Exploring Family Support Work and Its Staff in Children’s Therapeutic Residential Care

ABSTRACT This is a small-scale case study set out to explore a unique role within children’s residential care in England, that of the Placement Family Support Worker and the family support work they conduct for the children in placement. This subject was explored through semi-structured interviews with seven Keyworkers and two Placement Family Support Workers in a children’s therapeutic residential care service consisting of four children’s homes. It was found that not every home had a Placement Family Support Worker, often due to staff resources and funding, and so often the children’s Keyworker would manage the family support work themselves. In either case, family support work was seen to be highly valuable and significant for the children’s development and relationships. It was found, however, that it would be more beneficial to have an independent Placement Family Support Worker managing family support work for each child in the home rather than Keyworkers for objectivity, healthy relationship management, organization, workload, multi-agency manageability, and the specific skills required. In addition to this, it was felt that emotional and practical support from the other staff in the home and management improved the quality of this work. Practice Implications Children’s residential care homes are recommended to employ a dedicated placement family support worker to manage family support work and contacts for children in placement. Independent placement family support workers will be a resource in developing, maintaining and strengthening relationships between children in placement and their family, alternatively, through objective observations of contact they can advise on continued contact as beneficial or detrimental or even reunification. There needs to be a drive toward consistent practice (initially through standardised data collection methods) and appropriate training for those conducting family support work (including social work skills or prior experience in social work). Due to the complexity of the role and relationship management involved, dedicated spaces for reflection are needed for those conducting family support work.