Meeting the Needs of the Neglected Child through Out-of-Home Care

Thus far in this book I have focused on interventions that are designed to keep the neglected child within the family home. But what happens if these interventions fail to improve the quality of the child’s daily lived experience? The short answer to the question is that out-of-home care has to be considered. However, what is essential is that the child receives the type of care placement that will meet their needs. The term ‘out-of-home care’ is used to describe a range of different interventions and approaches. The placement may result from parents making a request to have their child taken into the care of the state through to the state making the decision that the child needs to be removed from the home; the arrangements can be temporary or permanent. Moreover, the care may be provided by extended family, foster carers, care workers in a residential setting or adoptive parents.