Children and Youth Services Review最新文献

{"title":"Support for foster parents by youth welfare offices in Germany: a nationwide survey","authors":"Judith Bürzle,&nbsp;Christian Bachmann","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108754","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108754","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Caring for foster children is a challenging task that requires a broad scope of competencies, including parenting skills, navigation of the health, educational and legal system, to name but a few. In order to master this task, foster carers are in need of external support, which in most countries is mainly provided by youth welfare offices. For Germany, informative data on services for foster parents offered by youth welfare offices is lacking.</div></div><div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>This nationwide survey aimed to record (1) services offered to foster parents by youth welfare offices prior to and during placements, (2) predictors of service availability, (3) perceived needs for services beyond the current portfolio, and (4) current and future supply of foster parents.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A self-designed questionnaire was mailed to all 577 youth welfare offices in Germany.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 215 responses (37.3%) were received. Prior to placements, counselling (94%), multi-session (77.2%) or single-session training events (63.7%), and informal exchange with other foster families (77.2%) were the services most frequently offered. During foster child placements, coaching and supervision were offered most frequently (74.2%). Regarding influencing factors, lower staff numbers were associated with reduced pre-placement counselling options, and rural office locations were associate with less counselling, coaching, family therapy and supervision offers. Suggestions for services beyond the current portfolio included self-help groups for foster carers, distinct parent trainings, support for specific audiences (e.g. kinship carers, families of origin), and respite care. Importantly, 90% of youth welfare offices reported current or imminent shortage of foster carers.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study provides real-world insight into the spectrum of services available for foster carers in a large Western youth welfare system. Our results show that prior to placements, almost all youth welfares offices offer counselling for prospective foster carers, while during placements only about three quarters of offices provide coaching and supervision for foster carers. Given the substantial shortage of prospective foster carers in Germany, the portfolio of services on offer could be optimised, e.g. through online services for carers in rural areas, evidence-based parent training programs, and support options for specific audiences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 108754"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145929225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A systematic review of the relationship between poverty and child abuse and neglect: Evidence from individual and family level studies","authors":"G.C.M. Skinner ,&nbsp;N. Hodges ,&nbsp;E. Kennedy","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108753","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108753","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite the growing consensus that there is a contributory causal relationship between poverty and child abuse and neglect, no systematic review exists summarizing the magnitude, complexity, and degree of consensus of international research regarding the impact of individual and family level poverty on child maltreatment. A systematic review was therefore conducted investigating the relationship between individual and family level poverty and child abuse and neglect. Searches were conducted in Web of Science, Embase, PsycINFO and PubMed from 01.01.2016 through to 31.08.2023. The 24 studies examined in this review, focusing on various aspects of individual and family level socio-economic circumstances and dimensions of child abuse and neglect, consistently demonstrated a significant association. The association between individual and family level poverty and child abuse and neglect held true for a range of socio-economic contexts, including both low resource levels and for situations involving insecure or fluctuating resources. The impact of poverty on the likelihood of child abuse and neglect in many studies was substantial. This review provides a comprehensive resource for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers which should inform evidence-based interventions and policies addressing the multifaceted interplay between individual and family level poverty and child maltreatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 108753"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Measurement invariance of the anxious protection subscale the short version of the multidimensional overprotective parenting scale (AP-s-MOPS) in Chinese and Belgian adolescents","authors":"Long Wang ,&nbsp;Martijn Van Heel ,&nbsp;Zahra Azadfar ,&nbsp;Stijn Van Petegem ,&nbsp;Lijun Wang ,&nbsp;Ying Wang ,&nbsp;Imke Baetens","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108776","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108776","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The <em>Anxious Protection</em> dimension of the Short Version of the Multidimensional Overprotective Parenting Scale (AP-s-MOPS) has been widely used to assess adolescent-perceived over-parenting, yet its measurement invariance has not been tested explicitly so far. In this light, the present cross-cultural longitudinal study first examined the AP-s-MOPS’s original factor structure and then tested its invariance across countries (i.e., China and Belgium), across types of relationship (i.e., father-child and mother-child relationships) and across meso-timescales. We further investigated mean-level difference in over-parenting when scalar invariance was established. Using data from a three-wave longitudinal study (with three-month intervals) involving 809 adolescents: 73.7% Chinese (N = 596, <em>M</em>_age <em>=</em> 15.05, <em>SD</em> = 1.27, 48.2% boys) and 26.3% Belgian adolescents (N = 213, <em>M</em>_age <em>=</em> 14.22, <em>SD</em> = 1.57, 55.0% boys), the results of confirmatory factor analyses provided support for the one-factor structure of the AP-s-MOPS in Chinese and Belgian sample. We found that partial scalar invariance for the mother-child and father-child relationship across China and Belgium at the first time point, full scalar invariance at subsequent time points, and full scalar invariance across father-child and mother-child relationships at each time point. Furthermore, the AP-s-MOPS exhibited partial scalar invariance over time for the mother-child relationship in China, full metric invariance over time for the father-child relationship in China, and full scalar invariance over time for all two types of relationship in Belgium. Finally, mean-level difference test suggested that adolescents reported higher levels of maternal over-parenting compared to paternal over-parenting, while there was no evidence for significant mean-level differences between China and Belgium or across time. The present research supported the AP-s-MOPS as a reliable instrument for cross-cultural and meso-longitudinal research on over-parenting.