Category Archives: kinship care

Child welfare intervention outcomes: what does trust in the accessibility and responsiveness of adults look like?

Posted on November 4, 2022 by colbypearce

In this the final blog of the series, I will present what I think functional learning about the accessibility and responsiveness of adults in a caregiving role for needs provision looks like. I recommend that the reader also take a … Continue reading →

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Outcomes in child welfare: What a well-modulated nervous system looks like

Posted on November 3, 2022 by colbypearce

In this, the third blog in this series, I will write about what a well-modulated nervous system looks like among children and young people who are recovering from a tough start to life. Please also refer to the first and … Continue reading →

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What attachment security looks like

Posted on November 1, 2022 by colbypearce

In the first blog of this series about child welfare intervention outcomes, I wrote about the importance of knowing, and being able to say, what progress toward successful outcomes looks like. In this second blog of the series, I will … Continue reading →

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Achieving best outcomes from care

Posted on September 7, 2022 by colbypearce

Twenty-seven years continuous work in child protection and child welfare, including ongoing work with young adults who have transitioned from Care, has taught me some extremely valuable lessons about long-term outcomes of a childhood spent in State Care. In particular, … Continue reading →

Posted in Attachment, Fostering, kinship care, Parenting, Therapy, trauma informed, trauma informed care, Trauma Informed Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Children (and Young People) who Foster

Posted on July 31, 2022 by colbypearce

I need my mum and dad to be there for me without me having to ask; to say the words that show that they understand what is happening for me and our family right now; to show that my needs are important without me having to explain them; and to sit with me and experience what I am feeling. Continue reading →

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What do children in care need to recover from relational trauma?

Posted on May 18, 2022 by colbypearce

In recent posts I have referred to three things that children in out-of-home care need, and need adults who are responsible for their care and welfare to understand, to support their recovery from complex relational trauma. These three things are: … Continue reading →

Posted in AAA Caregiving, Adoption, Attachment, Fostering, kinship care, Parenting, trauma informed, trauma informed care | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How do I get my child to go to sleep in their own bed?

Posted on April 21, 2022 by colbypearce

In this blog I describe a methodology I used with my own children, and recommend in my practice. Before doing so, I would advise that this is a routine that I sustained across years. My children and I enjoyed this … Continue reading →

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How long does it take for therapeutic care strategies to work?

Posted on April 20, 2022 by colbypearce

The ‘failure’ of a therapeutic care strategy to achieve the desired outcome on first administration does not necessarily mean that it will not or that it is a worthless strategy. Children and young people who are recovering from a tough … Continue reading →

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Why does my child need ‘therapeutic care’?

Posted on April 1, 2022 by colbypearce

A child’s adjustment, like many aspects of their functioning, is usefully thought of as sitting on a spectrum ranging from maladjustment at one end to positive adjustment at the other end. Where a child is on this spectrum depends on … Continue reading →

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Why does my child chew their clothes?

Posted on March 16, 2022 by colbypearce

Chewing their clothes is not necessarily evidence of wilful damage or a lack of respect. For many children it is an exaggeration of a very natural way in which they regulate their nervous system. As such, it is better conceptualised … Continue reading →

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