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This chapter details the progression of Spanish residential care through a period of civil war followed by 40 years of dictatorship, when large institutions prevailed. The arrival of a democratic government in the late 1970s marked the beginning of a period of transformation in child welfare, including the introduction of family foster care and the expansion of family support services, the evolution of standards for residential care, and the development of research alliances with Spanish universities to identify effective strategies for residential staff training. Spain’s residential care population includes a high percentage of unaccompanied minors who, along with youth who present with severe behavioral and emotional problems, are a present focus of concern. The chapter concludes with the matrix used throughout the book, which provides information about the current policy context, key trends and initiatives, characteristics of children and youth served, preparation of residential care personnel, promising programmatic innovations, and present strengths and challenges.

A growing body of research focus on subjective well-being (SWB) in adolescence; however there are few studies focus specifcally on the residential care population and even fewer on diferences by type of residential facility separately for males and females. This study aims to analyze SWB in therapeutic residential care (a residential program created to address youths with severe emotional and behavioral problems) in relation to young people in other kinds of residential child care (RCC). 567 adolescents aged 14-18 from Therapeutic Residential Care (TRC) (n=256) and RCC (n=311) participated in the study. Results showed few signifcant diferences concerning the residential program factor. Satisfaction with their own family was greater for young people in TRC and satisfaction, both with the groups they belong to and with their own residential facility, rated higher among the RCC group. Regarding diferences by sex, females reported less SWB in all the domains including overall life satisfaction. The efect of the interaction between sex and type of residential program showed that females in TRC reported SWB, particularly low. The main implications for research and intervention will be discussed. Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This research study was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) of Spain through the National Plan of I + D + i (PSI2015-65229-R and PSI2012-33185). The author Alba Águila-Otero holds a post-doctoral scholarship from the Severo Ochoa Program for Training in Research and Teaching in the Principality of Asturias (BP16061).

Residential child care in Portugal is the most common protection measure in cases of family separation, since family foster care is still very rare. However, little is known about the needs of thes...

The social changes experienced in many countries have prolonged the transition to adult life for young people. That being said, those who leave child care cannot afford this privilege, in that they do not benefit from the same support and resources, having to confront an accelerated transition which exposes them to increased risk of negative outcomes and social exclusion. Moreover, this transition might be even riskier for unaccompanied migrant care leavers, who are four times as vulnerable, given their status as young people in care, as adolescents, as migrants and being unaccompanied. This paper seeks to explore the profiles, needs, and experiences of unaccompanied young migrants in comparison with other care leavers. Data were collected by means of a semi-structured interview to explore their pre-care, in-care, and aftercare experiences. A highly specific profile of unaccompanied young migrants has been revealed that differs from the other care leavers in terms of worse educational, occupational, and economic outcomes, limited support networks, and more obstacles to accessing aftercare supports. Conversely, they also exhibited some strengths, such as having less pre-care, in care, and aftercare traumatic experiences, less psychological distress and fewer risky behaviors compared with other care leavers.

Therapeutic residential care (TRC) is the name given to specialized children's homes for treating cases with severe emotional and behavioural problems that have been placed in residential care. A recent international review has revealed great diversity in the referral criteria of cases and in the models of intervention carried out. The goal of this study is to describe the population treated in these types of facilities in Spain and the therapeutic coverage given. The sample is made up of 215 young people in children's homes, of whom 93 are in TRC. The cases referred to TRC have been in residential care for less time but have gone through a greater number of placements. These young people also exhibit more problems of drug use, and there is a larger percentage of clinical-range cases in the Child Behaviour Checklist scales of attention problems and aggressive behaviour. Nevertheless, the results of logistic regression indicate that the only variables that significantly increase the probability of being referred to TRC are drug use and changes of care placements. With regard to therapeutic care, there is a higher percentage in the TRC group receiving psychiatric care, and the sessions are also more frequent.