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 108776"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seeing the invisible: Educators contending with childhood neglect among their students","authors":"Eran P. Melkman ,&nbsp;Laura I. Sigad","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108784","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108784","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><strong>Background</strong>: Although educators are arguably in the best position to recognize signs of child neglect in its earliest stages, there is a notable gap in research examining their role in this context.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study examines the perspectives of educators in Israeli schools and explores how they experience, define and attribute meaning to childhood neglect among their students.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div><strong>I</strong>n-depth interviews were conducted with 31 Jewish female educators, including 22 teachers and 9 counsellors, who have encountered neglect within their professional role.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The results show that educators experience neglect among their pupils in a multifaceted and contradictory manner. On the one hand, a spectrum of neglect types were encountered in schools. Physical neglect was the most frequently noted, marked by clear indicators such as inadequate food, hygiene and clothing. However, subtler often overlooked forms of neglect like supervisory, educational and emotional neglect, were also prevalent, though these were less visible and harder to detect. Further compounding educators’ ability to successfully identify and respond to neglect are the lack of a clear definition of neglect and the subjective nature of its identification, that often leave educators uncertain about when and how to report, particularly in cases influenced by broader socioeconomic factors.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study calls for a more nuanced understanding of child neglect that considers both the overt and covert dimensions of the issue. It suggests that in order for educators to fulfil their critical role in identification and response, they require clearer guidelines and support from child welfare agencies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 108784"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unpacking gender differences: The role of familism values in the relationship between perceived discrimination and educational attainment among second-generation immigrant youth","authors":"Yiqiu Huang ,&nbsp;Xuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108794","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108794","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While extensive research has examined how discrimination impacts second-generation immigrants’ educational outcomes, few studies distinguish between actual and perceived discrimination. The latter involves interpreting ambiguous experiences as discriminatory and may influence outcomes even without overt acts. This study investigated whether perceived discrimination during middle adolescence predicted educational attainment in young adulthood among U.S. second-generation immigrants. It also explored the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of familism values in late adolescence. Data were drawn from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study, which consisted of 2,848 second-generation immigrant youth in the U.S., surveyed at mean ages of 14, 17, and 24. Results indicated that perceived discrimination was positively associated with educational attainment, with gender shaping the underlying mechanisms. Among young men, this effect was both direct and indirect via self-esteem, but the indirect effect emerged only for those with high familism values. Among young women, the indirect pathway was not significant; the direct positive effect was significant only among those with low familism values. The findings indicate that perceived discrimination may serve as a catalyst for academic success depending on gendered cultural resources. Familism values may enhance resilience for young men by reinforcing self-esteem but may constrain adaptive coping for young women. This divergence underscores the dual role of familism as both a protective and restrictive factor, shaped by gendered dynamics. Culturally informed, gender-sensitive interventions are essential to support diverse developmental pathways among second-generation immigrant youth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 108794"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multisystemic therapy modifications for child welfare-focused implementation","authors":"Molly Brunk ,&nbsp;Emily Weinberger ,&nbsp;Suzanne E.U. Kerns","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108773","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.108773","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Youth with significant behavioral problems present challenges for the child welfare system and effective treatments are needed. Few interventions have stronger evidence than Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for reducing adolescent behavior problems and out-of-home placement. However, standard delivery of MST does not provide tailored guidance for working collaboratively within the child welfare setting and, in some cases, may not address the needs of the service system. The need for modification to address system challenges to the treatment model became evident during implementation of MST in a large child welfare preventive services system. This paper utilizes the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications to Evidence-based Implementation Strategies (FRAME-IS; Miller et al., 2021; Wiltsey Stirman et al., 2019) to describe how modifications, labeled MST-Prevention (MST-PRV), were developed, evaluated, and documented while retaining the evidence base of the original treatment model. Pilot data compared outcomes for families receiving MST-PRV versus standard MST in 2024. Results suggest that MST-PRV was model-adherent and delivered strong outcomes typical of MST, including a high proportion of youth who completed treatment, remained living at home, attended school or work, had no new arrests or maltreatment reports, and demonstrated significant improvements in problematic behaviors. Potential benefits of the MST modifications to child welfare preventive service system partners are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 108773"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146038659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Building knowledge across borders: the first twenty years of iaOBERfcs","authors":"Robin Spath ,&nbsp;Patricia McNamara ,&nbsp;Cinzia Canali ,&nbsp;Devis Geron","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108714","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108714","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"181 ","pages":"Article 108714"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145926381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"All bark and no bite: Legal and professional consequences for failing to report child maltreatment","authors":"Heather Bergen","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108740","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108740","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The duty to report child maltreatment is a key legal and professional responsibility. Over time this duty to report has expanded and increasing numbers of families experience investigations by the child protection system. However, research shows that the vast majority of reports are not substantiated, and that broader mandated reporting legislation does not lead to more substantiation of child maltreatment (Rosenberg et al., 2024). This suggests there is a need to adjust reporting decisions to decrease unnecessary intrusive investigations for families and decrease resources used for investigation by an already over-burdened child protection system. One potentially fruitful area for decreasing unnecessary reports is to decrease those made by social workers to meet legal or professional responsibilities, rather than based on a genuine child protection concern. Fearing potential legal or professional disciplinary consequences mandated reporters may over-report and this research focuses on cases where mandated reporters faced legal or professional disciplinary consequences for failing in the duty to report to decrease fear-based reporting. Examining cases in Ontario, Canada only one person was found guilty in court and three social workers faced discipline. These cases involved failing to report direct disclosures of abuse, rather than suspicion. This is not meant to deter reporting based on genuine child protection concerns.This research aims to provide concrete information about the risk social workers face in cases where they do not report a situation that may fall within the duty to report legislation but where they do not have a meaningful concern about child maltreatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"181 ","pages":"Article 108740"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145883983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Me and my foster family: assessing the feasibility of a flexible intervention","authors":"Charlotte Bredahl Jacobsen ,&nbsp;Siddhartha Baviskar ,&nbsp;Anne Bølling Frederiksen ,&nbsp;Ida Schrøder ,&nbsp;Christine Marie Hildeshejn ,&nbsp;Sofie Danneskiold-Samsøe","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108649","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108649","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article reports on a feasibility study of Me and My Foster Family (MOMP), a complex intervention designed to embed two standardized screening questionnaires, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Attentive to Learning questionnaire (ATT: LEARN), into routine social work with children in family foster care in Denmark. Using a multi-theoretical and context-sensitive approach to assessing feasibility, the study examines whether implementing flexibly can enhance feasibility.</div><div>The study was conducted across six municipalities over 19 months. Quantitative data comprised recruitment and screening completion rates for 300 children, while qualitative data came from interviews with caseworkers, foster care consultants, and managers as well as observations of training and reflective meetings.</div><div>The study found that screening rates in terms of number and types of respondents varied widely across municipalities. Those maintaining stable administrative support and collaborative workflows achieved higher rates. Context‐sensitive adjustment such as redefining inclusion criteria, adjusting local workflows or reallocating administrative resources facilitated local fit yet also sometimes constrained long‐term routine use.</div><div>Further, despite chronic resource constraints, social workers demonstrated commitment to quality, often innovating locally to sustain use of MOMP tools. These findings indicate that flexible implementation approaches, including giving practitioners agency, can enhance feasibility and generate critical knowledge for adaptation before upscaling and impact evaluation. The study offers actionable insights for designing flexible implementation processes for interventions in resource‐limited child welfare contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"181 ","pages":"Article 108649"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145665453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring young residential care leavers’ participation in care leaving decisions in Ghana: An interpretive analysis using Hart’s ladder of participation","authors":"Frederick Godwill Amissah","doi":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108731","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108731","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Each year, a significant number of children transition out of residential care in Ghana into family-based or other viable settings. This transition is often challenging, as care leavers encounter considerable economic, relational, educational, and employment difficulties that affect their well-being and post-care outcomes. In Ghana, inadequate preparation for leaving care, limited aftercare support, and weak welfare systems exacerbate these vulnerabilities compared to care leavers in other countries. Meaningful participation in care leaving planning has been shown globally to strengthen self-efficacy, self-esteem, and young people’s sense of agency and improve their wellbeing outside of care. However, little is known about how care leavers in Ghana experience participation in such decisions. This qualitative study explores the involvement of young residential care leavers in decisions about their departure from care, using semi-structured interviews with ten participants and Hart’s Ladder of Participation as an analytic lens. The findings indicate that despite Ghana’s commitments under the UNCRC and related national policies, care leavers’ participatory rights are often neglected in practice. Participants described feeling excluded from key decisions, with their views frequently overlooked or manipulated, positioning them at the lowest levels of the participation ladder. This study highlights the gap between policy and practice and emphasizes the need for more inclusive approaches that recognise care leavers as active partners in planning and decisions around their transition out of care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48428,"journal":{"name":"Children and Youth Services Review","volume":"181 ","pages":"Article 108731"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145883981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}