Navigating Family Roles Within An Institutional Framework: An Exploratory Study In One Private Chinese Orphanage

Neimetz, Catherine

doi:10.1007/s10826-010-9431-2

Cited by 17 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In the present study, the caregivers view themselves as parents to these children as they play a mother or father role to them. The female caregivers in this study are called "mother" which is is in line with findings by Neimetz (2010) where the orphans called their female caregiver "mother" and the male home manager "father". These caregivers' main roles are to provide care and support, but also information for the children.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Informational roles and information needs of formal caregivers at child welfare institutions in Malaysia

Hazimah

Aspura

Noorhidawati

2019

MJLIS

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This study investigates the information needs of formal caregivers of child welfare institutions through the landscape of their roles and tasks. A case study approach using purposive sampling of three children welfare institutions was conducted with a total number of 10 participants. Data were collected through a series of interviews and two focus groups. Qualitative data were analysed using NVivo. Open coding and thematic coding were used to generate themes on the informational roles and needs of the caregivers. The caregivers perform their roles as guardian, counsellor, and administrator which involve informational roles as a monitor, disseminator and spokesperson of internal and external information for the institution. Each role requires specific information in order to fulfill their tasks such as information on the children's background, daily information required, past education, future education (including sex education) and career path, monitoring of former children, disciplinary action taken on misbehaving children, information related to sports and leisure activities, safety, health as well as children rewards. This paper is significant to this specific community (caregivers of child welfare institutions) in order to understand their information needs, based on the actual caregivers' roles and tasks. The findings would be useful as a benchmark in providing better information services for the caregivers to perform their roles and tasks in managing children at risk.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Informational roles and information needs of formal caregivers at child welfare institutions in Malaysia

Hazimah

Aspura

Noorhidawati

2019

MJLIS

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“…One important consideration is that, traditionally, institutional settings have been seen as opposed to foster family settings, with the debate focusing on which of them can provide better care for children. A new approach has been looking at how to incorporate family-like roles and routines in residential children's homes (Neimetz, 2011), providing better care for children in need that, for several reasons, do not have access to good quality family care. A large number of children are living in residential children's homes and, if we want to ensure the best outcomes for all children, we need to allow the debate to occur about how best to house children in residential children's homes without losing the perspective that good quality family-based care is the better option, but might not always be available.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“Getting involved”

Quiroga

Hamilton‐Giachritsis

2016

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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A large number of children around the world are currently living in residential children's homes and a central figure in those settings is the caregiver. The relationship children establish with their temporary caregivers can be a crucial factor in their lives.However, little research has been conducted with caregivers working in institutional settings regarding their experience and the relationship they establish with the children they care for.This article presents the results of a qualitative study conducted with 43 caregivers working in eight different residential children's homes in Chile. The information was gathered through focus groups and thematic analysis was conducted. The results show that caregivers report their experience of work and their relationship with children very positively and that this is characterized by their emotional involvement with children. This perspective appears to differ from that observed in large institutions in Europe, where there is some evidence that a more impersonal approach is predominant. However, it is acknowledged that this is based on caregiver perceptions which may or may not reflect cultural variations. The conclusion highlights the potential positive impact that caregivers can have on children's lives, alongside some factors that negatively affect caregivers' work, which could inform policy and procedures in order to provide better care for these children who (for various reasons) remain in residential care rather than family based care.

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“…Many of the children came from extended families and environments where they did not receive adequate care due to the strain on the traditional family resources and other domestic issues. Neimetz (2011) indicated that the children's health might lie in how caregivers were able to maintain the dynamics of a traditional family in an institutionalized setting. It is also possible that better health outcomes, particularly mental health, is due to the fact that traditional fostering is a common practice in sub-Saharan Africa, where children are raised by multiple caregivers consisting of kin and non-kin and therefore have the opportunity to live with better-endowed adults (Drah 2012;Hollingsworth 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the CCIs did produce an "alternative" kinship structure and a family-like environment in which OSCAs could thrive. Neimetz (2011) found that, while not a family in the traditional sense, some institutions established a family-like environment through identification with explicit roles and inclusion of particular daily routines "where children receive [d] the emotional nurturing needed for healthy development" (p. 594). Inadequate family-based care structures as well as inadequate provision of financial support for families taking care of orphans suggest that there is still a place for institutional care in Kenya (Ayuku et al 2014; UNICEF and Republic of Kenya 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Production and Reproduction of Kinship in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Gayapersad

Ombok

Kamanda

et al. 2019

Child Youth Care Forum

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Background The negative impact of institutionalization on children's development and well-being has led to a global recommendation for deinstitutionalization. In countries with weak infrastructure and family support, some children in institutional care have been found to have better outcomes, which may be due in part to the family-like environments created by some Charitable Children's Institutions (CCIs). Objective The goal was to examine whether and how alternative kinship structures were reproduced in CCIs. Method Qualitative data from 22 caregivers and 30 orphaned or separated children and adolescents (OSCAs) were collected using participant observation and in-depth interviews, and analysed using a symbolic interactionist theoretical framework. Results Social interaction with caregivers contributed meaning towards the definition of family within some CCIs, particularly those modeled after a village and/or a single family. These CCIs created a family-like care environment, resulting in OSCAs redefining the traditional concept of family based on consanguinity to one composed of non-kin providing care and support. Social interaction through family-related activities produced novel familial identities, and some OSCAs felt they were part of a quasi-family. However, OSCAs lacked autonomy, feared consequences of not following the rules of behaviour, and felt retraumatized and re-abandoned when they exited the CCIs at age 18. Conclusion Some CCIs created an "alternative" kinship structure in which most children focused on their education, were provided with basic needs, and formed long-term positive relationships. Despite a number of challenges, family-like CCIs may be a supportive last resort for children without kin to care for them.

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Navigating Family Roles Within An Institutional Framework: An Exploratory Study In One Private Chinese Orphanage

Cited by 17 publications

References 24 publications

Informational roles and information needs of formal caregivers at child welfare institutions in Malaysia

Informational roles and information needs of formal caregivers at child welfare institutions in Malaysia

“Getting involved”

The Production and Reproduction of Kinship in Charitable Children’s Institutions in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

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