Are residential care homes really bad for children? Voices of alumni of residential child and youth care in Trinidad and Tobago

Petra Roberts

doi:10.1177/00208728211031975

Abstract

Social workers have advocated closing large youth care institutions and moving to adoption, foster care and group homes. However, these approaches have proven to be costly and often disruptive of children’s lives. This study of 24 alumni of orphanages and large group homes in Trinidad and Tobago shows that the children experienced stability and happiness, with siblings kept together and almost universal secondary school graduation. Problems occurred in the transition from the homes to the community. With attention to gender in discharge policies, large group care may be beneficial and cost effective, especially for low-resource developing countries.

Highlights

The idea of large institutions caring for children and youth in great numbers runs counter to current consensus about quality care
The new standard for quality care is said to be found in family-based care and small, community-based residential care and treatment facilities that aim for family reunification wherever possible and in the shortest amount of time
Oral history is a collection of human stories built around people, delivered through talk by those who may be less privileged in a way of understanding their past and the meanings they attribute to their uncommon experiences of growing up in an orphanage (Creswell, 2013; Ritchie, 2003; Shopes, 2011; Thompson, 2002)

Summary

Introduction

The idea of large institutions caring for children and youth in great numbers runs counter to current consensus about quality care. The article seeks to accomplish the following two things: First, it aims to consider the narratives of individuals who grew up in larger institutions as a way of capturing, on the one hand, the dynamics and experiences within such institutions that are worth preserving or replicating even if alternative forms of care are generated through the current consensus Second, it aims to identify the challenges encountered by young people within the larger institutions that appear to have persisted even in systems of care that have largely abandoned such institutions, focusing in particular on the transition out of care. It is hoped that access to adequate data on children and children issues would not be a barrier in decision-making and policy development (Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, 2014)

Methodology

Conclusion