Contact of Young People in Residential Care with Their Parents: The Contributions of Multilevel Correaltes

Research and social work policies emphasize the importance of encouraging positive parent-child contact to enhance the well-being of children in care. However, there is very limited research examining the social-ecological... [ view full abstract ]

Research and social work policies emphasize the importance of encouraging positive parent-child contact to enhance the well-being of children in care. However, there is very limited research examining the social-ecological correlates of that contact. The study presented here examines the contribution of characteristics related to the young people and to the residential care setting to the frequency of contact and levels of perceived support by the children's fathers and mothers. The study is mainly based on the reports of about 1,400 Israeli young people, aged 13 to 20, in residential care. It identifies groups of children at risk for reduced contact with their parents (e.g., children of divorced parents, immigrant children, children whose parents live far away from the institution) and institutions at risk for reduced contact (such as institutions with higher concentrations of children with severe emotional-behavioral needs, institutions having on average more negative perceptions of staff regarding contact with parents, etc.). The findings emphasize the need to examine parent-child contact while in care from an ecological perspective. It has implications for child pre-placement decisions and for designing intervention programs to enhance child-parent contact while in care.