Interrupting a cycle of placement instability with short-term residential care: Trauma-informed family-like relational practice in one specialist unit

Abstract

Continuous caring relationships are crucial to the wellbeing of children living in out-of-home care, with the family environment of long-term foster care usually the preferred placement for achieving relational permanence. Some children, however, experience a cycle of instability with the impact of placement disruption exacerbating emotional and behavioural difficulties and thereby undermining subsequent foster relationships. This paper reports on a service evaluation of a residential facility specialising in short-term placements for children who have experienced disruption, with the aim of interrupting the cycle of placement instability. Overview of 34 children’s placement trajectories show that most were enabled to re-enter foster care and of those who are now aged over 18 years (n = 29), over half (n = 16) remained in family placements until adulthood. For four children, detailed individualised assessment indicated residential care as the most appropriate option for avoiding future disruption. The paper gives cause for optimism that relationships in the residential setting have the potential to build emotional resilience and capacity for connection. There is paucity of information on how residential staff achieve these relationships in practice. Focus groups and interviews with ten staff and managers illuminate relational practices in the residential setting that are simultaneously family-like and trauma-informed. Plain Language Summary Long-term caring relationships in stable placements are important to the wellbeing of children who are not living with their parents. However, some children experience repeated instability and disruption when successive foster care placements end prematurely, sometimes under difficult circumstances. This can be a very upsetting experience and may have a serious impact on children. Emotions and behaviours that they struggle with can worsen, which may make things harder for them with their next foster family, leading to a cycle of instability, with fewer opportunities for continuous long-term caring relationships. This paper looks at an approach used by a residential facility, Children’s House, where children who have experienced many foster placement endings can temporarily live. The goal is to stop the cycle of premature placement endings and to offer an experience of stability. The paper notes the journeys of 34 children who spent a period living at this specialist residential unit. Many (29 children) are now aged over 18 years, and over half of these (16 children) were able to stay in family placements until reaching adulthood. For four children, assessments recommended that residential care was the best option for avoiding future disruption in their lives. The findings of this paper suggest that relationships with staff in residential settings may offer children opportunities for genuine connection, as well as building emotional resilience. There is limited information available on how staff develop caring relationships with children in residential settings. This paper includes data from focus groups and interviews with ten staff and managers from Children’s House. This helps to explain how relationships are built, in a way that is similar to family life but also shaped by staff’s knowledge about how trauma can affect children’s ability to form relationships.