The qualitative research approach, applying an explorative, descriptive and contextual strategy of enquiry was used to address the research question formulated, - How do child and youth care workers support child-headed households in the community? In this process the needs, relationships, interactions and encounters which occur between child and youth care workers and young people in child-headed households are described. The research was conducted with children from two child-headed households (12 children in all) and three community child and youth care workers from the Isibindi project in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The findings confirm that the integration of child and youth care work characteristics in the daily life events of the children, contributed to services to children that are therapeutically caring, reclaiming and reflective of the African spirit of Ubuntu – demonstrating a relevant and unique South African expression of child and youth care practice. / Sociology / M. Tech. (Child and Youth Care)

<p>The intention of this study was to examine the interaction between authorities. More specifically it had a purpose to look at the ongoing cooperation between social workers and staff of special homes of closed institutional youth care. The sanction system for young offenders’ reform of 1999 where young people between the ages of 15-17 who have committed serious crimes, can be sentenced to secure institutional treatment instead of prison, aims to counteract the harm which can result from a stay in prison. The social welfare board in the young person´s local authority and the national board of institutional care shall cooperate during the youth’s placement at the special home of closed institutional youth care. This study was based on eight qualitative interviews with social workers chosen randomly from all over Sweden and staff members from different special homes of closed institutional youth care. To interpret the material we have been using theory of collaboration and cooperation of Danermark and Kullberg. We have also used earlier studies within the area. The study has resulted that the social welfare board are more satisfied with the corporation than the national board of institutional care are. The study also shows that there has been an improvement. Significant reasons for this result has proved to be; the two different employers with different mission statement who are cooperating, unclear guidelines and the lack of knowledge within in the social services. Today there’s an ongoing cooperation that needs to be developed.</p>

The intention of this study was to examine the interaction between authorities. More specifically it had a purpose to look at the ongoing cooperation between social workers and staff of special homes of closed institutional youth care. The sanction system for young offenders’ reform of 1999 where young people between the ages of 15-17 who have committed serious crimes, can be sentenced to secure institutional treatment instead of prison, aims to counteract the harm which can result from a stay in prison. The social welfare board in the young person´s local authority and the national board of institutional care shall cooperate during the youth’s placement at the special home of closed institutional youth care. This study was based on eight qualitative interviews with social workers chosen randomly from all over Sweden and staff members from different special homes of closed institutional youth care. To interpret the material we have been using theory of collaboration and cooperation of Danermark and Kullberg. We have also used earlier studies within the area. The study has resulted that the social welfare board are more satisfied with the corporation than the national board of institutional care are. The study also shows that there has been an improvement. Significant reasons for this result has proved to be; the two different employers with different mission statement who are cooperating, unclear guidelines and the lack of knowledge within in the social services. Today there’s an ongoing cooperation that needs to be developed.

The aim of our study is to gain increased knowledge and understanding of how young people who has been sentenced to closed institutional care experience their own possibility to participate and influence the transition and aftercare, and which, if any, importance they believe this has for their readjustment to society. The study is based on a qualitative method. The data consist of interviews with four young persons, of which three, at the time for our interviews, where in the transitionphase, and one had left the institution a few years ago. The study’s theoretical framework is based on Erving Goffmans theory about stigma and the empowerment theory. We have also used earlier studies within the area to understand and interpret our data. The result indicates deficits in terms of the young people’s possibility to participate and influence the planning and implemantation of the transition from the special home of closed institutional youth care.  The youths express a wish to be more involved and be able to influence more, yet at the same time there seems to be an acceptance among the youths concerning the fact that they are not given the possibility to participate, which can be related to a view of themselves as less worthy.

No description available.

The field of equine therapy (ET) in Canada and the USA encompasses a range of distinct approaches, such as equine-facilitated therapy, equine-assisted therapy, therapeutic riding, and hippotherapy. Due to issues like inconsistent terminology and lack of standardized practice manuals, there are gaps in the ET knowledge about how these approaches relate or differ from each other. This research reviewed 47 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles about ET approaches and applied thematic analysis to determine key themes that clarify key traits of each approach. Recognizing that children and youth are common participants in equine therapy, this research was motivated by the questions: What type of relational dynamics are modelled for children and youth in ET? How are these horse-human relationships portrayed? Which participants possess their own agency? Findings of this research provide insights about each approach of ET and highlight the therapeutic affects of interspecies relationships between humans and horses. Contradictory viewpoints about mutual agency between species are identified in language that described horses are active, intelligent subjects and/or passive, inanimate objects. This research provides insights about the different forms of ET, highlights important benefits and gaps, and invites the fields of Child and Youth Care and Animal-Assisted Therapy to critically reflect on the relational tensions of employing non-human animals in human therapy. / Graduate

