given field. Considering family support as a human right, the authors reflect on the meaning of constitutional protection vis a vis policies and practices of providing support to children and families and look into family related constitutional provisions of various European countries. Building upon the work of the European Family Support Network – COST Action 18123, the key elements of constitutional protection of families are identified, having a direct effect on the conceptualization and delivery of family support. In conclusion, considering the place and significance afforded to family support in national constitutions, the paper offers a classification of constitutions in that respect and evaluates the implications of constitutional regulation on family support policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about child supervision are present in a large proportion of the circumstances responded to by North American child protection systems. This paper examines different perspectives on low-supervision, from parental-deficit to critical-ecological formulations, to address two questions that are central to assessing reports: why low-supervision is deemed to be harmful, and why low-supervision events occur The implications of this knowledge for child protection system responses is explored, and the conceptualization and application of supervisory neglect as a maltreatment category is critically questioned in order to tease apart what this label may represent in practice. The paper considers how thinking could be reframed to make supervisory neglect a more discrete classification which informs subsequent action, including centering the environmental hazard in supervisory neglect formulations and giving primacy to the impact on the child rather than to parent behavior. The role of normative thinking in decision-making and the risk of perpetuating social inequalities and oppressive power is also considered. More research is required to examine responses and outcomes under current systems of practice, and how child protection workers and systems reflexively analyze reports. In addition, more societal dialogue is needed to prevent widespread risk-averse thinking about how children should be supervised, which can reinforce restrictive child protection policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A scoping study provides a better understanding of how local authorities in China support care-experienced young people. • Twenty-two social policies in China are mapped and examined. • Across localities, housing and employment services are prioritised to support care-experienced young people. • Current policy responses are insufficient, and people's opportunities to access the stipulated support are quite limited. An increasing amount of attention is being paid to young people with care experience on an international scale. They are often associated with negative outcomes after leaving care, such as low educational attainment, unstable housing, job instability and social exclusion. While many countries have prescribed social policies for supporting them for a more fruitful transition out of care, there is little information available in the context of China at local levels. Given this, this paper maps and examines existing local policies, exploring how local authorities support care-experienced young people in China. To achieve, it adopts a scoping review. The findings highlight (i) China's local polices as a whole prescribe a variety of services, resources, and/or measures to support care-experienced young people, of which housing and employment are at the top of the list; (ii) current policy responses are insufficient, and opportunities of this group of people to access the stipulated support are quite limited. The findings of this study indicate that policymakers need to improve local policies in order to make them more operable, sophisticated, and comprehensive, so that care-experienced young people can reap the greatest benefits from them. Also, a national leaving-care policy that provides guidance to local authorities should be considered, adding consistency and clarity to relevant policies across the country. The limitations of this paper relate mainly to its review methods, which point to the need to expand data sources and conduct cross-reviews to enhance the findings' credibility and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The method of this paper is a critical literature review with qualitative thematic analysis, on the topic of disability, child protection and the internet. • This study found that disabled children are at greatly increased risk of child maltreatment above their non-disabled peers, whilst unique complexities are documented around disabled perpetrators of abuse toward children. • Findings from this research study attempts to broaden parents and guardians, safeguarding professionals, policy makers and scholars' conceptual understanding of the impact of pervasive internet use on the unique complexities that disability presents for child protection within the digital world. • Key learning for future safeguarding practice is presented towards keeping children safe, in the context of a rapidly encroaching world wide web, and its complex social implications. Findings are presented from a critical literature review on child protection and welfare risks and the opportunities of internet use related to disability. There is evidence of unique complexities and substantially increased risks and barriers to effective safeguarding practice, at the intersection of disability, internet use and child protection. This is further complicated by the surge in internet usage leading the vast majority of children in contemporary western societies to be deeply ensconced in virtual worlds. We present findings of a critical literature review with qualitative thematic analysis applied to a sample of 33 key documents. The premise of this paper is to broaden conceptual understanding of the opportunities and risks of internet use by children and adults with disabilities in the context of child protection and welfare practice. This paper is relevant to parents, guardians, safe guarding practitioners and academics. This paper highlights key learning for future safeguarding practice, further research and scholarly work, towards keeping children safe, in the context of a rapidly expanding digital world, and its complex social implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is one setting which aims to provide stability and community to those who have experienced homelessness. • PSH has not been widely studied with young adults. • This paper uses mixed method to explore how young adult residents experience psychological sense of community (PSOC) before and after moving into PSH. • We find that building community takes time and requires opportunities for voices to be heard, along with ongoing personal growth (often related to substance use recovery). • Future PSH settings for young people should consider how to support residents in their individual journeys, and in building community. Amidst chronic stressors and ongoing instability, many young people who have experienced homelessness and housing instability find communities and settings which offer support and care. Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is one setting which aims to provide stability and community to those who have experienced homelessness, but it has not been widely studied with young adults (ages 18–25 upon moving into PSH). This paper employs a longitudinal convergent mixed methods approach – with quantitative and qualitative survey data over 1.5 years – to explore how young adult residents (N = 27 at T1; N = 20 at T2, N = 13 at T3) experience sense of community before and after moving into PSH. Using McMillan and Chavis' (1986) four-part Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC) framework to frame data collection and analysis, we find that residents' sense of community is shaped by an ongoing negotiation of personal and collective needs. Building community takes time and requires opportunities for voices to be heard (and shape change), along with ongoing personal growth – especially related to substance use recovery. Our findings offer insights for future PSH settings for young people – as well as other residential and community settings which aim to support young people. We suggest the need for future research which explores the tension of policy decision making, about substance use for example, in low-barrier support services like PSH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Instability often overshadowed young people's experiences of being in care. • Disrupted schooling could have a devastating impact on academic confidence. • School was frequently described by participants as a key source of support. • Stigmatisation was a significant theme in participants' narratives of school. • Narratives often painted a complex picture of instability, educational struggle, and perceived failure. • The societal imperative to be resilient and self-reliant had the effect of responsibilising participants. Research highlights a plethora of negative outcomes for care leavers and it is widely accepted that children in care are likely to have lower educational attainment than their peers. Rather than concluding that these figures can be attributed directly to being 'in care', scholars have indicated that the matter is more complex, drawing attention to circumstances which pre-date or supersede entry into care. This paper seeks to highlight the experiences of those care leavers who bucked the trend and achieved sufficient qualifications to study in higher education. Despite achieving well academically, our research shows that young people in care still struggled to manage the academic pathway between care and university. This paper draws on evidence collected from 234 care experienced students in England and Wales to consider the educational challenges faced by those without familial support. Findings revealed that instability, stigma and poor institutional support were significant barriers in participants' educational journeys. We consider the impact of narratives of 'meritocracy' and 'resilience' on interpretations of educational success for care leavers. We conclude that caution should be exercised when celebrating individual successes, and greater attention should be paid to structural and systemic barriers to educational achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Numerous barriers to service provision exist for young people with complex needs. • Strategies for service engagement are required at the practitioner and system level. • Practitioner-level strategies included relational and structural approaches. • System-level strategies included flexible and collaborative approaches. • Young people appear to benefit most from services adapted to their needs. Young people with complex needs often have a range of co-occurring challenges that