Implementation in Residential Youth Care: Providers’ Perspectives on Organizational Facilitators and Barriers

ABSTRACT Youth in residential care often have high rates of emotional and behavioral problems, and a disrupted past with trauma and prior placements. There is a need for the residential youth care (RYC) services to adopt research-informed practices that may improve the outcomes for youth entering. Still, as RYCs can be a challenging setting to implement practice change in, more knowledge on what facilitate effective implementation in residential settings are warranted. More research on implementation in RYCs will enable stakeholders and professionals to adopt appropriate implementation strategies in an upcoming change process in RYCs. Research from other settings emphasize the role of organizational components in implementation. In this study, a qualitative approach was utilized to identify providers’ perspectives on organizational facilitators and barriers of implementation in RYCs. The results highlight the importance of providing dedicated time to work with the new intervention, providers perception of organizational resources and support from colleagues. Barriers to implementation include negative attitudes in the staff group, challenging aspects of the structure and procedures in RYCs, and task demands. Finally, the results and their implications are discussed.