Adverse family conditions, abuse and neglect during childhood present important risk factors for the appearance of emotional and behavioral problems. The main aim of this paper is to describe the presence of these kinds of disorders in children in residential child care and to explore individual, socio-family and care process factors associated with the use of mental health services. The sample consisted of 1216 children 6–18 years old in residential care in several Spanish regions. Information about emotional and behavioral problems was gathered according to two criteria: receiving some kind of treatment services and/or being identified as within the clinical range in the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Results showed that 49% of cases were receiving some kind of mental health treatment and 61% were identified as within the clinical range in some of the broad band scales of the CBCL. In terms of agreement between referral to treatment and CBCL scores, results showed that four out of ten cases identified as within the clinical range were not receiving any kind of treatment. Several factors related to the type of problems detected in the CBCL, personal variables, and child care arrangements are associated with greater use of mental health services.

Background Adolescents in Residential Child Care (RCC) report high levels of victimization. This has been linked to mental health problems and a higher risk of substance use and substance use problems. The present study aimed to evaluate the specific impact of different forms of victimization on alcohol and cannabis use problems among adolescents in RCC, attending to sex differences. Methods 321 adolescents from 38 residential therapeutic care facilities in Spain participated in the study. Thirty-six different forms of victimization were evaluated, as well as alcohol and cannabis use problems. Impact of polyvictimization and specific forms of victimization on alcohol and cannabis use problems and disorders were calculated using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression models. Results Girls in RCC reported significantly more experiences of victimization. Polyvictimization was associated with alcohol use problems but not cannabis use problems. Property, domestic and community victimization showed the highest predictive role regarding alcohol and cannabis use disorders, with significant interactions with sex and migrant family background. Conclusions Adolescents in RCC reported considerably high levels of victimization and alcohol and cannabis use problems. In this population, property victimization, as well as indirect domestic and community victimization were predictors of further substance use problems, with girls being particularly sensitive to victimization. Migrant family backgrounds can also have an influence on the impact of some victimization forms on substance use. Victimization associated to high-risk environments and families could contribute to explain the high levels of substance use problems in this population.

In many countries, adolescents in the child protection system present with serious emotional and behavioral problems. In order to address their specific needs, therapeutic residential care (TRC) programs have been created. The goal of this study is to analyze the profile of 353 adolescents in TRC in Spain. Data on family history, high-risk behaviors and their process of intervention in the child welfare system were collected, as well as the clinical profile through the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Results showed a high frequency of high-risk behaviours, especially violent behaviours, substance abuse, running away and suicidal behaviors. About 90% of the sample had a history of continuous mental health treatments starting at an average of 10 years old. About 70% of the sample scored above the clinical threshold of the YSR. Girls exhibited a specific pattern of risk behaviors and mental health needs, showing greater psychological distress and a more complex profile.

The author Carla González García holds a pre-doctoral scholarship from the National Program of Training for Improving Talent and employability in the frame-work of the National Plan of Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation 2013-2016 and co-financed by the European Social Fund (BES-2016-078139).The author Alba Águila holds a pre-doctoral scholarship from the Severo Ochoa Program for training in research and teaching in Principality of Asturias ( BP160 61).This research has been supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) of Spain through the National Plan of I+D+i (PSI2012-33185)

In many developed countries around the world residential care interventions for children and adolescents have come under increasing scrutiny. Against this background an international summit was organised in England (spring 2016) with experts from 13 countries to reflect on therapeutic residential care (TRC). The following working definition of TRC was leading: "Therapeutic residential care involves the planful use of a purposefully constructed, multi-dimensional living environment designed to enhance or provide treatment, education, socialization, support, and protection to children and youth with identified mental health or behavioural needs in partnership with their families and in collaboration with a full spectrum of community based formal and informal helping resources". The meeting was characterised by exchange of information and evidence, and by preparing an international research agenda. In addition, the outlines of a consensus statement on TRC were discussed. This statement, originally published in English and now reproduced in a Dutch translation, comprises inter alia five basic principles of care that according to the Work Group on Therapeutic Residential Care should be guiding for residential youth care provided at any time.

Young people in residential care (RC) are a group at high risk of developing mental health problems. One of the most commonly-used screening instruments is Achenbach and Rescorla (2001) dimensional, multi-informant ASEBA. The main objective of this study is to analyze the level of agreement between young people in RC and their care workers (who, in Spain, are called social educators, and who have a specific university degree). 617 young people in RC aged between 11 and 17 completed the Youth Self Report, while their social educators completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). A 2 × 2 ANOVA was performed with the intra-subject variable being the test scores and the inter-subject variable being in receipt of specialist treatment or not. The results indicate that the social educators tended to score more highly in externalizing scales, whereas the young people reported more internalizing problems. In the treatment group, the CBCL scores were higher than the YSR scores, but in the non-treatment group the opposite was found, particularly in internalizing scales. The results are discussed in comparison with concordance studies in the general population and we conclude that multi-informant instruments are appropriate for the population in RC.