require the support of multiple government agencies and services. Increasingly, government agencies are working with young people who present with co-occurring and comorbid complex needs requiring co-ordinated multi-agency responses. However, agencies and services are often faced with multiple obstacles and challenges to meeting the needs of these young people, placing them at increased risk of poor outcomes during their adolescence and into adulthood. The objective of this Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) was to provide practice insights as they relate to service engagement for young people with complex needs to highlight ways in which service delivery can be enhanced. Published academic literature as well as relevant material from the grey literature on young people aged 10–25 was synthesized to identify: (a) the principal barriers to service provision, and (b) strategies that facilitate service engagement. A total of 18 papers met the eligibility criteria for review. Papers were assessed using the critical appraisal skills programme (CASP). Individual and system level barriers were identified, including the characteristics of young people and the nature and structure of services. Strategies were identified at the practitioner level (e.g., benefits of relational, structural and empowerment approaches), and the system level (e.g., flexible services, collaborative approaches and improved staffing and resources). The review highlighted the importance of creating a service environment that is structured around the needs of young people rather than one which requires vulnerable young people to adapt to services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Participatory research approaches offer new opportunities for studying mentoring and social capital. • Presents experiences with two user groups: mentoring practitioners and migrant youth (mentees). • Challenges in youth understanding and meaningful engagement. • Challenges in practitioner blending of roles and resource constraints. • Close researcher-practitioner collaboration provided benefits for the mentoring organization, as well as meaningful participation and benefits for a few of the youth. Participatory approaches have gained broad interest among researchers as a vehicle for allowing participants' experiences and voices to inform research, beyond simply being a source of data. However, participants in mentoring programs, particularly young people, often are not included in research partnerships in a meaningful way. Additionally, practitioners often struggle to translate research findings into program improvements. This paper examines the experiences of a research team collaborating with two user groups: mentoring practitioners, and youth with migrant and refugee backgrounds participating in mentoring programs. With ambitions for meaningful user involvement, our aim was to develop and test a digital intervention for supporting social capital in mentoring. The paper draws primarily upon participant observation and qualitative data from a focus group and panel discussions. While youth voices did inform and shape the research, we also experienced challenges related to youth understanding and engagement. The adult practitioners participated actively but encountered tensions due to their dual roles as co-researchers and mentoring professionals, and resource constraints. Ultimately, a close collaboration enabled the co-creation of adaptations to our research approaches, allowing meaningful participation for some of the youth, and facilitating program changes. This paper offers lessons for researchers wishing to conduct participatory research in the context of youth mentoring, as well as specific suggestions for those studying social capital. It contributes to the discussion on participatory approaches with multicultural youth, presenting critical reflections on our experiences within this mentoring context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There are distinct typologies of social support networks for children and youth in out-of-home care. These network structure provide differing types of social support. • Many children in out-of-home care experience low levels of social support, both in terms of number of available support providers and amount of social support activities received. • Among youth with higher levels of social support, social support activities are spearheaded by certain members, including cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and fictive kin. This paper aims to examine the social support network structures of youth in out-of-home care and to delineate the type of social support activities provided by kin and fictive kin within the networks. Children in the child welfare system experience significant benefits from contact with non-custodial kin and fictive kin. However, little is known about the support activities they provide (e.g., childcare, transportation, etc.) and their relationship to the children (e.g., grandparents, godparents, etc.). Support provision and relationship to the child was measured through chart reviews and interviews with key stakeholders, allowing for a description of the amount of support provided by various types of kin and fictive kin. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was applied to the data to determine the presence of distinct profiles. A four-profile solution emerged: (1) Multigenerational Predominant Cousin, (2) Bigenerational Lower Involvement, (3) Bigenerational Predominant Fictive Kin, and (4) Multigenerational Predominant Aunt/Uncle), suggesting heterogeneity in the social support networks of children in foster care. Children in foster care experience varying levels of social support, which were spearheaded by specific categories of caregivers who provide distinct types of support. Thus, there is great heterogeneity in the social support networks of children and youth in care. The identified clusters suggest that "one-size fits all" policy practices may not be effective in engaging and maintaining social support for children in out-of-home care. This research indicates that child welfare practitioners need to appreciate the complexity of social support patterns available to children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The national child welfare agency in Ireland identified the integration of trauma-informed practices as a service need, in the current significantly challenging practice climate. A promising program that meets the need of child welfare professionals to support need has been developed and is reported on in this paper. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a newly developed post-graduate level trauma-informed care program for professionals in the national child welfare agency in Ireland. Study participants were 41 child welfare professionals that included front-line practitioners, supervisors, and senior managers. A pretest–posttest study design was used, data was collected over three-time points to measure the effects of the program on pre-defined outcomes of Trauma-informed Knowledge, Professional Self-efficacy, Professional Quality of Life, and Intention to Leave. Statistically significant positives effects were found in trauma-informed knowledge, professional confidence, burn-out and compassion fatigue/secondary traumatic stress, with effect sizes ranging from medium-large to large ( η 2 =. 133 t o η 2 =. 721) across the intervention time period. The positive impacts arising from the program were sustained for 3 months post-intervention. The results of this initial evaluation are promising in supporting child welfare professionals' capacity to integrate trauma-informed practices and addressing the need for trauma informed practitioners. The need for further research is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• To sustain YPAR practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, adaptations were necessary. • Microsystem adaptations included addressing youth's basic and material needs. • Mesosystem adaptations entailed inclusive technology and attending to local changes. • Exosystem adaptations focused on modifying trainings for adult allies. • Macrosystem adaptations involved flexibility in deliverables and use of funding. Drawing upon illustrative examples from four diverse youth participatory action research (YPAR) projects that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice uprisings, this paper showcases adaptations that were made to sustain YPAR practices and youth voice. Utilizing Bronfenbrenner's socio-ecological model as an organizing frame, we discuss how YPAR facilitators were responsive to youth and community needs within the micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrosystem. We addressed youth's material needs during periods of precarity and modified approaches for engaging adult allies, in recognition of their reduced capacity professionally and personally. While these adaptations were made in response to a rapidly shifting landscape during a specific historic period, they reflect lasting considerations for YPAR theory, practice, and policy. Opting for flexibility over fidelity and considering the realities present in multiple systems levels can help YPAR better meet the needs of youth and communities, especially during changing or challenging times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Qualitative study, examining networking skills, and social ties that are built and bind care-leavers to others. • The importance of these social connections and how care-leavers elicit the necessary help to achieve their goals in society. • Importance of fostering community and building social skills to support young people's reintegration into society. • Social workers and care providers should work together to broaden care-leavers networks and build social skills. This article aims to deepen and theorize our understanding of the psychosocial processes young people who are transitioning out of residential care engage in, specifically networking people for goal attainment. A qualitative approach was used to collect data from 31 South African residential care-leavers who were one to seven years out of care, aged 17–26 years. Using a grounded theory method of data analysis this study aims to fill the gap in theoretically informed studies by constructing indigenous theories to explain the care-leaving journey. This paper presents findings on (1) the need to elicit social connections; (2) honing networking skills in eliciting social connections; and (3) the strength in weak ties. The implications for practice point to the necessity of fostering a sense of community among care-leavers prior to their transition since this would eventually promote the development of youth resilience. Thus, to support young people's reintegration, social workers and child and youth care providers should cooperatively assist them to cultivate and broaden their networks of social connections and work proactively on building