There has been little research conducted in general that explores the impact of sexualized violence on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. There is even more limited qualitative research, and almost none of it from a therapeutic perspective. This led me to engage with the fictionalized stories of LGBTQ youth characters who have survived sexualized violence to learn how these stories might inform the work of helping professionals. This thesis provides a reflexive thematic analysis of three novels written by queer authors. Through the lens of response-based therapy, intersectional feminism, and queer theory, it considers the ways in which the characters are impacted by their experiences with sexualized violence and their responses to it. Findings indicate that the characters were affected by childhood sexual abuse at a time in their lives when their sexual identities were on the cusp of being formed. Their experiences with sexualized violence impacted the ways that the characters learned to live with contradictions; experienced ambivalence in the relationships with the adults who caused them harm; and engaged in small acts of resistance against the impact of sexualized violence in their lives to create futures in which they could thrive. The characters’ experiences with casual sex and sex work are shown as an act of resistance against violence. This research aims to queer the discourses on LGBTQ youth who have experienced sexualized violence, expose the small acts of resistance that they perform against the impacts of sexualized violence, and transform the ways that child and youth care workers, therapists, social workers, and other helpers understand the resilience and experiences of LGBTQ survivors. / Graduate

En del av den sociala barnavården i Sverige består av hem för vård eller boende (HVB), som är en typ av institutionsvård utanför det egna hemmet. Aktuell studie syftar till att undersöka hur personal på HVB-hem beskriver institutionens behandlingsmässiga utgångspunkter och hur de uppfattar behandlingsarbetet med ungdomarna. Denna studie utgår från en kvalitativ metod och för att besvara syfte och frågeställningar har semistrukturerade intervjuer använts. Det har genomförts fem intervjuer med personal från två HVB-hem. För att analysera studiens resultat används en tematisk analysmetod. De teoretiska utgångspunkterna omfattas av teorier om samarbete, terapeutisk allians och HVB-hemmens behandlingsmässiga utgångspunkter miljöterapi och KBT (kognitiv beteendeterapi). Det som framkommer i studien är att behandlingsarbetet med ungdomar på HVB är komplext, att det finns ett behandlingsinriktat fokus samt att relationsskapande och samarbete är viktiga aspekter i arbetet. Det beskrivs också finnas svårigheter i arbetet som relateras till relationsskapande och deltagande i behandling. Vidare presenteras det att omfattningen av den psykiska ohälsan hos ungdomarna är utbredd och att HVB-hemmen inte har något specifikt arbetssätt för att behandla ungdomar med psykisk ohälsa utan att detta främst sker hos barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin (BUP). Det framkommer kritik mot bristande resurser hos BUP vilket påverkar behandlingsarbetet negativt. Det framkommer också svårigheter att arbeta med ungdomar i kriminalitet och att sekretessbestämmelserna mellan polis och socialtjänst försvårar samarbetet / A part of the social child welfare in Sweden consists of residential care homes, which is a type of institutional care. The aim of this study is to investigate how staff at residential care homes describe the institution's treatment implementations and how they perceive the work related to treatment with adolescents. This study is based on a qualitative method and semistructured interviews. Five interviews have been conducted with staff from two different residential care homes. A thematic analysis method is used to analyze the results of the study. The theoretical frameworks include theories of collaboration, therapeutic alliance, and treatment implementations of the residential care homes, such as milieu therapy and CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). The study reveals that the work with treatment of adolescents in residential care homes is complex, that the facilities have a treatment-oriented focus, and that relationships and collaboration are important aspects of the work. Difficulties related to relationships and participation in treatment are also emphasized. Furthermore, the study presents that difficulties regarding mental health among adolescents are prevalent. The residential care homes do not have a specific approach for treating adolescents with mental health issues, the treatment regarding mental health mainly takes place within the child and adolescent psychiatry which receives criticism due to insufficient resources. It also appears that there are difficulties in working with young people involved in crime and that the confidentiality regulations between the police and social services can make cooperation difficult

Text in English / Orphans and vulnerable children are increasingly forming a larger portion of the South African population. The escalating number of these children in communities is caused mainly by the loss of parents to HIV/AIDS. This poses a huge challenge for the government and organisations rendering social welfare services to these orphans and vulnerable children. This qualitative study sought to explore and describe the nature of collaboration between social workers and child and youth workers in rendering services to orphans and vulnerable children in the Free State province. The non-probability sampling technique of purposive sampling guided the data collection process using in-depth one on one semi structured interviews as a data collection method. Finally the data was analysed by means of Creswell’s data analysis spiral followed by the principles of Guba for data verification. The ethical considerations adhered to throughout this study were informed consent, right to privacy, avoidance of deception, debriefing of participants, management of information. The rationale was that overlapping boundaries exist when the two professions work together in addressing the needs of orphans and vulnerable children. The findings of the research confirmed that there are no clear guidelines on the collaboration of social workers and child and youth care workers, although personal efforts are made for a healthy working relationship. Recommendations were made in relation to the findings. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

This study was interested in exploring the perceptions and experiences of social workers about the nature and contents of conducting risk assessments with child offenders. Considering the high level of crime and reoffending in South Africa, effective assessment is imperative. The goal of the research was to develop an in-depth understanding of how risk assessments of child offenders are conducted in practice. This was done by applying a qualitative research methodology. The study was conducted in the Western Cape. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was employed and data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch. The findings indicated that although prescribed instruments are used in the risk assessment of children in South Africa, they all have definite limitations. To enhance the quality of service rendered to child offenders, the development of a standardised risk assessment instrument is needed. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)