This article closes the special issue of this journal about an international review of out-of-home child care, principally family foster care and residential care, tough several aspects related to adoption were included as well. Although a comparison on some data about residential and foster care, or kinship and non-kinship care, is carried out, the article tries above all to make a reflection on the implications of several themes that have emerged as more interesting or important. Matters such as the use of residential care and its role in the current child care system, the overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in foster care in several countries, the situation of unaccompanied young people asylum seeking, the use of adoption as a permanent solution, the challenges of the transition to the adulthood from care, the relevance of the professionalization and models based on social pedagogy, the evaluation and planning based on data, and the current financial crisis and its impact on child care systems are some of the remarkable topics that will be reviewed.

Children and adolescents who live in out of home care in the child protection system are considered to be vulnerable to manifesting mental health disorders as well as other types of difficulties. This risk is greater in the case of children who display any type of disability. The aim of this study is to profile the state of health and well-being of a group of children presenting intellectual disability who live in residential care in a Spanish autonomous community and to compare these results with their non-disabled peers.Two questionnaires filled in by the caseworker and key residential worker, respectively, were used and a screening test (CBCL) was administered to assess the children's emotional and behavioral status.The results indicate that there are more vulnerability factors in this group of children comparing to their peers; in particular, a greater likelihood of having parents with a history of mental health and alcoholism and greater frequency of intellectual disability in their mothers. Likewise, they had a greater probability of having suffered physical abuse. The screening revealed the existence of greater alterations on the scale of social and thought problems, as well as a greater probability of being referred for treatment and greater use of psychotropic medication. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resumen: La numerosa llegada de menores extranjeros no acompañados (MENA) a nuestro país durante los últimos 20años ha supuesto un reto para los sistemas de protección, que se han visto en la necesidad de adaptar sus procedimientos a las necesidades concretas de estos adolescentes. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo describir las características y necesidades de los MENA acogidos en España, así como el proceso de intervención llevado a cabo en comparación con otros países. Para ello, se examinaron los documentos publicados en cada territorio, se realizaron entrevistas individuales (n=42) y grupales (n=8) con los adolescentes, así como con profesionales (n=68) de 9 territorios. Se describen las similitudes y diferencias en cada una de las fases del proceso de atención a la vez que se señalan las específicas necesidades de estos adolescentes en cuanto a educación, salud, alojamiento, transición a la vida adulta y apoyo social. Se concluye la existencia de importantes diferencias en el modelo de actuación de cada región, la creación de programas y servicios específicamente dirigidos a estos adolescentes que han favorecido su adaptación al contexto de acogida, así como la necesidad de profundizar en el apoyo a la transición a la vida adulta y en la atención a su malestar emocional. ABSTRACT: The arrival of numerous unaccompanied asylum seeker children (UASC) over the past 20years has been a challenge for the child welfare system in Spain. Child care resources and professionals have made a big effort to adapt services and procedures to the specific needs of these adolescents. This paper aims to describe the characteristics and needs of the UASC welcomed in Spain, and the intervention process carried out, in comparison with other countries. The documents published in each territory were examined, and individual interviews (n=42) and group interviews (n=8) were conducted with adolescents and professionals (n=68) in 9 territories. The similarities and differences in each of the phases of care, as well as the specific needs of these adolescents in education, health, housing, transition to adulthood and social support, are described. There are significant differences in the model of intervention in each region, and in the creation of programs and services to assist these adolescents with adaptation to the host country. Further support for the transition to adulthood and attention to their emotional distress should be included in service provision. Financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad,mediante el Plan Nacional de I + D + i (PSI2012-33185).

