The exploration of the experience of moving into out-of-home care

Abstract

There are many children who enter the out-of-home care system due to the difficult situations that are present in their biological family. In Malta, minors can enter the care system through a care order, where the state intervenes to protect the minors concerned or by the parents voluntarily admitting their child in care. These minors can either be placed in foster care or in residential care. The process of entering the out-of-home care system is key, as there is a large change taking place in the lives of the minors concerned, and therefore this transition will affect the minor. The purpose of this research is to explore the experience of minors moving into out-of-home care, detailing how the experience of this transition of moving into residential care or foster care affected them both in the short term and in the long term. The experiences of the minors who went through this transition, and the various areas which this transition affected them in will be analysed.

A qualitative study was undertaken, whereby a case study design was used. Four individuals who experienced this transition when they were minors were interviewed using a semistructured interview approach. Adults, as opposed to children were interviewed due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, and also because they are able to explain how this transition influenced their life in more depth. These case studies gave an opportunity for the exploration of this transition experience to be explored in further profundity. The data which was collected was analysed using thematic analysis.

The study highlighted that apart from moving from the biological home to out-of-home care, some children also experience multiple transitions, which means moving from one out-of-home care setting to another, often contributing towards instability. The experience for the participants at the time they were going through it, proved to be difficult for them. However in the long run, and as they grew up, they managed to adopt a positive outlook on the experience that they went through. Other themes which emerged and which were related to the transition the children went through included: the relationships and the attachment with their biological parents as well as with residential/foster carers; stigma about living in care; feelings of loss and anger; relationships with siblings; the age of entering into the out-of-home care system, whether living in residential or foster care and the minor’s change in behaviour.

Through the findings of this study, it is clear that the transition of moving into out-of-home care and moving to different out-of-home care settings does indeed affect the minor’s life. The experience of the transition is very personal and unique to every single child/adolescent who goes through it. However, each case situation presented in this study indicated that all required support and a dedication to ensure stability, hence mitigating the intensity of the effects of this transition.