Residential care

Residential care refers to long-term care given to adults or children who stay in a residential setting rather than in their own home or family home.

There are various residential care options available, depending on the needs of the individual. People with disabilities, mental health problems, learning difficulties, Alzheimers, dementia or who are frail aged are often cared for at home by paid or voluntary caregivers, such as family and friends, with additional support from home care agencies. However, if home-based care is not available or not appropriate for the individual, residential care may be required.

Children may be removed from abusive or unfit homes by government action, or they may be placed in various types of out-of-home care by parents who are unable to care for them or their special needs. In most jurisdictions the child is removed from the home only as a last resort, for their own safety and well-being or the safety or others, since out-of-home care is regarded as very disruptive to the child. They are moved to a place called a foster home.

A residential school is a school in which children generally stay 24 hours per day, 7 days per week (often called a boarding school). There is divided opinion about whether this type of schooling is beneficial for children. A case for residential special schooling has been advanced in the article: Residential special schooling: the inclusive option! in the Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, Volume 3(2), 17-32, 2004 by Robin Jackson. Recent trends have favored placement of children in foster care rather than residential settings, partially for financial reasons, but a 1998 survey found that a majority of out-of-home children surveyed preferred residential or group homes over foster care.

This type of out-of-home care is for orphans, or for children whose parents cannot or will not look after them. Orphaned, abandoned or high risk young people may live in small self-contained units established as home environments. Young people in this care are subject to government departmental evaluations that includes progressions within health, education,social presentations, family networks and others. These are referred to as life domains within the charter of Looking after Children (LAC).

Children may be placed or taken into care because they have a mental, developmental, or physical disability, often referred to as "special needs." A team of teachers, therapists, and carergivers look after the children, who may or may not go home to their parents at night or on weekends. Conditions and disabilities such as Autism, Down syndrome, epilepsy and cerebral palsy (to name a few) may require that children receive residential professional care. Specialized residential can be provided for children with conditions such as anorexia, bulimia, schizophrenia, addiction, or children who are practicing self-harm.

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