The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of mental health disorders in children living in residential care and their use of therapeutic services, including the relationship between these factors and social-family and intervention process variables, as well as the relationship among the disorders identified by professionals and the detection of disorders by means of a screening instrument. We studied a sample from the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in Spain made up of 264 children ages 6 to 18 years. Data collected from residential care workers on the children’s characteristics and the existence of disorders and possible treatments were used, as well as the Child Behavioral Checklist as a screening instrument. In addition, the case social workers provided information on social-family and intervention process variables. Results show that 26% of the children in residential care were receiving or had received treatment for mental health disorders. Seventeen percent of the total presented mental disability, and in half of these cases, they were also being treated for mental disorder. The screening test, however, detected that cases with clinical range accounted for 44% of the children and that there was considerable bias in relation to referrals for treatment.

none 32 si The International Work Group for Therapeutic Residential Care convened an International Summit on ‘Pathways to Evidence-Based Practice’ at Loughborough University (GBR), Centre for Child and Family Research on 27-29 April, 2016 with generous support from the Sir Halley Stewart Trust and in partnership with The European Scientific Association on Residential and Family Care for Children and Adolescents (NLD) (EUSARF), the International Association for Outcome-Based Evaluation and Research on Family and Children’s Services (ITA) (IAOBER) and the Association of Children’s Residential Centers (USA) and with the additional support of Action for Children (GBR) and the National Implementation Service (NIS) (GBR). Membership includes: Lisa Holmes (Chair), Director, Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University (GBR); James K. Whittaker (Co-Chair), Charles O. Cressey Endowed Professor Emeritus, University of Washington, School of Social Work, Seattle (USA); Jorge Fernandez del Valle, Professor of Psychology and Director, Child and Family Research Group, University of Oviedo (ESP); Frank Ainsworth, Senior Principal Research Fellow (Adjunct), James Cook University, School of Social Work and Human Services, Townsville, Queensland (AUS); Tore Andreassen, Psychologist, The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (NOR); James P. Anglin, Professor, Faculty of the School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria (CAN); Christopher Bellonci, Board-Certified Child/Adolescent and Adult Psychiatrist; Associate Professor, Psychiatry Department, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA (USA); David Berridge, Professor of Child and Family Welfare, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol (GBR); Amaia Bravo, Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Oviedo (ESP); Cinzia Canali, Senior Researcher, Fondazione Emanuela Zancan, Padova (ITA) and President, International Association of Outcome-Based Evaluation and Research in Family and Children’s Services (IAOBER); Mark Courtney, Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago (USA); Laurah Currey, Chief Operating Officer, Pressley Ridge, Pittsburgh, PA (USA) and President, Association for Children’s Residential Centers, (USA); Daniel. L. Daly, Executive Vice President and Director of Youth Care, Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home, Boys Town, NE (USA); Robbie Gilligan, Professor of Social Work and Social Policy, Trinity College Dublin IRE), Hans Grietens, Professor, Centre for Special Needs Education & Youth Care, University of Groningen (NLD) and President, European Scientific Association on Residential and Family Care for Children and Adolescents (EUSARF); Annemiek T. Harder, Assistant professor, Department of Special Needs Education and Youth Care, University of Groningen (NLD); Martha J. Holden, Senior Extension Associate with the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research and the Principal Investigator and Director of the Residential Child Care Project at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (USA); Sigrid James, Professor, Department of Social Work & Social Ecology, School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda University, CA (USA); Andrew Kendrick, Professor of Residential Child Care, School of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Strathclyde (GBR) and Consultant at the Centre of Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) and the Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice (CYCJ) (UK); Erik J. Knorth, Professor, Department of Special Needs Education and Youth Care, University of Groningen (NLD); Mette Lausten, Senior Researcher at SFI - The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Copenhagen (DNK), John S. Lyons, Senior Policy Fellow at Chapin Hall, University of Chicago, IL (USA); Eduardo Martin, Lecturer at the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of La Laguna, Tenerife (ESP); Samantha McDermid, Research Fellow, Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University (GBR); Patricia McNamara, Senior Fellow (Honorary), Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne (AUS); Laura Palareti, Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna (ITA); Susan Ramsey, Parent and Former Children’s Mental Health Advocate, The Walker School, Needham, MA (USA); Kari M. Sisson, Executive Director, Association of Children’s Residential Centers (USA); Richard W. Small, Walker Executive Director Emeritus, The Walker School, Needham, MA (USA); June Thoburn, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, University of East Anglia (GBR); Ronald Thompson, Senior Director, Boys Town National Research Institute for Child and Family Studies, Boys Town, NE (USA); Anat Zeira, Professor, School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Head of Research and Evaluation at the Haruv Institute (ISR). Our work group wishes to thank CFRC staffer Laura Dale at Loughborough for extraordinary efforts in producing this statement in record time and for her care and assistance with all phases of our Summit activity. Whittaker, James K; Holmes, Lisa; del Valle, Jorge F.; Ainsworth, Frank; Andreassen, Tore; Anglin, James; Bellonci, Christopher; Berridge, David; Bravo, Amaia; Canali, Cinzia; Courtney, Mark; Currey, Laurah; Daly, Daniel; Gilligan, Robbie; Grietens, Hans; Harder, Annemiek; Holden, Martha; James, Sigrid; Kendrick, Andrew; Knorth, Erik; Lausten, Mette; Lyons, John; Martin, Eduardo; Mcdermid, Samantha; Mcnamara, Patricia; Palareti, Laura; Ramsey, Susan; Sisson, Kari; Small, Richard; Thoburn, June; Thompson, Ronald; Zeira, Anat Whittaker, James K; Holmes, Lisa; del Valle, Jorge F.; Ainsworth, Frank; Andreassen, Tore; Anglin, James; Bellonci, Christopher; Berridge, David; Bravo, Amaia; Canali, Cinzia; Courtney, Mark; Currey, Laurah; Daly, Daniel; Gilligan, Robbie; Grietens, Hans; Harder, Annemiek; Holden, Martha; James, Sigrid; Kendrick, Andrew; Knorth, Erik; Lausten, Mette; Lyons, John; Martin, Eduardo; Mcdermid, Samantha; Mcnamara, Patricia; Palareti, Laura; Ramsey, Susan; Sisson, Kari; Small, Richard; Thoburn, June; Thompson, Ronald; Zeira, Anat