social skills for those purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Study describes the comprehensive process of conceptualization of family support workforce skills in different professions and social sectors. • Several related research are applied: websites content analysis, systematic reviews and Delphi study. • Core and field-specific skills become family supportive when they are applied in the contexts of strength and relationship-based approach as well as both – whole family and child-centered approach. • Implications lead to construction of a coherent model of family support skills with consideration and validation of links and relationships between the components of the model. Professionals working in different areas of family support have diverse conceptual assumptions and epistemological frameworks. Thus, a common conceptualization of family support workforce skills presents major research and practical challenge. Beyond general recognizability, a growing knowledge base and interests, there is still no generally accepted concept of what family support is as a practice, policy, and theoretical construct. This paper attempts to conceptualize the skills for the practice of family support in different professions and social sectors through several research approaches. Initially, we analyzed the content of websites with international organizations' resources about skills in family support. Second, we systematically reviewed literature using the PRISMA method. Last, we reviewed literature, including professional handbooks and publications. The content analysis and systematic literature reviews indicate that as an interdisciplinary concept, family support workforce skills are generally familiar, but not defined nor specified and differentiated from other skills used in the broad field of work with families. So, to deepen the knowledge on family support workforce skills and reach a reliable consensus, the Delphi method was used with a series of questionnaires at different stages of research. Results indicate that specific core and field-specific skills become family supportive when they are applied in the contexts of strength and relationship-based approach as well as both – whole family and child-centred approach. That has opened up new possibilities for more precise definitions, recognisability and transferability of family support skills and construction of a conceptual model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare neurogenetic syndrome that results in significant challenges in the school setting, often requiring a myriad of academic, social-emotional, and behavioral supports to maintain health and safety and academic success. This paper provides a primer for school psychologists, introducing the physiological, educational, and behavioral differences experienced by children with PWS. As the symptoms of PWS are widespread, the impacts of common physical and neurological differences on specific learning abilities, adaptive skills, and overall functioning in the classroom setting are discussed in detail. While PWS is a spectrum, and each child will experience symptoms and challenges differently, this article aims to provide a foundation for the development and facilitation of support services to assist educators in not only maintaining the health and safety of their students with PWS, but also in capitalizing on their strengths, and building a plan to help them succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Supportive housing can be combined with wraparound supports for teen families. • Collaborative partnerships are key to offering teen families supportive housing. • Supportive housing needs to balance structure with trauma-informed responsivity. Providing support to address the systemic barriers that teen families face is a logical step toward improving their health and well-being. One area where teen families face multiple obstacles is accessing safe, secure, affordable housing. This paper describes a unique, innovative model of supportive housing developed in combination with wraparound supports, provided to teen parents in Edmonton, Canada. As part of a larger community-based participatory research and evaluation project, we draw on qualitative data to describe the supportive wraparound housing model that was developed. In particular, we conducted individual interviews and focus groups with a total of 27 staff members from the partner agencies, who provided information about the Successful Families program model. Analysis of interview data resulted in five broad categories that have resonated with our community and academic team as a way to conceptualize and share the work of the program. Categories, which are described in terms of associated subcategories, include: Community, Partnership, Program Principles and Values, Successful Families Program Structures, and Skill and Knowledge Development. Through this work, we aim to promote awareness of considerations for service providers seeking to implement similar services, and expand the limited knowledge base regarding methods for supporting the diverse needs of teen families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analysis of a subset data of 533 young people in the Czech Republic (mean age 13.6 years). • Youth identified and described their natural mentors in qualitative descriptive questionnaires. • Results describe the characteristics, risks and perceived benefits of natural mentors in youth' perspectives. • Young people identified peers, family members, and formal and informal education teachers and leaders. • Natural mentors were described as 'a good person' with a caring, attentive, kind, and friendly nature. Natural mentoring is a type of youth-adult relationship distinguished with the supportive and caring qualities. The complex conceptual definition as well as the youth-centred knowledge on this type of relationship in youths' daily experiences are missing in the literature. This empirical article reports the analysis of data subset exploring the experiences of youths in natural mentoring relationships in the Czech context. Overall, 533 young people (aged 11–16, mean age 13.4) in eight secondary schools in the Czech Republic participated in the qualitative open-ended questionnaire, identifying, and describing natural mentors from their social networks. The paper reports results of thematic analysis of selected questionnaire items on young people's experiences and perceptions of their identified natural mentors. Young people identified natural mentors most often (n = 105) among their peers or older friends. Besides, youths mentioned and described grandparents, older siblings, family acquaintances, schoolteachers, youth-group and sport leaders, and one-to-one music teachers as natural mentors. Identified mentors were most often perceived as 'a good person' with a caring, attentive, empathetic, nice, kind, and friendly nature who, as a result, is perceived as helpful and supportive. Results are discussed with recommendations for further exploration of natural mentoring as a type of youth–adult relationship, naturally occurring in institutions, organisations, and various youth-work settings where youth-adult interactions are part of the service/institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) screeners can be verbal or self-administered. • We used 2 contemporaneous surveys to compare prevalence of caregiver-reported ACEs. • The telephone survey had higher ACEs disclosure rates compared to paper/web survey. • Findings support the importance of verbal communication to identify ACEs exposure. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic experiences that increase people's susceptibility to adverse physical health, mental health, and social consequences in adulthood. Screening for ACEs in primary care settings is complicated by a lack of consensus on appropriate methods for identifying exposure to ACEs. It is unclear whether self-report methods could increase disclosure of ACEs as compared to interview-based methods. This study compares data on the prevalence of ACEs from two publicly available surveys conducted on the same population of children's caregivers: the 2019 Ohio subsample of the web/mail-based National Survey of Children's Health and the telephone-based 2019 Ohio Medicaid Assessment Survey. We find higher disclosure of caregiver-reported child exposure to ACEs in the telephone interview survey, highlighting the importance of the role of verbal communication in developing a safe and trusting relationship in the disclosure of trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The lives of Black girls, femmes, transgender, and nonbinary (TGNB) young people who identify as LGBTQ + are punctuated by experiences of oppression-based, interpersonal, and systemic trauma. • Healing and creative resistance are strong driving forces facilitated by pride in one's identities, artistic expression, and mindfulness facilitated by time spent in nature and parks. • Individual and collective dreaming and futuring are central to the living of LGBTQ + identified Black girls, femmes, and TGNB young people. Black LGBTQ + girls, femmes, transgender and nonbinary youth and young adults experience high rates of sexual violence, and other forms of trauma, including oppression-based trauma related to racism, misogynoir, homophobia and transphobia. Black LGBTQ + girls, femmes, transgender and nonbinary young people, whose experiences are underexplored within social science research, also experience disparately harsh discipline and pushout within school settings while being disproportionately represented in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. However, they are also a community with a tremendous history of creative resistance, and legacies of activism and powerful healing practices. Within this paper we have disaggregated the interview data of 13 LGBTQ + identified participants from a larger qualitative study with 24 Black girls, femmes, transgender and nonbinary youth, aged 16–25, who reside in New York State. Data were analyzed using critical thematic analysis and three main themes emerged: 1) the significance of participants' experiences of childhood trauma, 2) participants' conceptualizations and experiences of healing and resistance, and 3) participants aspirations and dreams for their futures and the futures of their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child well-being is a subject of paramount importance, since a careful analysis of all the aspects related to childhood may have a major impact on the society as a whole. In this paper, based on the End of Childhood Index, which is a fully compensatory composite indicator published annually by the international organisation Save the children, we analyse the added information that can be provided through the use of multi-criteria analysis techniques. On the one hand, rather than analysing the overall performance of the countries by the use of the fully compensatory scenario, we