Family reunification is a vital process in child welfare, aimed at reunifying children in alternative care with their biological families. Despite its importance, it remains a challenging and contentious issue in South Africa. Additionally, the absence of comprehensive preparation for reunification and aftercare support typically aggravates the challenges faced by such families. This article focused on exploring and describing the perceptions of designated social workers, Child and Youth Care Centre (CYCC) professionals and managers, and parents / caregivers on family reunification services in order to better understand current family reunification practices in South Africa. Guided by the bio-ecological and strength-based theories, this qualitative study used a phenomenological and qualitative descriptive design to explore and describe perceptions of the different role players involved. Purposive sampling was used to select participants. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and unstructured interviews, and subsequently analysed using thematic analysis and phenomenological data analysis. The data revealed four distinct themes: i) elements present in existing family reunification practices, ii) role players involved in family reunification services, iii) social work theories and approaches used by social workers when rendering family reunification services, and iv) factors contributing to failed family reunification services. This study highlights the challenges of family reunification services in South Africa’s child protection system, emphasising the need for a collective, inclusive, and family-centred approach. It stresses the importance of developing effective, sustainable solutions that promote convergence and prioritise all stakeholders’ needs.
This study investigated the associations between non-cognitive skills and different dimensions of classroom performance. Specifically, it examined whether grit and engagement with learning (EL) mediated the relationships between academic self-efficacy (ASE) and academic competence (AC) and interpersonal competence (IC). Participants included 484 middle school students in Türkiye. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicated that ASE was positively associated with grit and EL and also had significant direct effects on both AC and IC. Mediation analyses revealed a differentiated pattern: grit significantly mediated the relationship between ASE and AC but did not significantly mediate the relationship between ASE and IC. In contrast, EL significantly mediated the relationships between ASE and both AC and IC. Thus, EL appears to represent a broader pathway linking academic self-efficacy with both academic and interpersonal competence, whereas grit appears to play a significant mediating role only in relation to academic competence.
Children in care are particularly vulnerable to school-related difficulties, and the differences in academic performance between children in care and those living with their natal families are widely stated. This exploratory study aimed to examine the impact of living in residential care and cognitive abilities on academic performance in a sample of Portuguese school-aged children. Ninety-two children were engaged in this study, of which 45 were in care (22 boys) and 47 were children living with biological families (23 boys). A serial mediation effect was observed, as a significant effect of group on academic performance, mediated by cognitive functioning and verbal cognitive abilities, was found. The combination of living in residential care and poor cognitive functioning seemed to lead children in care to face increased challenges when dealing with school demands, resulting in poorer academic performance. Therefore, cognitive abilities, particularly verbal ones, appeared to function as both protective and risk factors, depending on whether they remain preserved or become compromised. Careful monitoring of the cognitive development of children in care, particularly of verbal abilities, and implementing educational support measures tailored to their needs are essential for fostering their learning and academic success. In addition, to ensure the quality of residential care homes, mostly in what concerns cognitive stimulation, is crucial.
This article advances a theoretical reconceptualization of youth councils by introducing the concept of adaptive civic infrastructure to explain how youth participation unfolds within community-based organizational contexts, specifically Refugee-Led Organizations. Existing frameworks of youth participation are often applied as static typologies of program design models that insufficiently account for the temporal, relational, and organizational dynamics shaping participation in practice. In response, this article develops a dynamic framework that conceptualizes youth councils as participatory infrastructures capable of supporting multiple modes of engagement over time. Participatory orientations are reinterpreted as fluid modes that emerge and shift in relation to leadership development, organizational context, and changing community conditions. The framework examines how organizational relationships, resources and power dynamics within Refugee-Led Organizations shape the possibilities for adaptive participation. A practice illustration drawn from a youth council within a Congolese Refugee-Led Organization in the United States informs and illustrates the conceptual argument. The adaptive civic infrastructure model highlights the importance of organizational context in shaping youth participation and positions Refugee-Led Organizations as key sites of youth civic engagement. Implications are discussed for supporting refugee youth leadership and participation within child and adolescent social work practice.
Black young adults are at a higher risk for exposure to trauma and violence due to established structural inequalities. Despite this, some young people can identify positive childhood experiences as a resource to promote resilience in adulthood. This study aims to address a critical gap in trauma-informed research by focusing on the validation of the Positive Childhood Experiences Scale (PCE) scale within an underexplored demographic — young adult Black Americans. A sample of 619 young Black adults aged 18–29 provided self-reports on positive childhood experiences using the PCE scale. Validity assessments were evaluated based on participants’ self-report of cultural pride, heritage, and other culturally relevant reports. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to evaluate the appropriateness of the single-factor structure. Findings: The single-factor CFA model demonstrated good model fit indices, χ2/df = 2.12, comparative fit index (CFI)=0.980, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) =0.043, and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.064. Additionally, all items had statistically significant loadings onto the factor (all ps < 0.001), further implying that the single-factor model is an appropriate fit. Noteworthy were the statistically significant positive correlations between PCE score and flourishing (r = .39), Afrocultural orientation (r = .33), Afrocentric self-regard (r = .31), interconnectedness (r = .26), and emotional regulation (r = .18). Statistically significant negative correlations emerged between PCE scores and attitudes toward substance use (r =-.12). This study highlights the critical need for incorporating positive childhood experiences in trauma-informed research and emphasizes the role these play in shaping resilience and well-being among Black young adults.