In this paper, we analyse reunification processes from family foster care, both kinship and non-kinship, and the variables associated with them in a Spanish sample. Data collection was carried out after a review of child protection and foster care files, and those responsible for the cases were also consulted. The cases studied were closed, which made it possible to assess the final outcome of the fostering. We found that only one-fifth of the children return to their birth family after the fostering, and that those in non-kinship are less likely to do so. Seven factors were associated with family reunification processes: age of the child, kinship care with family co-operation, drug dependence in parents, neglect due to alcoholism, foster care under voluntary arrangement with visits, short-term fostering with family co-operation and parental impossibility due to imprisonment. The contribution of these data takes on particular importance given that the Spanish child protection system keeps no official statistics on the development or outcome of its interventions and records even less information on the factors associated with such outcomes.

Kinship care represents 46% of all out-of-home care placements in Spain and 80% of all foster care placements. Therefore, the role of fostering relatives, most of whom (about 70%) are grandparents, is particularly relevant in the Spanish child care system. In 1998 we carried out a descriptive study on profiles of kinship care in Spain, including children, birth parents, fostering relatives and patterns of process and intervention, with a sample of 568 cases. This paper presents a follow-up study of a part of this group who were adults in 2006, aimed at assessing their transition to adulthood. A subset of 143 young adults was eligible for this follow-up study, which consists of a personal interview and questionnaires. We were able to assess a sample of 67 young adults in this way, and collect some relevant information on another 56 cases. The results show that only a small part of the sample present serious problems of social exclusion (9%), whilst 70% have found employment or are in higher education and with a relatively stable life, even though, in general, their jobs are of a low-skilled nature. We also discuss other important aspects, such as the frequent loss (through death) of grandparent foster carers and the lack of help and support from the authorities for their kinship carers perceived by the young people themselves.

