This article aims to bring together perspectives from policy, practice and research in reviewing the experiences of young refugees arriving in Australia. By reviewing international and local research and applying it to the Australian policy context, this article highlights how evidence-based practices for this population are lacking. Risk and protective factors for young refugees are discussed in relation to possible avenues of intervention. In particular, unaccompanied refugee minors are seen as being at heightened risk of social exclusion and mental illness. Quantitative and qualitative literature is integrated to provide an overall picture of young refugees in the Australian context. Studies evaluating psychological interventions and support for refugees, as well as research into how young refugees typically cope with adversities, are used to inform recommendations for school and community-based psychological interventions.

Caring for children in home-based care is seen as requiring considerably more time and energy from caregivers than is the case for most other children who are not in care. This article reports on a study that quantified the amount of time, over and above ‘ordinary parenting’, spent by 26 foster carers and prospective adoptive parents of children during a 9-month period in a program offering long-term care. The findings provide information that is potentially useful, not only in the debate about the decline in carer numbers, but also for agencies when they are recruiting, training and assessing prospective carers. Carers in the study spent an average of 55 minutes per day (or approximately 6 hours 22 minutes per 7-day week) on activities over and above the ordinary care of children. Carer time was highest for cases in the first year of placement when the average time was close to 2 hours per day. The tasks that took the greatest carer time, on average, were access visits, meeting with caseworkers, school- and tutoring-related matters, counselling and medical appointments, and organising respite care. Not surprisingly, more time was spent on children with challenging health and behavioural issues. Despite these differences in the average level of time required for each individual situation, the study also demonstrates that most carers experience days that are substantially taken up with their care responsibilities.

This article describes developments in residential childcare services in Scotland and the influence of various policy trends; in particular, it draws on the work of the National Residential Child Care Initiative, a major government-led review that reported in 2009. The development of small-scale residential units, the emergence of a ‘mixed economy’ of provision and a focus on staff training are key features of residential care for children in Scotland. The sector has received strong central government affirmation for two decades, notwithstanding a gradual reduction in its overall size. The article focuses on developments over the past 10 years and identifies a number of ‘drivers’ that aim to promote improvement, including staff training and the promotion of interprofessional collaboration. The emergence of specialist education and health services for ‘looked after children’ is noted. The relative underemphasis, until recently, on specific theories of care or particular therapeutic approaches is considered. Constraints on improvement are also considered; these include the fragmentation of provision and the operation of markets, the pressure on places and a high level of placement breakdown.

This article presents the findings of a study of unplanned and planned placement changes in foster care programs designed for restoration or time-limited assessment for long-term care. In this study, the causes of placement changes in the program are analysed to assess whether stability could be improved. The study was undertaken by examining computer records of placement changes over a 6-year period, in five Temporary Family Care (TFC) programs. Once these changes were identified, social workers were asked to describe the circumstances of the placement change for each named child. These were then categorised into two groups: unplanned and planned placement changes. Unplanned changes are those that were not anticipated at initial entry to care, nor during scheduled case reviews. The frequency of unplanned changes was 2% of all placements; within this group of unplanned changes no child had more than two unplanned moves and only 0.6% of children had two unplanned changes. Planned placement changes were those changes considered as part of routine case decision-making according to the requirements of the ‘Looking After Children’ (LAC) system. These changes occurred in 4.5% of all planned placements. Some children experienced both planned and unplanned changes. The changes were then categorised according to the reasons for change. Some placement changes appeared unavoidable. This finding leads to questions about whether instability can ever be entirely eliminated. The TFC programs appear to have a lower rate of breakdown than that reported in the literature; however, variations in study design make comparisons difficult.

Therapeutic residential care for children and young people is a service model being implemented in the Queensland out-of-home care sector. Many therapeutic models for residential care exist; however, three that have research supporting their use include the Sanctuary model, positive peer culture model and the dyadic developmental psychotherapy residential model. This article will first outline the three models, with particular focus on the principles, strategies, current implementation and research related to each. It will then introduce Anglin's theory of congruence (2002) and outline how consistently each model corresponds to this theory.

As a home-based care option for children at risk of significant harm, kinship care placements are steadily increasing in Australia as they are in other western countries. This article describes a qualitative research study undertaken with 65 kin (relative) and kith (nonrelative) carers in Victoria in the years 2004–2007. The aims of the research were to explore the lived experience of carers and to understand their support needs. The findings distinguish similarities and differences between the experience of formal and informal grandparent carers, non-grandparent relative carers and nonrelative carers. The article discusses the role of caregiving for the different groups, family relationships, finances (having enough money, as well as having too little), relationships with government agencies, respite and peer support.