Parents' experiences of children's residential care
Date
2001
Authors
Pike, Robin Elizabeth
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Abstract
This study explores the experiences of parents whose children lived in residential care in terms of the significance of these experiences for group home practice. Using a qualitative inquiry and phenomenological approach, the voices of parents' experiences within residential care were recorded and analyzed. The data were clustered into five overĀarching categories: Complexity of Parents' Feelings Regarding Placement, The State of Parents at Pre-Placement, The Significance of the Parenting of Parents, Involvement of Parents with Group Homes, and Summarizing the Experience. From these categories five universal themes emerged: the Voices of Emotion, Defeat, Childhood, Participation and Retrospection. The findings suggest that residential programs could be re-focused to meet the needs of both the resident children and their parents. Possible avenues of further research are suggested.