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Based on groundbreaking original research, this book provides a comprehensive account of the issues surrounding pregnancy and parenthood for young people in and leaving care. Featuring the voices of care-experienced parents, together with reflections from practitioners, it offers valuable insights into the issues facing this group. Using qualitative data to explore why parenthood is such an important issue for young people in and leaving care, this book shows what can be learned from their experiences in order to improve outcomes for parents and children in the future. The author highlights the practical and emotional needs of care-experienced parents and gives clear advice for practitioners on how these needs might be better addressed through summary points, practice guidance and recommendations for policy and practice.

AbstractThis paper presents the findings of a scoping study into looked after children and care leavers who are parents in Wales. Eight parents engaged in a qualitative interview. Thirty‐one pregnancies were discussed during the interviews: 16 live births, two ongoing pregnancies, one stillbirth, one termination and 11 miscarriages. At the point of interview, two parents continued to care for their children, but six had experienced the permanent removal of their child/ren as a result of social services intervention. Twelve of the 16 children discussed in the interviews were 'looked after' or adopted.Despite its small‐scale nature, the study highlights important considerations before, during and after participants became parents. Broadly categorized, these relate to the influence of parents' childhood experiences on their capacity to be parents, the availability and adequacy of support during parenting and the ensuing impact of parenting 'success' or 'failure'. For parents who had experienced the loss of a child, some were resigned to having no further children, some continued to hope for a family in the future, while others had experienced cycles of repeated pregnancies and compulsory removals. The findings are considered in the context of related literature and suggest that increased attention is required in this under‐researched but highly emotive area.

AbstractThis paper presents data from a qualitative case study of a family support service, support care. As a time‐limited service that aims to enable positive change within families and involves children and parents spending time apart, aspects of time feature prominently in understandings and experiences of the service. This paper uses the concept of time as a lens to explore some of the organizing principles and underlying assumptions of this service. Eighty‐two qualitative interviews and 22 participant observation sessions were undertaken with stakeholders engaged in support care. This paper examines the variety of ways in which time was understood and experienced over the course of the research. This includes a conceptualization of time as a resource, together with the hopes, expectations and concerns attached to the time provision. It is argued that the service‐specific questions regarding how much time to afford families, and the purpose of support have wider relevance within social work policy and practice. This includes debates about how best to respond to families with support needs, including those with enduring needs, how to manage tensions in respect of balancing need while seeking to avoid dependency and the sometimes competing nature of support and protection objectives.

Limited attention has been paid to endings in social care in either literary discussion or empirical research. Louise Roberts explores this topic in relation to Support Care, a family preservation service aimed at those 'in need' and undergoing particularly stressful periods. The service is a development of traditional respite breaks for disabled children, providing children (not exclusive to those with disabilities) with a series of short breaks in carers' homes, while parents attempt to resolve difficulties. Typically the service spans a six- to nine-month period. Semi-structured interviews were completed with nine carers within one local authority area. They revealed differing views, experience and practice with regard to ending relationships. Despite the part-time, time-limited nature of the service, close relationships often developed with the result that endings were often emotionally challenging for both carers and children. Well-managed endings are associated with maintaining future progress and the emotional well-being of service users. This contrasts with carers' descriptions of a detached bureaucratic 'system' which can dictate the conclusion of relationships suddenly and abruptly. It is suggested that the subject of social care endings deserves increased practice and academic attention.

Young people who experience out-of-home care have typically encountered difficult and/or disrupted family relationships. This article reports on a survey undertaken in the US with 215 young adults (aged 18–22) who experienced out-of-home care starting in pre-adolescence. The article examines responses to an open-ended interview question, 'How do you define family?' The analysis highlighted that few young people define family as confined to blood relations. More commonly, young people adopted more flexible definitions, prioritising the 'doing' and reflecting on their conceptions of family; attempting to 'do family' differently from what they had experienced was also evident. The findings encourage consideration of the utility of family as an important concept for child welfare practice, as positive and flexible understandings of family were imbued with a sense of agency, identity, belonging and overall wellbeing.

Young people with experience of out-of-home care have usually faced significant adversities whilst growing up. Adults aged 18–22 from a Western US state, who were part of a longitudinal study and originally recruited when in out-of-home care, were asked whether they had experienced a major turning point that changed the way they thought about something or how they behaved. Four in five reported having had such a turning point and the vast majority saw theirs as positive. A qualitative overview is provided of themes from these responses. Turning points were linked to actions and achievements, positive relationships and resources, and personal reflection. Reference was made to both objective and subjective change and turning points arising both from specific events and from extended processes. Some seemingly mundane events and interactions had a powerful impact. The findings suggest the on-going potential for care-experienced children and young people to have turning points, despite past adversity and current challenges. Opportunities need to be offered to support the development of agency, bolster self-esteem and aspiration, and offer reassurance, so that in the event of future adversity, care-experienced young people might have the personal resources to navigate and create meaning.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Based on groundbreaking original research, this book provides a comprehensive account of the issues surrounding pregnancy and parenthood for young people in and leaving care. Featuring the voices of care-experienced parents, together with reflections from practitioners, it offers valuable insights into the issues facing this group. Using qualitative data to explore why parenthood is such an important issue for young people in and leaving care, this book shows what can be learned from their experiences in order to improve outcomes for parents and children in the future. The author highlights the practical and emotional needs of care-experienced parents and gives clear advice for practitioners on how these needs might be better addressed through summary points, practice guidance and recommendations for policy and practice

Improving outcomes for looked after children and young people has been a longstanding concern in Wales. This article reports the findings of a scoping study which sought to identify interventions aimed at improving outcomes for looked after children that are effective or promising. The study was commissioned by an independent funding body to inform a £5 million investment programme for Wales. It comprised a rapid review of literature, informed through consultation with an expert advisory panel and groups of young people who had been in care. The article outlines the rapid review method, provides details of shortlisted interventions and describes the interventions subsequently approved for investment. It concludes that although there are many promising interventions which address the factors associated with poor outcomes for looked after children, the evidence base is weak. It is argued that decision-making on interventions should be informed by appraisal of the empirical evidence available, but should also be guided by professional judgement that considers the needs, priorities and preferences of service users, carers, practitioners and policy-makers.

Purpose
Parental advocacy is an emerging area of research and policy interest in Wales and across the UK. Although there is little research in the UK context to date, international research has indicated that parental advocacy can improve the relationship between parent and professional in the field of child protection social work. This paper aims to ascertain how the implementation of a parental advocacy programme supports parents to play a meaningful role in decision-making when children's services are working with them and their families.


Design/methodology/approach
This study used interviews, surveys and focus groups to obtain qualitative data from 18 parents, seven parent advocates, two advocacy managers and four social workers, to explore the potential impact of parental advocacy on decision-making. The study identified challenges in implementing parental advocacy, particularly relating to awareness of the service. Participants also discussed experiences of the child protection system and how parents are supported by advocates.


Findings
Despite challenges surrounding implementation, initial findings were encouraging, and generated examples of how parental advocacy services have helped parents to understand children's services and develop relationships of trust with social care professionals. In doing so, this study identified potential mechanisms that may be useful to support future service delivery.


Originality/value
This paper and research is novel as it explores parental advocacy within the Welsh context. Although there has been research conducted into parental advocacy, this has largely come from the USA. This research comes from the evaluation of an innovative and promising parental advocacy scheme in Wales.