Preserving family bonds: examining parent perspectives in the light of practice standards for out-of-home treatment.

Family participation is a core system of care value that is supported by previous research in medical, child welfare, and mental health settings. However, many parents with children receiving out-of-home mental health treatment experience restrictions on contact. This cross-sectional study examines the experiences of families (N = 102) regarding parent-child contact in relation to examples of national accreditation standards. Results of the national survey found that most respondents (79.4%) reported restrictions on contact, including limits based on behavioral contingencies (65.7%) and point and level systems (52.5%).

Family caregivers' perceptions of barriers to and supports of participation in their children's out-of-home treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Although the importance of family caregivers' involvement in their children's mental health treatment is increasingly recognized, factors that influence caregivers' participation are not clearly understood. This study examined the views of family caregivers whose children received out-of-home treatment to determine the amount and types of family caregivers' participation in their children's treatment, the caregivers' perceptions of barriers and supports to participation, and the relationship of barriers and supports to caregivers' participation and satisfaction with care. METHODS: As part of a national survey, a subsample of 102 family caregivers from 31 states whose children were in a residential treatment center, psychiatric unit, or group home answered a questionnaire that included questions about their participation in their children's treatment and about barriers and supports to their participation. RESULTS: Family caregivers identified as barriers concrete factors such as cost of transportation and distance from service providers as well as more intangible factors such as lack of communication between staff members of different programs and negative attitudes of staff members. CONCLUSIONS: Programs seeking to create a more supportive environment for family caregivers' involvement in out-of-home care will need to seek out family members' perceptions of their experience with their children's treatment and their views about factors that would help increase their participation.

Voices of African American families: perspectives on residential treatment.

This article examines families' perceptions about involvement in residential treatment from the viewpoints of African American and non-African American family members. Focus group interviews found that all family members shared some common positive and negative experiences. However, unique issues remained for African American caregivers. The costs to children of being separated from their families and communities, fears regarding the use of medications, cultural dissimilarities of staff and clients, staff stereotyping, and a commitment to advocating for children other than their own were themes frequently expressed by African American family members. Implications for social services professionals serving African American families are highlighted.