Quality Care in Residential Care and Treatment Settings in North America: From Complex Research to Four Everyday Principles for Practice

Quality is a central topic in contemporary discussions about residential care, and specifically about group or congregate care. Such care settings have been contested in recent years specifically resulting from anecdotal evidence that quality is lacking. To this end, the response has focused on the development of quality indicators and standards. In this essay, the author argues that, although such approaches are necessary and have helped to embed evidence-based practices in residential care settings, they are not easily translated into everyday practice. Quality care must mean more than frameworks for care that are governed by professional system designs. Quality care also must include the experiences of young people living life in these settings. To this end, to help with the translation of quality care standards for residential care, the essay presents four core principles that, on the one hand, are familiar and easily translatable for youth workers and social workers in these settings, and on the other hand, honour and are congruent with core elements of almost all evidence-based practice approaches.