Australian Childhood Foundation practice guide for supporting young people in out of home care

The Australian Childhood Foundation has developed a new practice guideline called “Creating positive social climates and home-like environments in therapeutic care” for supporting young people in out of home care. This guide explores how to create therapeutic care contexts based on considerations about the notion of ‘home.’

Some of the key messages include:

• The meaning of ‘home’ as applied by individual young people to create a sense of normality.
• The sensory dimensions of the physical environment which promote connection, regulation and belonging.
• Creating a positive social climate.
• Involving young people to contribute to the way in which the care environment is structured.

The guide highlights the central role of the physical environment and the social climate in contributing to improved behaviour and adjustment among young people that allows higher levels of safety, improved relational dynamics and lower levels of aggression and violence between young people in the home.

Go to “Creating positive social climates and home-like environments in therapeutic care”