The authors carried out an assessment of social support networks with a sample of 884 Spanish adolescents aged 12 to 17. The main goal was to analyze the development of the figures of parents and peers as providers of social support in the two basic dimensions of emotional and instrumental support. In peers, they distinguished between the contexts from which they came (school, associations, and friends from the community) to observe whether there were different tendencies. The results of the MANOVA indicate significant effects on both dimensions for the factors age, provider, and interaction between the two. The authors conclude that the tendencies for decline in the provision of support from parents and the corresponding increase in support from peers during adolescence are different for each dimension, and also for the different types of friends, according to context. Parents maintain a good level of instrumental support, but not of emotional support. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

article i nfo Article history: This article presents data from the first nationwide study in this area, with the aim of analyzing its level of establishment and in order to make comparisons with the situation in other countries. We analyzed a sample of 649 cases, covering both kinship and non-kinship foster care. With the help of child welfare staff we analyzed the cases and considered variables in relation to the profiles of the children, their birth families and the foster caregivers, as well as some basic data on processes and outcomes. In general, the results indicate substantial differences with respect to other countries, especially in view of the high levels of stability and permanence of children in foster care. However, non-kinship care is scarcely established (15%, compared to 85% for kinship care), and the article analyzes some of the possible reasons for this. Kinship care differs from non-kinship care in many aspects, including some as important as greater rates of family reunification and a lower rate of placement disruptions. Due to the fact that non-kinship care frequently becomes a long-term placement, and even in many cases ending with adoption by caregivers, they tend to take on no more than a single experience of foster care.

Resumen tomado de la revista El acogimiento residencial continúa representando un papel clave en el ámbito de protección a la infancia. Sin embargo, apenas existen estudios que evalúen el impacto de esta medida en la vida del niño y en su integración social y laboral tras su salida de la residencia. Esta investigación se basa en el seguimiento a medio y largo plazo de una muestra de jóvenes que permanecieron al menos nueve meses en residencias de protección del Principado de Asturias. Los datos que se presentan se han obtenido gracias al estudio de los expedientes y entrevistas a la familia y a los propios jóvenes, quienes pudieron valorar su experiencia y describir su situación actual, incluyendo aspectos de salud, vivienda, familia, trabajo e integración social. Cataluña ESP

Resumen: Se analiza la comparabilidad interlinguistica e intercultural del bienestar subjetivo durante la adolescencia, a partir de dos muestras de Asturias y de Cataluna de entre 15 y 18 anos. Se utilizan como indicadores psicosociales de bienestar tres escalas: La SWLS de Diener, Emmons, Larsen y Smith (1985), escala libre de contexto (context free), el PWI de Cummins, Eckersley, van Pallant, Vugt y Misajon (2003), que evalua el bienestar personal por ambitos, y una escala de item unico sobre satisfaccion global con la vida (Overall Life Satisfaction = OLS). Utilizando modelos de Analisis Factorial Confirmatorio, el PWI muestra un buen ajuste para ambas muestras, avalando la comparabilidad de los resultados entre ambas poblaciones. Sus puntuaciones globales resultan mas altas entre los adolescentes asturianos que entre los catalanes, igual que la OLS. La SWLS muestra un mal ajuste con los terminos constantes restringidos, que anadido al hecho que el alpha de Cronbach aumentaria si el item 5 fuera suprimido, abunda en la idea que esta escala funciona de manera distinta en contextos socio-culturales diferentes y mantiene abiertas las dudas sobre si es apropiada su utilizacion como instrumento comparativo entre poblaciones de caracteristicas linguisticas y/o socioculturales distintas. Palabras clave: Bienestar subjetivo; adolescencia; PWI; SWLS; satisfaccion vital; bienestar personal; analisis factorial confirmatorio; modelos de ecuaciones estructurales. Title: Adolescents’ subjective well-being: A comparative study between two Autonomous Communities in Spain.

This paper reviews international and national research on young people leaving care. Research has shown that the journey to adulthood from public care is shorter, more compressed and accelerated that that of their peers. This process presents higher difficulties in different areas such as employment, accommodation, educational opportunities, physical and mental health, etc. The situation of care leavers has gained more attention internationally leading to the development of different legal advances which mean the extension of care, the implementation of independent living skills programs, the introduction of mentoring programs, the emphasis on educational and employment services and the creation of personal transition plans, among other changes. In Spain, this topic has started to receive some attention in recent regional legislation which highlights the need to invest more efforts in the transition to adulthood of young people leaving care.