make use of the international reference levels and performance bands provided by Save the Children itself, allowing to measure the distance of each country with respect to these levels. Besides, the use of a non-compensatory scenario offers interesting insights about the possible imbalances of each country, which is helpful in decision making processes. First, based on the data of the last available year, 2021, an overview of the worldwide analysis and a further detailed single region analysis is carried out. Second, a dynamic analysis over a period of five years (2017–2021) is undertaken. In this line, in order to guide childhood decision makers towards the identification of possible opportunities for improvement and the implementation of the corresponding action plans, the multiple reference point technique makes it possible to analyse the compliance in each one of the indicators, based on the use of distance reference levels and the joint consideration of a fully and non-compensatory composite indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The factors that inhibit and promote professional interventions with young adults refer to social, formal-structural, and personal factors. Nevertheless, studies of these factors from social workers' perspective, and research of the inhibitors associated with the socio-cultural context of minority young adults, are few. The aim of the present study was to examine social workers' perceptions of the factors that inhibit and promote interventions in the socio-cultural and formal-structural context of at-risk young Arab-Palestinian women in Israel, who are at an intersection of marginal positions. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 social workers. The findings revealed two themes: 1) Social workers' perceptions of the challenges in two dimensions, a) socio-cultural factors which include family centrality in the young women's life, and b) formal-structural inhibitors. 2) Promoting factors which include professional values and the need for cooperation between organizations themselves and with recipients of the services The findings were reviewed according to the intersectional invisibility model, and were based on the concept of institutional discrimination, which showed that at-risk young Arab women experience an intersectional invisibility of their identities and, at the same time, the social workers experience a conflicting situation within the wider context of intersectional discrimination. The paper concludes with recommendations to practitioners and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Trauma-Informed Approach: Prioritizes understanding and addressing deep interpersonal trauma in returning children. • Unified Response: Advocates for harmonized approaches across military, healthcare, and social welfare. • Participation: Emphasizes active involvement of returning children, reclaiming their rights and roles. • Protracted Recovery: Acknowledges ongoing challenges post-captivity, requiring sustained efforts. • Broader Context: Reintegration extends beyond personal growth to encompass conflict aftermath. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by 195 countries globally, symbolizes a collective commitment to safeguarding children's rights. Despite this, children have become pawns in contexts such as political violence and armed conflict, abducted and held hostage, exploiting their vulnerability. Born out of Israel's recent experience with the Hamas terror organization's abduction of 40 Israeli children aged 9 months to 18 years, this paper proposes a comprehensive framework that could be useful to other countries in addressing the complex challenges associated with the return of children abducted in contexts of armed conflict and political violence. This framework is rooted in four theoretical prisms—trauma, development, context, and children's rights, and spans five critical stages: the preparation stage, the first 24 h, the first week, and the first month after a child's return. It also provides general guidance on longer-term support and providing support to multiple key figures and contexts in the child's life. By outlining key concepts and guidelines within the framework, this manuscript provides a unique insight into potential response to this distressing phenomenon. While it is our fervent hope that no country will need to implement such a framework, the unfortunate reality is that evil knows no limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Aboriginal perceptions about the overrepresentation of Aboriginal infants in out-of-home care include adversities related to colonisation not addressed prenatally, unnecessary reports, and unnecessary removals. • System causes of unnecessary reports include bias in reporting, visibility bias, health worker lack of experience and high demand for community services. • System causes of unnecessary removals include bias in removal decisions, bias in risk assessment instruments, power imbalances in child protection decision-making and lack of culturally informed community-based residential services following birth. • System causes of unmet need prenatally include disparity between resources for Aboriginal services and need, fear and distrust of child protection, an inexperienced Aboriginal workforce and challenges identifying high risk Aboriginal families prenatally. • Core components of an effective response to tackle system causes of Aboriginal baby removals include mediation of child protection activities, supportive links between Aboriginal services, child protection and health workers, culturally grounded case practice, traditional cultural activities, and flexible support funds. The increasing rate of statutory Aboriginal infant removal in Australia, which has reached almost 10% of live births in the state of Victoria, is a crisis motivating radical change in child protection pathways. This paper describes the problem analysis and design phases of an Aboriginal-led systems change project intended to ensure Aboriginal infants are raised safe and strong in family, Community, and culture by creating a response capable of shifting underlying system factors. Dialogue and deliberation processes involving 27 practitioners working within Aboriginal health and social care programs in the Bayside Peninsula Area of metropolitan Melbourne, the traditional land of the Bunurong people, was the overarching method used to develop a shared understanding of the problem of Aboriginal infant removals and reach a consensus about what to do in the local system. The themes that emerged during problem analysis reflect a risk/bias theoretical perspective, and in the design phase, it was deemed necessary to reduce both child safety-related risk as well as bias in the child protection system that responds to risk. The ensuing Bringing Up Aboriginal Babies at Home program has a clear systems theory of change, and a service blueprint describing how it is going to be implemented. Bringing Up Aboriginal Babies at Home practice resonates with other programs that have evolved independently in Australia and in other western child protection jurisdictions to reduce infant removals, including building trust for engagement, inspiring hope, openness and transparency, activating extended networks of formal and informal supports, and close collaboration with antenatal and child protection services. Program evaluation will determine whether Bringing Up Aboriginal Babies at Home (BUABAH) can be implemented with fidelity, tackle identified system flaws, reduce the number of Aboriginal infants taken into statutory care and become sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Recognition that carers' experience both affiliative and threat-based emotions in their relationships with birth parents; • Carers who share First Nations' cultural identities with parents find that these can provide a basis for affiliative emotional responses; • There is limited formal support for carers to manage the strong emotions, particularly threat-based emotions, that can complicate their relationships with birth parents; • We provide five recommendations for improving support for carers in building and sustaining relationships with birth parents and in realising their potential to support children's rights to family connections during the out-of-home care journey. Children in foster and kinship care have a right to relationships with their parents. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) asserts children's right to contact with their parents and families during periods of separation, except where this is proven not to be in the child's best interests. Foster and kinship carers can play a pivotal role in children's opportunities for, and experiences of, connection to parents and other family. Yet, the relationship between carers and parents is often characterised by ambivalence and tensions. Emerging research suggests that training and support to carers can help them to navigate their own and children's relationships with their families. However, such support is not routinely available, and the evidence-base for supporting carers to manage complex relationships with parents is not well-developed. In this paper, we report on a study with 113 foster and kinship carers in Queensland (Australia). We explore carers' perceptions of the emotional aspects of their relationships with parents. A novel feature of our study is our exploration of carers' perceptions of affiliative and threat-based emotions in their relationships with birth parents. We report that carers experience a wide spectrum of emotions in their relationships with parents, some of which strengthen these relationships while others create distance. We find also that carers receive little, if any, formal support in building relationships with parents and for supporting children's opportunities for, and experiences of family contact. