Kleinschalige groepen binnen de jeugdhulp: een eerste verkenning

Abstract

In the Netherlands in 2018, almost 43,000 children and adolescents aged under 18 were removed from their parental homes (Statistics Netherlands, 2019). Around 18,000 of these young people ended up in residential children’s homes, usually living in relatively large groups of eight to ten children. However, there is increasing societal interest in developing small groups. Small groups are groups of at most four youngsters and a limited number of professionals. This means there are more possibilities for providing a sound, safe basic pedagogical climate that is appropriate for the complex problems that children removed from the parental home typically have. The current study explores the initial experiences of young people and professionals with small groups in residential youth care. Interviews with young people (n = 9) and professionals (n = 11) plus a quality-of-life survey (n = 754) at two institutions for residential youth care (n = 6 small groups) were used to investigate what it is like to live or work in a small-scale group and to identify potential workable elements and problem areas. The results show that small groups appear to be a promising form of care, offering more possibilities for a safe and sound basic pedagogical climate. Several potential workable elements were identified when compared with larger residential groups: 1) there is more space for building trust between the professionals and the young people, and among the young people themselves; 2) coordination among the professionals and between the professionals and the young people is better and smoother; 3) the youngsters and the professionals experience the group as safer and calmer; 4) there are more possibilities for creating normality; and 5) the environment is more positive. Even so, the institutions experience tension between on the one hand the aim of limiting the number of professionals in the groups and on the other hand the feasibility, vulnerability and affordability of these small groups.