The analysis of the historical development of child protection in Spain and Italy shows remarkable common aspects. There has been a strong tradition of using residential care by means of large institutions, mostly run by catholic religious organizations, in both countries, and both have had to face the challenge of changing the tendency of this institutional care to a family based care. On the other hand, both countries share a Mediterranean culture where the family has been the main provider of personal and social wellbeing, although the welfare state has achieved a high level of development with large health, education, and social services coverage in the last decades. The current financial crisis of these countries is jeopardizing these recently attained advances and again the importance of family support is becoming crucial. The article reviews the historical development of out-of-home care in both countries and compares foster family and residential care, as well as the main research contributions to these topics in both countries.

The aim of this research is to identify the severity and type of behavioural problems found in a sample of 181 Spanish adolescents, aged 11 and 18, who have been, or still are in the protective system and to provide give up-to-date figures about behavioural problem situations of children are living under protective measures, and to determine the existence of diverse behavioural problems concerning the kind of care the adolescents are receiving (adoption, residential care, or with grandparent fostering). The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used in this study. The results show that most of the adolescents scored within the normal range and only a small percentage of them had important behavioural problems and were therefore situated within the clinical range of the trial. The adopted adolescents scored higher than the adolescents who were either fostered by their extended families or in residential care. The main problems identified in each section are discussed, along with the results, in the context of modernising the Spanish protection system.

La ruptura del acogimiento familiar se ha definido como aquella situación en la que alguna de las partes implicadas causa una terminación de la intervención antes de haber alcanzado los objetivos establecidos en el plan de caso. Este trabajo presenta un estudio llevado a cabo en una muestra española de 318 casos cerrados de niños que fueron acogidos en familia ajena y extensa. Los datos se obtuvieron a través de la revisión exhaustiva de los expedientes de protección y acogimiento, complementada con entrevistas a los técnicos encargados de cada caso. La tasa de ruptura del conjunto de la muestra fue de 26,1%, si bien fue significativamente diferente en familia extensa (19,7%) que en familia ajena (31,2%). Los resultados de este estudio indican que las variables relacionadas con la ruptura dependen de la modalidad del acogimiento, en familia ajena o extensa. En el primer caso destacamos las variables relacionadas con las características del niño, especialmente los problemas de conducta y escolares, con especial relevancia en el grupo de 9-12 años, y el haber estado en acogimiento residencial previamente. En cambio, en extensa resulta más importante la problemática en los padres (prisión, salud mental) y el tener una medida de tutela. También el hecho de que se realice el acogimiento tras pasar por hogares de acogida resulta trascendental. Finalmente, la disponibilidad de recursos económicos e incluso los estudios de los acogedores parecen ser variables relacionadas con la ruptura de la acogida Breakdown of foster care has been defined as the situation in which one of the involved parties terminates the intervention before having achieved the goals established for the case plan. This work presents a study carried out with a Spanish sample of 318 closed cases of children who were placed in foster homes and kinship care. The data were collected through the exhaustive review of the child protection and foster placement files, complemented with interviews of the welfare workers in charge of each case. The rate of breakdown of the entire sample was 26.1%, although it was significantly different in kinship care (19.7%) and foster care (31.2%). The results of this study indicate that the variables related to breakdown depend on the placement modality, either in foster care or kinship care. In the first case, the variables related to the child’s characteristics are noteworthy, especially behavior and academic problems, with special relevance in the 9-12-year-old group, and in children who were previously in residential care. In contrast, in kinship care, the parents’ problems (prison, mental health) and having some measure of guardianship are the most important. The fact of undergoing foster placement after having lived in various residential homes is transcendental. Lastly, the availability of economic resources and even the foster carers’ studies seem to be related to foster breakdown

Fostering provides children with an opportunity to grow and develop in a family environment until the source of separation from their families is resolved, they are adopted or they emancipate on reaching the age of majority. Finding families ready to look after those children is one of the most important challenges for foster care systems in the next decade. This paper aims to review international procedures for the recruitment of foster families. The most successful recruitment interventions are those aimed at the general population, involving experienced foster parents, using all available resources, and sending objective messages about what this decision entails. Previous research also underlines the need for yearly recruitment and sensitization plans, and assessment systems of the strategies used. Several guidelines are offered in this paper for agencies and managers of foster programs.