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers report being unsupported in meeting their cultural obligations in developing relationships with children's parents and families. We discuss the implications for formal support to improve carers capacities to build and maintain their own, and children's, relationships with parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Beneficial help relationships go beyond formal professional practice. • Peers and friends are central to youths' beneficial help seeking trajectories. • Family gestures and home practices are embedded in beneficial help relationships. The literature on help engagement of commercially sexually exploited youth has tended to focus on the challenges of such relationships and has been mostly grounded in studies of professional help relations from professional perspectives. This study is part of a large-scale study on help seeking and help related experiences from the perspectives of commercially sexually exploited youth (CSEY). This paper focuses specifically on the beneficial characteristics of help as seen by CSEY. Fifty commercially sexually exploited youths, in the present or in the past. In-depth semi-structured interviews, conducted and analyzed in accordance with the principles of Constructivist Grounded Theory. The study identified four characteristics of beneficial help that were salient both to help relations with professionals and in relations with peers and friends: Continuity and long-term ties; Sharing similarities; brokering help by others; "doing family," and "performing home." The significance of the various help experiences appeared to be more a function of how the help was provided and the nature of the relationship, rather than whether it was provided by formal or informal helpers. Nonetheless, the study underscores the critical importance of care and support by peers and friends and calls for further examination of the ways these might be integrated into services and programs for youths who are subject to commercial sexual exploitation. It also cautions not to "professionalize" informal friendships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Acceptability of HIV prevention interventions among young adults in Africa is high. • Seven themes were identified to explain reasons for acceptability or lack thereof. • Understanding, ease of use, relevance, and perceived positive effects are key. • Perceived negative effects and intervention costs can hinder acceptability. • Various social factors shape acceptability, such as stigma and social acceptability. Understanding what young adults and other key stakeholders find acceptable for HIV prevention interventions and reasons explaining acceptability or lack thereof is crucial for intervention developers and implementers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Higher acceptability of health and social interventions can improve intervention uptake and effectiveness. This paper aims to aggregate and synthesise the evidence on the acceptability of HIV prevention interventions for young adults in SSA, published over the past twelve years. In line with PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic mapping review to identify studies assessing the acceptability of HIV prevention interventions with young adults aged 10–24 in SSA, published between 2010 and 2022. We employed descriptive syntheses to aggregate and present study characteristics, methodologies, and findings on overall intervention acceptability. An inductive thematic analysis of quantitative and qualitative findings across studies was then conducted to highlight reasons for the acceptability or unacceptability of interventions among young adults and other stakeholders. The review identified 32 studies assessing young adults' acceptability of HIV prevention interventions. Fourteen studies also explored the acceptability of other stakeholders, such as caregivers, teachers, and healthcare workers. Overall reported acceptability was high. Of the 18 studies that provided a quantitative assessment based on the proportion of participants that found the intervention acceptable, only one study reported acceptability below 50%. The findings of the thematic analysis identified the following seven key factors shaping acceptability: ease of use; intervention understanding; intervention costs; perceived positive effects; perceived negative effects; relevance to young adults' needs and context; and social factors shaping acceptability. The review highlights the importance of collecting and aggregating information on the acceptability of HIV prevention interventions in Africa to inform future intervention development. It also points to factors developers and implementers of HIV prevention services and programmes should consider. However, our review also exposes gaps in the literature. More research is needed to investigate the acceptability of different stakeholders beyond end-users, the acceptability of integrated interventions, and the development of more robust theoretical frameworks and measurement tools. Understanding what influences the acceptability of interventions among young people and other key individuals will better equip researchers and practitioners to meet their needs and improve opportunities for the transition to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Diverse types of organizations involved in family support provision across Europe are systematically mapped. • Low representation of front-line practitioners in national family support networks. • Inter-country differences in networking building progress. • Development of the family support field by nurturing family support infrastructures both locally and globally, building hybrid evidence intermediary networks. Research has proven that family is the context for the development and well-being of the new generation, and parents need support in order to fulfill children and young people's physical, cognitive, emotional, and social needs. Most EU policy relating to children and young people is mediated through family even if this is not explicitly named. At a national level, European countries have been encouraged to offer family support initiatives through local authorities that promote positive parenting and guarantee children's rights. The current challenge in the family support landscape consists of engaging the European level with the local and national structures, in order to support the delivery of quality family support systems and services across Europe. This article reports on the progress in this area by the European Family Support Network (EurofamNet). EurofamNet was created with the purpose of establishing a pan-European family support network to inform family support policies and practices in order to contribute with global actions to face current challenges in family support agenda at European level. This paper introduces the mapping exercise performed by the network to identify key family support actors for research, policy, and practice at the European, local and national level. For this purpose, an expert-targeted approach was followed. Two experts identified 83 key family support actors at the European level, and a panel of 22 experts jointly identified 326 key actors and organizations in 17 European countries. The analysis of this mapping exercise offers an interesting mosaic of family support provision in different European countries that reflect both intra- and inter-network diversity in nature, scope, and sectors of family support actors and organizations. At the same time, this mapping exercise contributes to creating social fabric with the potential to facilitate knowledge mobilization of quality standards to be implemented for the guarantee of quality provision in family support in Europe. Practical implications for the development of the family support and wider services fields of this novel initiative of connecting the efforts of key actors in family support throughout Europe are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Critically reviews the literature on interventions to support children with incarcerated parents. • Twenty-four studies reporting on child outcomes in the United States were reviewed. • Most research has focused on promoting parenting skills and improving visits. • Little research on programs supporting at-home caregivers. • Services are typically not developmentally specified and do not acknowledge systems of inequality. The United States' overreliance on incarceration has resulted in the imprisonment of millions of individuals – the majority of whom are parents of minor children. While mass incarceration has failed to effectively reduce crime or increase safety, it has dramatically harmed children and families in the United States. In turn, a wealth of research confirms the negative social, emotional, and psychological impacts of parental incarceration on children and the disproportionate impact on Black and Hispanic families and families living in poverty. As activists work towards dismantling this discriminatory and overly punitive system, it is also necessary to support children and adolescents currently impacted by parental incarceration. Using the Family Stress-Proximal Process (FSPP) model (Arditti, 2016) as a frame, the current paper critically reviews the literature on interventions to support children with incarcerated parents (CIP). The use of the FSPP frame highlights that while most intervention research has focused on promoting parenting skills of incarcerated parents and improving visit experiences, there is a dearth of research on interventions that (1) support at-home caregivers, (2) provide developmentally-targeted and −appropriate services and (3) acknowledge and counteract systems of inequality like structural racism and poverty that cause and exacerbate incarceration-related stress. These findings support a research agenda that prioritizes interventions framed around the intersectional identities of CIP and the intersecting systems that impact their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Parents of trans children hold a body of knowledge about supporting trans children. • Families interact with a wide range of services and agencies in their journey to affirm their children's gender. • Parent knowledge and advocacy extends far beyond the medicalised pathway. • Parent knowledge can be used to inform services and agencies to provide more integrated, affirming services. The childhood and adolescence of transgender and gender diverse children and young people (trans children) is contested in many areas, such as media, education, health, and increasingly in the political sphere. Parents and carers of trans children navigate services and societal relations in their journey to affirm their children, from happy childhood to trans adults. This paper reports on the accounts of parents of trans children in Australia. Semi-structured interviews with 18 parents of 15 trans children in four states were analysed to understand the journey holistically, and interactions with services and institutions on this journey. Children ranged in current age from 8 to 21 years, and were 2 to 16 years when they first expressed their trans identity. These journeys highlight moments of gender euphoria, and points of both positive and negative interactions with a range of services such as GPs, specialist healthcare, trans healthcare, schools, foster care, government records, and sporting environments. This research demonstrates that parents have a collective body of knowledge on supporting and affirming trans children that should be drawn on to inform child and youth services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Trauma-informed practice is being trialled in response to extra-familial risks and harms. • An institutional ethnography found sources of knowledge impact this innovation. • Professionals may say young people are 'known-to-services' but be distant from them. • Being proximal to young people and advocating for their needs helps to know them. • To be trauma-informed, professionals must relationally