Our second issue of 2018 contains only four articles to reserve page space for the upcoming Special Issue on Policy Developments Regarding the Best and Most Appropriate Use of Therapeutic Residential Care. The journal has had a greater number of submissions during the past year, which we greatly welcome, but this also presents challenges as we are experiencing a backlog for the first time in a number of years. Ultimately however, receiving more submissions will allow us to sharpen our review process and improve the quality of the journal, and as such the greater number of submissions is highly welcomed.
Two of our four articles in this issue address staff attitudes and knowledge in programs implementing trauma-informed care. Erin Barnett and colleagues describe “the process of developing, implementing, and evaluating a trauma-informed care program focused heavily on workforce development with a youth residential treatment center and accompanying special needs school” and were able to show (among other findings) that a carefully implemented trauma-informed program resulted in a significant reduction in critical incidents. The study by Michelle Denison and colleagues also collected data from staff who had received in-service training related to trauma-informed care and found a number of interesting correlations that may guide the development of targeted in-service programs focused on addressing trauma and reducing restraints. – The final two articles focus on detained youth. The study by Paula Fite and colleagues examines housing restrictions placed on detained youth while Sew Kim Low and colleagues present data on juvenile offenders in Malaysia and investigate the association between parental monitoring and peer rejection on antisocial behavior. Low et al.’s article is also evidence of our continued effort to present information and data on residential care in diverse country contexts.
Creating an international platform for exchange on residential care was also the goal of the International Pre-conference Institute of the Association of Children’s Residential Centers, which took place in Boston on March 26, 2018, ahead of the ACRC’s annual conference. The overall conference was very well attended, continuing the positive and dynamic trend of the past years under the leadership of its Executive Director Kari Sisson. The international pre-conference was attended by over 100 guests and involved interesting presentations on residential care in the UK, Norway and Spain. It highlighted that every country wrestles with similar issues in providing quality care to youth in difficult circumstances and that solutions and interventions have to be culturally embedded and developed with an eye to the possibilities and constraints placed on them by existing welfare structures. Yet within each specific context, innovative interventions and services are being developed and implemented, and it is hoped that the collective knowledge gained from these experiences will clarify the role that residential care can play and will improve the quality of its services and interventions.
With this issue I am ending my editorship of the journal – a position, which I have held since the summer of 2015. While I have enjoyed the 3 years that I have been able to guide the direction of the journal, increasing responsibilities and a growing number of projects leave me with insufficient time to fulfill the role of editor as I would like to. As such I am incredibly pleased to announce that my colleague Prof. Dr. Bethany Lee from the University of Maryland, School of Social Work, has agreed to take on the role as of July 2018. I have no doubt that she will continue to move the journal into the direction of excellence and scientific rigor while maintaining its relevance for the residential care practice and policy community. I welcome her and wish her a very successful and enjoyable tenure.
As I transition the journal into the able hands of Bethany Lee, I want you to be aware of a number of Special Issues that are upcoming. The Special Issue on Policy Developments is slated to be the next issue, in time for the international bi-annual conference of the European Scientific Association on Residential & Family Care for Children and Adolescents (EUSARF), which will be held in Porto, Portugal, from October 2–5, 2018. A Special Issue on Adolescent and Young Adult Refugees and Unaccompanied Minors in Residential Care will be published early in 2019. While data are largely missing in this area, this is an incredibly important topic in Europe where refugees of all ages are often placed in shelters and (large) residential care settings for extended periods of time. A third Special Issue on Partnering with Families in Residential Care will be guest-edited by my colleagues Dr. Patricia McNamara from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Dr. Kristin Duppong Hurley from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. The journal is also taking submissions for papers presented at the 2018 ACRC conference in Boston, with Dr. Jonathan Huefner and Robert Foltz taking on the task of guest-editing that issue. Finally, I am looking forward to a special issue planned by Prof. Dr. Jim Whittaker for next year that will reflect on the 50th anniversary of the book “The Other 23 Hours” written by Albert Trieschman, James Whittaker and Larry Brendtro.
As I sign off, I want to thank my Editorial Board, which has been hard working and willing to take on the growing number of submission and a faster review process. I hope to see you at the next conference!
Sincerely yours,
Sigrid James, PhD, MSW
Editor-in-Chief
Professor, University of Kassel