Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Medical Faculty, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, UK.
Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Level 8, The Bright Alliance, High St & Avoca Street, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia.
Child Abuse Negl. 2019 Jun;92:219-229. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.03.018. Epub 2019 Apr 19.
Looked after children and care leavers (LACCL) are some of the most vulnerable and marginalized young people in our communities. Existing research demonstrates that this group often interprets care in terms of genuineness and tends to feel uncared for. Less work exists from the perspective of social workers and formal carers.
This study aims to explore how care is perceived and practiced among LACCL and those with a duty of care for them. We use a theoretical lens of care ethics to compare and contrast understandings in order to explore how they affect the delivery and receipt of care.
PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: There were 44 participants from four local authorities in north-east England including nineteen LACCL aged 12-20, eight social workers, and nineteen formal carers.
Twenty-eight semi-structured 1:1 interviews, four dyad interviews and three focus group interviews.
LACCL desired care that felt familial, went beyond minimum standards and involved understanding. Social workers had to manage LACCL expectations and build relationships by both rationing care according to role constraints whilst sometimes going 'above and beyond' statutory care. Carers conceptualized care in terms of dedication and discipline but felt limited in their ability to achieve care in this way.
Bridging different conceptualizations of care is necessary to achieve integrated support for these vulnerable young people whilst also helping them to develop key skills for later adult life. A deeper understanding of frameworks of care has implications for social worker and formal carer training and practice.
受照顾儿童和照顾离开者（LACCL）是我们社区中最脆弱和边缘化的年轻人之一。现有研究表明，这一群体通常根据真诚来理解照顾，并往往感到被忽视。从社会工作者和正式照顾者的角度来看，这方面的工作较少。
本研究旨在探讨 LACCL 和对他们负有照顾责任的人如何看待和实践照顾。我们使用关怀伦理的理论视角进行比较和对比，以探讨它们如何影响关怀的提供和接受。
参与者来自英格兰东北部的四个地方当局，共有 44 人，包括 19 名 12-20 岁的 LACCL、8 名社会工作者和 19 名正式照顾者。
28 次半结构化 1:1 访谈、4 次二人访谈和 3 次焦点小组访谈。
LACCL 渴望感受到家庭般的关怀，超越最低标准，并包含理解。社会工作者必须根据角色限制来管理 LACCL 的期望并建立关系，同时根据角色限制来分配关怀，有时还要超越法定关怀。照顾者将关怀概念化为奉献和纪律，但感到在以这种方式提供关怀方面能力有限。
为了为这些脆弱的年轻人提供综合支持，同时帮助他们发展成年后的关键技能，有必要弥合对关怀的不同概念化。对关怀框架的更深入理解对社会工作者和正式照顾者的培训和实践具有影响。