know those they support. Efforts to shift from criminal justice to welfare-based responses to exploitation and other forms of extra-familial risks and harms, have centred relational approaches. In particular, the role that relationships between professionals and young people can play in providing a sense of safety as well as a route to wider support services when young people come to harm beyond their families is under consideration. In parallel, trauma-informed practice is increasingly promoted as a tool for creating service conditions in which relational practice can thrive. In this paper we present data from an institutional ethnography of two social care organisations in the UK which are endeavouring to adopt trauma-informed responses to extra-familial risks and harms. We use observation, focus group, and case file data collected in two time periods, to illustrate a relationship we identified between the nature and source of knowledge that guided professional responses, the ability of professionals to form relationships with young people affected by extra-familial risks and harms, and the capacity for their organisations to be trauma-informed. In doing so we trouble an established discourse in many social care organisations, that young people subject to intervention are 'known-to-services' and call for more responses in which young people are 'known-by-professionals' who are supporting them. Far from being a matter of semantics, we discuss how these two ways of knowing about young people, and the situations they face, potentially facilitate or undermine key pillars of trauma-informed practice, and the relational approaches that make such practice possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental difficulties, including mental ill health, substance misuse, domestic violence and learning disability have been associated with children entering out-of-home care. There is also evidence that these issues may co-occur within families. Understanding how the co-occurrence of these difficulties is associated with care entry is complex because they may co-occur in the same or different household members and have different impacts on the likelihood of care entry when they occur in mothers, fathers or in single parent households. Administrative data from local authority children's services in Wales were linked with demographic data to identify households in which children lived prior to entering care. Linkage to birth data identified biological mothers. Linkage with primary care, emergency department, hospital admissions and substance misuse services data enabled indicators of substance misuse, mental health, assaults in the home, learning disability and neurodivergence in the adults in those households to be identified. A series of multilevel binary logistic regression models were used to explore the odds of a household having one or more children entering care if risk factors were present. These considered the effects of individual risks, and cumulative risk both in individual adults in the household, and across the whole household. The effects of the number of adults, having adults with no risks and the differential impacts of risks in biological mothers, other women or men were also explored. Additional models explored these factors in single adult households. Cumulative risks increased the likelihood of care entry, however this effect disappeared when individual risks were controlled for. The presence of an individual with no risks in the household acted as a protective factor. Overall, the impact of the risks on the odds of care entry was substantially greater if the risks were present in the biological mother than if they occurred in other adults (men or women) in the household. In single adult households risk factors had a much greater impact when they occurred in households headed by women as opposed to men. Substantial differences in the effects of risk factors in female and male adults are apparent and further research is needed to understand why this is occurring to ensure that parents are treated equally in terms of support and statutory intervention regardless of their sex. 1 1 Throughout this paper we refer to the "sex" of the parents /adults in households, as opposed to their "gender." This is because in the analysis we carried out the sex of these individuals was determined by their GP records. We have chosen to use the term "sex," rather than "gender," as we believe this data is more likely to reflect their biological sex, rather the gender that the individuals identify as. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Child welfare organization websites exhibit different bureaucratic cultures. • Child protective agencies with high rates of maltreatment have bureaucratic websites. • Content analysis of website indicated alignment between culture and maltreatment. • State child protective agencies symbolically conveyed culture in online presence. Child welfare organizations work directly with families to intervene in response to community concerns about child abuse and neglect. Other aspects of their services are symbolically conveyed through online presence. This paper explores the mediated culture of state-operated child protective services agencies with a focus on bureaucracy and gendered power. Our findings reveal alignment between mediated cultures that signify rigid, penalty-oriented bureaucratic cultures and those states with the highest substantiated rates of child maltreatment. Similarly, this content analysis indicated alignment between more family-oriented collaborative bureaucratic cultures of online websites for states with the lowest rates of substantiated child maltreatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Focus on community work for the betterment of floating children. • Use social network analysis within a Bourdieusian lens. • Analyse social groupings and the structures behind them. • Look at "small things" that are sociologically meaningful for social change. Drawing on Bourdieu's sociology, the concept of space in particular, this paper discussed the positions and dispositions of floating children in the urban space. It used social network analysis to test the homophily hypothesis that socially similar agents are physically proximate. Data were collected from 45 floating children and urban children in a community school in China. The results rejected the homophily hypothesis, calling for collective activism for small-scale but sociologically meaningful change to disrupt the correspondence between the physical and social distance established through the "site effects" of the hukou (household registration) system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This scoping review explores the international literature between 2000 and 2022, to investigate the barriers and enablers to care-leavers engagement with multi-agency support services. • Thematic analysis informed the identification and analysis of documented enablers, barriers, and outcomes to engagement with care leavers. The results were used to populate a logic model to summarise the inputs, outputs and outcomes following care leaver engagement with multi-agency support. • Key themes identified around the barriers and enablers to engagement with care-leavers included Barriers: Identity, Trust in Services, Inadequate Support; Enablers: Turning points, Continuity of Support, A Good Worker, and Person-centred Approaches; and Outcomes: Improved Confidence, Awareness of Rights and Engagement. • We suggest that further qualitative research is needed with a variety of stakeholders including care-leavers to elicit the factors that contribute to their engagement with services, and to understand what engagement looks like. Many care-leavers experience poor individual and social outcomes. Care-leavers involvement with decision making and consistent supportive relationships with professionals can facilitate a more successful transition to independent living, including better well-being and social outcomes. Not all care-leavers engage with or participate in after-care services. There has been little systematic or structured modelling of what effective enablement through multi-agency support looks like, and the enablers and barriers to care-leaver engagement have not been identified. A scoping review of the international literature was conducted. Eighteen papers were identified, and a thematic synthesis used to derive themes associated with barriers and enablers to care-leavers engagement with services, and subsequent outcomes. The findings were used to populate a logic model illustrating the relationship between the mechanisms contributing to better outcomes for care-leavers: including inputs, activities, and outputs. Barriers to engagement included: identity, independence, trust in services and inadequate support. Enablers included persistent and consistent support, time and turning points, and having an authentic trusted professional within the service. The key findings focused on the need for flexible and accessible services, a gradual introduction to the after-care concept and a proactive approach by professionals, especially immediately after leaving care. This research co-produced with care-leavers contributes to a better understanding of the nature of enablers and barriers to engagement with multi- agency support services. The initial logic model derived from the literature will inform the development and measurement of a practice model and toolkit for professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The lack of early education services for the children of asylum-seekers is a significant problem worldwide. • The study focused on community daycares in Israel, known as the 'Babysitters'. • It examined an intercultural early education consultation program for undocumented caregivers working in Babysitters. • The program was designed to enhance caregivers' knowledge, sense of belonging and caring skills. • Alliances between counselors and caregivers were important and enhanced caregivers' sense of meaning and belonging. The lack of early childhood education services for the children of asylum-seekers is a significant problem in many countries. The urgent need for childcare and the lack of national solutions often lead to temporary and unregulated childcare services. This paper examines the case of community daycares, known as the 'Babysitters,' for undocumented children of African asylum-seeking families in Israel. These centers are generally staffed by undocumented community members. The study examined the C-SMART program, an intercultural consultation program provided by counselors to enhance community caregivers' developmental knowledge and caring skills for infants and young children. The qualitative study, guided by a grounded theory methodology, examined the caregivers' experiences and perceptions of learning within the C-SMART program. Fifteen undocumented African migrant and asylum-seeking caregivers shared their experiences in