This paper presents a study carried out in Spain that followed up 260 young people, the majority of them adults, who had been in residential care for significant periods. The follow-up takes place between 1 and 9 years after participants had left residential care, and assesses their level of social and work integration, as well as considering the incidence of problems related to marginalization and social exclusion. Furthermore, it analyses the reasons for the child being taken into care, the socio-family context, length of stay, changes in placement and other features or incidents in relation to the residential care. The data show that close to 15% have serious problems (drug dependence, delinquency, etc.), 25% receive help from the social services and the rest manage independently to a greater or lesser extent. We discuss the significance of these data, especially the relationship between the final result and the initial and process variables.

Resumen tomado de la publicación. Resumen también en inglés La finalidad de este estudio es identificar variables relacionadas con el estrés y el síndrome de Burnout en educadores de acogimiento residencial, así como las áreas más problemáticas de su trabajo. Se estudió una muestra de 257 profesionales que trabajaban en este sector en España, mediante el CBP (Cuestionario de Burnout para Profesorado), adaptado para educadores. Los resultados permiten detectar las principales fuentes de insatisfacción laboral, así como la incidencia de un mayor grado de estrés que de Burnout. Ciertas variables personales y laborales presentaron relaciones significativas con estas medidas. Asturias Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Asturias; Calle Ildefonso Sánchez del Rio, 4-1õB; 33001 Oviedo; Tel. +34985285778; Fax +34985281374; ESP

In veel ontwikkelde landen wordt in toenemende mate kritiek geleverd op residentiële interventies bij kinderen en jongeren. Tegen de achtergrond hiervan vond in het voorjaar 2016 in Engeland een internationale conferentie plaats van experts uit 13 landen op het gebied van therapeutische residentiële zorg (TRZ). De volgende werkdefinitie van TRZ was leidend: "Therapeutische residentiële zorg omvat het geplande gebruik van een speciaal hiervoor ontwikkelde, multidimensionale leefomgeving, die tot doel heeft behandeling, onderwijs, socialisatie, ondersteuning en bescherming te bieden of te versterken voor kinderen en jongeren met welomschreven psychische en/of gedragsmatige problematiek; dit in samenwerking met hun gezin/familie en een breed scala aan formele en informele hulpbronnen in de samenleving". De bijeenkomst stond in het teken van kennisuitwisseling en het ontwikkelen van een internationale onderzoeksagenda. Tevens werden de contouren van een consensusverklaring over TRZ besproken. Deze verklaring, die hier integraal wordt weergegeven, omvat onder meer vijf basisprincipes van zorg, die in de visie van de Werkgroep TRZ altijd richtinggevend dienen te zijn voor goede residentiële jeugdhulp.

El acogimiento familiar ha de ser la medida prioritaria para los casos de menores que deben ser separados de su família por motivos de protección. En España es una alternativa que cuenta tan sólo con veinte años de existencia y hasta la fecha no existen prácticamente datos acerca del grado de su implantación y sus características cuando se trata de acogimiento en familia ajena, mientras que son varios los trabajos que han estudiado el acogimiento en familia extensa. Este artículo presenta por primera vez en la literatura científica los datos más relevantes que permiten caracterizar la práctica del acogimiento en familia ajena en España, mediante el estudio de una muestra de seis comunidades autónomas bien representativas, con un total de 357 casos. El artículo presenta los perfiles de los niños, las familias biológicas y acogedoras, el proceso y algunos resultados sobre una submuestra de casos cerrados (n = 179). Se analizarán algunas características especialmente importantes como la larga estancia y la estabilidad de estos acogimientos, que los diferencia de los realizados en otros países Family foster care must be given priority in out-of-home placement decisions involving minors who need to be separated from their family for their own protection. In Spain, this alternative has only been possible for the past twenty years. To date there are practically no data available about the extent of its implementation and characteristics in the case of nonrelative foster care, though there are several research studies about kinship care. The paper discusses the most relevant data in order to depict –for the first time in scientific literature– the practice of non-relative foster care in Spain. For this purpose, we study a sample of 357 cases encompassing six representative Autonomous Communities. We also presents children’s profiles, birth and foster families’ characteristics, information about the fostering process and some results based on a subsample of closed cases (n = 179). Some important features such as the long stay periods and stability of placements, which differentiates them from foster care practice in other countries, are also analysed