Dear Readers,
Last month the bi-annual conference of the European Scientific Association on Residential & Family Care for Children and Adolescents (EUSARF) took place in the beautiful city of Oviedo located in Northern Spain. My colleague Jorge del Valle and his team put together a packed and interesting three-day program of symposia and presentations as well as wonderful receptions, which offered culinary delights and time to meet and greet. Conference participants traveled to Oviedo from across the globe and the presentations captured this incredible diversity. Although the weather did not cooperate, the conference was a chance to meet old colleagues, make new connections, and get updated on the many issues that face residential care in different countries. Again, I was struck by the many forms that residential care takes in various national contexts, which cautions us not to generalize conclusions about research findings and policy developments and to always consider the particular systems’ contexts in which residential care operates. For this journal it means that each article addressing various issues relevant to residential care should include a paragraph describing the particular setting in which a study on residential care is embedded.
A look at the conference program also draws attention to the wide range of issues and topics that are relevant to residential care and that require further inquiry. From a systems ecological perspective, relevant topics can be identified within each level of a child’s ecology – encompassing biopsychosocial characteristics and developmental needs to interactional challenges between the youth and his or her family and social networks to organizational and policy issues in the macro environment. Taking a different perspective, the types of studies needed to advance the knowledge base of residential care also capture the entire span of social sciences research from epidemiological studies and explanatory mediation models to outcome and implementation research and in-depth qualitative work. A sentiment that is, at times, expressed among colleagues in the United States is that an interest in residential care research is a guaranteed way of sabotaging one’s own career. Policy and research priorities have for years steered away from residential care, creating limited funding opportunities, which are necessary in the development of a research program. Yet, the interests and talents of a new generation of residential care researchers are needed, and the many questions and topics associated with residential care represent a field that is ripe for systematic inquiry.
One particular issue that is deserving of attention and debate concerns refugee children and their families in the context of residential care. I would like to encourage EUSARF to pick up this topic in the planning of their next conference in 2018. While the scientific study of unaccompanied minors has received more attention during the past years, the particular needs of refugee children and youth, and resultant challenges for child-serving systems in the countries most affected by the ongoing refugee crisis, demand special discussion and exchange about the best ways of serving this population. I would like to encourage descriptive, conceptual, and empirical contributions in this area.
This is the final issue of Residential Treatment for Children & Youth for calendar year 2016. It is a double issue and includes a number of papers capturing the diversity of topics related to residential care. I would like to thank the authors for their contributions and for their patience with the review process that is not always as smooth and fast as I would like it to be. I hope that you find the articles of interest and would like to invite your commentary and your contributions. A big thank you also to the reviewers who contribute their expertise and time to make this process possible. The need for expert reviewers who commit and follow through on review assignments is never-ending! Please contact me if you are interested in getting involved with our journal.
Wishing you a wonderful remainder of 2016,
Editor-in-Chief Residential Treatment for Children & Youth