No. 1888

RESIDENTIAL CARE

Task

Put in general terms the task of the residential unit is this: to enable, over a period of time, the children to return to their families or to foster families or to achieve an independent life. Each child should be able to continue his individual development at whatever level is possible for him and without such stress as to disable him, or to overload the people with whom he lives, or to drive him into serious conflict with the community or alienation from it.

For each individual, the kind of healthy development which can be achieved and the damage which cannot be altogether undone is different. So are the problems he or she will have to face or be able to withstand on discharge. Thus, the general task of the unit has to be stated in different, specific terms for each individual in it. This means that for each child the unit has to make available a reliable but constantly modifiable selection of the range of provision: 1.the absolutely necessary 'parenting' and 'hold­ing' aspects of the whole range of provision. 2: the broadly educational 'nurturing' aspects. 3: Personal 'integrity' with the educational and therapeutic aims that have to be considered for each individual child and somehow provided for overall.

A word on parenting can be seen at http://www.cyc-net.org/quote3/quote-1612.html
A word on holding can be seen at  http://www.cyc-net.org/quote3/quote-1612.html

CHRISTOPHER BEEDELL

Beedell, C. (1970). Residential Life with Children. London. Routledge and Kegan Paul