semi-structured interviews. Caregivers indicated that the consultation process included cultural tensions alongside moments of connection when shared cultural meanings were created. When the counselors demonstrated a humble, curious, and enabling attitude, the caregivers had significant learning moments and felt a sense of meaning and belonging that enhanced their caring skills. These results have substantial implications for the development of intercultural services for the caregivers of children from refugee or asylum-seeking families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Black men are significantly underrepresented in family-based research. • Children experience positive outcomes when they experience male caregiver-child relationships. • Strategies to engage Black male caregivers in family-based programming are presented. • Cultural sensitivity, highlighting the value and empowerment of Black men were effective. • Implementing strategies may reduce disparities and promote a positive representation of Black men. Black men are less likely to participate in research studies due to historical abuses and mistrust, which has consequences for various health issues, including research to improve the sexual health and well-being of young girls and women. This paper aims to present strategies from research staff on how to engage Black male caregivers in family-based research. After our five Black research team members (i.e., researchers, recruiters, facilitators, and community liaisons) recruited 30 Black male caregivers into one-on-one interviews, ten into focus groups, six into theatre testing of an intervention, and 20 more into the pilot intervention, interviews explored their experiences engaging the targeted population in research. Interview questions included asking what strategies were successful, what challenges occurred, and future recommendations to engage Black male caregivers in research. Audio recordings and written response data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes included: 1) empowering Black communities through fatherhood initiatives, 2) utlizing culturally sensitive and respectful recruiters, 3) highlighting the value of Black men, and 4) implementing study materials enhancing positive representations of Black men. Implementing strategies to include Black men in family-based health research has the potential to reduce health disparities in the United States and increase their representation across the literature. These strategies will equip researchers to engage in research with minority and structurally-systemically disadvantaged groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Increased collaboration between the social services and psychiatric care is needed for young people in out-of-home care. • Out-of-home care - more containment than support to undergo change. • Experiences of liminality induce hopes and fears. • Lack of influence of the placement's duration and content. The objective of this paper is to further the understanding of young people's experiences of out-of-home care (OHC). The focus will be on the tension between negative and positive experiences of OHC, refracted through the concept of liminality. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with 10 young people aged 15–22 (7 women, 3 men) with long-term contact with social services and psychiatric care. OHC can be experienced as a liminal space in both a negative and a positive sense. It is negative when perceived as containment rather than meaningful treatment. It can also be a negative experience when connected to fear, a lack of influence, and uncertainty in terms of being in between the social services and psychiatric care. It is positive when it is perceived as a turning point that enables positive change. It is then connected to feelings of meaningfulness, being respected, hope, and empowerment. The young people participating in the study also connect their experiences of OHC to a context of greater austerity in the welfare state. They reflect upon the benfits of OHC in terms of costs for society, but also the costs for the young person if the OHC is not perceived as meaningful support leading towards positive change. The participants have complex, interrelated needs and problems, and they also experience institutional gaps between psychiatric care and social services. It is important to overcome these gaps, so that young people are not located in 'in-between spaces' in terms of service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Close oversight by a Community Coordinator, relationships built with community partners, and the use of telehealth were creative solutions used by the Infant Toddler Court Teams during COVID-19 to support timely access to services. • This study builds on a companion paper that examined receipt and access to child health services at multiple Infant-Toddler Court Teams prior to and during the first year of the pandemic and details the challenges faced and the solutions identified by ITCT partners to support access to child services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic within the US. • Understanding the challenges and solutions faced by the Infant-Toddler Court Team Community Coordinators during COVID-19 will be important for future pandemics or crises that impact care for child welfare involved children. This qualitative study examines Infant-Toddler Court Teams' (ITCT) responses to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the accessibility and timeliness of services for children involved with an Infant Toddler Court Team (ITCT) within the United States. ITCTs utilize collaborative practice to improve, align, and integrate systems and build community capacity to improve outcomes for very young children and their families. This study reports findings from 350 transcripts of community partner interviews and an analysis of written case notes from ITCT Community Coordinators related to more than 700 instances of child service needs. We describe challenges faced and solutions and innovations developed by ITCTs to support and maintain child health services during the first year of the pandemic, as well as findings related to challenges associated with other types of services that reduced accessibility and timeliness. Understanding the challenges experienced and solutions developed can provide the child welfare field with insight and guidance on how to approach disruptions in care in the future and the persistent lack of service providers for court involved families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper investigates the association between household debt and children's psychological well-being and further explored the mediating role of parent–child relations. • Household debt, especially mortgage debt, is positively associated with psychological illnesses among children. • Parent-child relations mediate the link between household debt and children's psychological well-being. Household debt is a psychological stressor for those who take the debt on, but it remains unclear whether and how this money-related stressor influences children's psychological well-being. The study investigated the association of household debt with children's psychological well-being and further explored the mediating role of parent–child relations. Data were obtained from two waves (2016 and 2018) of the China Family Panel Studies, with a sample of 1,828 children included. The Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression Scale was applied to measure psychological well-being. Household debt was assessed by absolute and relative amounts of total debt, mortgage debt, and non-mortgage debt. We used positive and negative parent–child interaction to measure parent–child relations. The characteristics of children, parents, and households were included as covariates. Household debt, especially mortgage debt, was positively associated with psychological illnesses among children, and the link was substantially explained by parent–child relations. Household debt exerted detrimental effects on children's psychological well-being by jeopardizing parent–child relations in China. Strategies that address the need of vulnerable children are required to reduce the potentially negative psychological well-being outcomes of household debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A critical review of adolescent resilience scales found the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (83%) to be most adequate. • Two other scales; the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (83%) and The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (78%) were also found to be adequate. • This review provides a guide for researchers to help with scale selection based on psychometrics and the underlying theoretical basis of each scale. Valid quantitative measures of adolescent resilience are important for the development of knowledge and have implications for practice with adolescents. This scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) five step process and aimed to (1) identify the most used self-report scales that measure resilience of adolescents in studies published between 2000 and 2021, (2) describe the scales' psychometric properties, (3) describe the scales' conceptual and theoretical formulations, and (4) assess the scales' relative strengths, weaknesses, and adequacy. A review of 118 papers revealed six commonly used scales. A construct validation approach adapted from Skinner (1981) and expanding on Pangallo et al., (2015), with evidence assessed in four stages (theoretical formulation, reliability, validity, and application) was utilised to critically evaluate the six scales. The results showed that the most adequate scale for measuring resilience in adolescent populations was the Child and Youth Resilience Measure, scoring 83% of points. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (also scoring 83%) and The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents (78%) were also found to be adequate. This review provides clinicians and researchers with a critical overview of common scales measuring resilience in adolescents, including their underlying theoretical basis. This is vital to ensure the measure chosen is valid and matches the theoretical aims of the research/ application. Our review also suggests that too often, researchers fail to look beyond the original validation study when selecting resilience scales, and often fail to analyse and report current psychometric data from the chosen scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A small and limited number of good quality studies have focused on the association between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment. • Of the few studies on this topic, most have focused on common mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. • There is some evidence suggest that there's a significant association between depression and physical abuse, yet the magnitude of this association remains unclear. • Overall the available evidence is not sufficient to make strong conclusions about the association between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment. Parental mental ill-health is often described as a risk factor for child maltreatment. Yet the literature commonly foregrounds maternal mental ill-health. To obtain a more complete picture, it is crucial to also understand the associations between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment. To provide a narrative synthesis of evidence about the relationship between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment. Four electronic databases were searched, identifying 5479 citations. 