What are we doing to improve health and wellbeing of children in residential care in the Spanish child protection system?

There is a unanimous consensus about the high prevalence of emotional and behavioural disorders in children and young people in care. Child residential care workers have to face in the everyday life difficult situations due to... [ view full abstract ]

There is a unanimous consensus about the high prevalence of emotional and behavioural disorders in children and young people in care. Child residential care workers have to face in the everyday life difficult situations due to alarming increase of violent and noncompliant behaviour, as well as other internalizing disorders such as depression or suicide behaviour.
In this presentation we will try to describe the Spanish child protection system and its evolution in the last two decades. In that time the Spanish welfare system moved from a charitable model (in force during all the dictatorship after the civil war) to a social services public model guaranteed by the democratic Constitution in 1978. We will describe the current structure, functions and legal framework of the child protection system in our country.
In this context we will present preliminary data of a longitudinal research about mental health needs of children and young people in residential care in our country. We have assessed a sample of 1,225 children in terms of personal variables, family background and mental health needs. We used two criteria for mental health needs: the current use of mental health services and the objective assessment by means of CBCL and YSR of the ASEBA system. The design included a longitudinal assessment, repeating measurements every year during three years.
Results about profiles of children and young people, referrals to treatment and evolution in the longitudinal study will be presented.