Quote of the Day

	Active involvement and participation of clients is increasingly considered to be a crucial standard for the evaluation and improvement of the quality of child and youth care. Sometimes even young clients are actively involved in the development of quality criteria in care. A nice example in The Netherlands can be found in a publication by Van Beek, Hameetman and Meerdink (1999). These authors examined, via open interviews with more than 500 children and youth from 8 to 18 years in children’s homes and day-care centres, what according to these children and youth are important issues in the care and support that they receive. The remarks were classified in three clusters: the process of care, the workers, and the organization. Regarding the first cluster: the process of care, Table 1.1 presents as an illustration the children’s quality criteria (as they should be named according the authors). Table 1.1 Children’s quality criteria with respect to the process of care in a (semi)residential setting What children and youth find important is: that I know why I am here that I receive information about the care that they involve me in decisions that at the start I am not left on my own that I am allowed to adjust that I am allowed to live a life that is as normal as possible that I can do things together with other children in the group that my group is peaceful that I am safe in the group that I have enough freedom that important others can be there for me that I understand my life story that I can leave in a good manner. Each of the criteria in Table 1.1 has been elaborated further and completed with countless examples and quotations, and each is suitable as a norm for testing in practice. It is striking that the first three criteria request information about and involvement in choices.
	ERIK KNORTH et al Knorth, E. J., Van den Bergh, P. M., Verheij, F. (2002). Professionalization and Participation in Child and Youth Care. Hampshire: Ashgate. p 7