151 studies were brought to full-text review. 37 were included in the study. Studies revealed mixed evidence for associations between forms of paternal mental ill health and child maltreatment, with stronger evidence for paternal depression and weak or no evidence for PTSD and anxiety. Many confounding factors were identified across the papers. The small number and limited range of good quality studies indicate the need to correct the relative invisibility of fathers within research about mental health and child maltreatment. At present, the available evidence is not sufficient to draw firm conclusions about the association between fathers' mental health and child maltreatment or appropriate policy and practice responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study reviewed the prevalence of mental health disorders among Looked After Children in the UK. • Prevalence rates varied across studies. • The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was the most frequently used tool to assess mental health. • There is still uncertainty about the scale and nature of mental health difficulties in this group. Care-experienced children and young people are more likely to experience poorer mental health relative to the general population. Some of the most highly cited literature in this area is becoming increasingly outdated, however, and as the gap between mental health service availability and provision is steadily growing, it is imperative that we understand the scale and nature of the mental health needs of this group. A systematic review of all literature published from the UK was conducted in March 2022 using APA PsycINFO, ASSIA, Cochrane Library, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Social Policy and Practice, Social Services Abstracts, and Web of Science. Papers were included if they 1) sampled young people (aged 0 to 18 years) with care experience and, 2) used either a standard or non-standardised measurement tool, or health records to assess mental health prevalence rates (reported as a percentage). Risk of bias assessed used the QuADS tool (Harrison et al., 2021) and data was extracted. Thirty-nine studies were included and summarised. The estimated prevalence of mental health disorders of young people in care ranged from 1 to 82 %. The most frequently used tool to assess mental health was the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997) and, while over half of studies utilised prevalence information from a comparator group, this was most commonly young people in the general population. The results of the systematic review demonstrate that estimates of mental health disorders among care-experienced young people in the UK vary considerably. Further consideration should be given toward what measures are used to assess mental health in this population and how we can optimally assess and characterise their support needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This co-produced study explores how young people experience and conceptualise 'feeling (mis)understood' by adults. • Feeling understood by adults has a positive impact on young people's mental health and help-seeking. • When young people feel misunderstood by health and social care professionals, it can negatively impact help-seeking. • Health and social care professionals should help young people to feel understood in to support engagement. The subjective and emotional experience of feeling (mis)understood by another person is distinct from being literally (mis)understood. While there is literature exploring young people's experiences of feeling (mis)understood in therapeutic or clinical settings by adults and the impacts thereof, there is limited exploration of young people's conceptualisations and perspectives of feeling (mis)understood within a range of young person-supporting adult relationships. This paper reports on the first stage of a project that was co-designed and co-produced by young people, exploring how young people experience and conceptualise 'feeling (mis)understood' in the context of receiving support from adults in their lives. This initial stage of the project captures young people's views on what feeling (mis)understood feels like, its impact on their mental health, and how adults can help young people to feel understood. Conceptualisation, design, fieldwork, analysis and writing were all co-produced with peer-researchers. Data for this project was generated through four workshops each held in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A total of 26 participants aged between 16 and 24 years of age took part in these workshops, and each workshop was facilitated by two peer-researchers and a member of university staff. Data was analysed through collaborative thematic analysis. The study found that feeling understood by supporting adults has a very positive impact on young people's wellbeing, mental health and help-seeking behaviour. Feeling misunderstood was found to have the converse effect, and in addition was found to make young people less likely to seek further support. Young people also identified a number of key actions adults can take to help the young people they support feel better understood. The findings of this research suggest that practitioners in the health and social care sector working with young people should consider the ways in which they can help young people feel better understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Online disinhibition positively associated with cyberbullying activities. • Online disinhibition functioned through moral disengagement and low self-control to influence cyberbullying. • Most studies focused on the effects of anonymity on cyberbullying, and the results were inconsistent. • Online invisibility had no effect on cyberbullying. • Asynchrony influenced cyberbullying directly and indirectly through moral disengagement. There has been a growing focus on researching adolescent cyberbullying in recent years. Increasing studies highlight the role of online risk factors—online disinhibition and its specific characteristics—in cyberbullying among adolescents. Systematic searches were performed in MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycArticles, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science. There were 837 papers in total, 410 of which were non-duplicated, and 15 were ultimately included. Based on the current empirical findings, it has been observed that a heightened perception of online disinhibition corresponds with an increased likelihood of engaging in cyberbullying activities. In addition to the direct effect of online disinhibition on cyberbullying, research also found that online disinhibition functioned through moral disengagement and low self-control to influence cyberbullying. Furthermore, the effects of specific characteristics of online disinhibition on cyberbullying were also investigated. However, most studies (six out of seven) merely focused on the effects of anonymity on cyberbullying, and the results were inconsistent. Additionally, the effects of perception of invisibility and asynchrony on cyberbullying were also examined in limited research. The results showed that online invisibility had no effect on cyberbullying. Asynchrony contributed to cyberbullying directly and indirectly through moral disengagement. Further research is required to investigate the impacts of solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimizing authority on the occurrence of cyberbullying. These findings are discussed, and practical as well as policy implications and guidelines for future studies are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mentoring literature contains diverse, but as yet unclassified, mentoring relationship types. • Mentoring for young people young people transitioning out of care must address specific contextual needs and barriers. • More attention is needed in mentoring literature on the policy context and the nature of the gender and power in mentoring relationships. In Australia, out-of-home care (OoHC) is provided to safeguard children and young people unable to live with their families. Typically, this care stops at 18 years of age, leaving many young people without the relational support to find employment and stable accommodation. Mentoring is increasingly proposed as a way to support young people exiting care, though the types of mentoring and contextual factors vary considerably. This rapid review aims to identify key features of mentoring programs that support young people in OoHC. This paper utilised a rapid review methodology to survey the academic literature on mentoring programs with young people in OoHC. The authors conducted literature searches in October 2022 using a search string designed to provide targeted exposure to the literature. Articles were limited by year and location, with the specific search string and limitations applied to the Scopus database, and Proquest and Informit platforms. Utilising literature, we identified five overlapping models for mentor–mentee relationships into a provisional typology of five categories based on varying levels of formality and familiarity in the relationships: 'formal', 'natural', 'near-age', 'peer', and 'therapeutic'. In doing so, we identified seven important features of mentor–mentee relationships: shared experiences, relationship duration, boundaries and other relationships, identity and self-worth, educational contexts, power and participation, and role modelling. We identified four issues relating to mentoring in OoHC that are informed by the needs and barriers experienced by young people: training and support for mentors, unique challenges faced by young people in OoHC, transition out of care, and the matching process. Lastly, we established what might impact mentoring programs buy critically reflecting on the policy context and notions of empowerment. This rapid review of mentoring programs for care-experienced young people seeking employment offers valuable insights to inform future programs. The findings highlight diverse and unclassified mentoring relationship types, the absence of anticipated gender-specific findings, a lack of examination of the policy context, and a need for more robust conceptualisations of empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]