Bereavement in secure care

Thursday 25 June 2009

Teresa Geraghty, senior research and development officer at NCB NI, recently presented excerpts from her report, "A Review of the Use of Secure Care in Northern Ireland", at a Childhood Bereavement Network seminar in Belfast.

Geraghty's presentation focused on bereavement in the secure setting and was commissioned by Northern Ireland's then four health and social services boards.

Young people entering secure care are likely to have multiple needs, often long-standing and deepseated. In addition, experience of bereavement among young people in secure care is more common than among young people in general.

Notably, Geraghty's research found almost half the young people in the sample had experienced a significant bereavement, but this was noted in the assessments of need on only two occasions and not mentioned at all before this stage, or six months post-secure care/post-assessment.

Geraghty said: "There was little indication in the files of grief work being undertaken with the young people, although interestingly this was commented on favourably by one young resident in secure care. One possible explanation is that social workers see attachment theory as applying more with young children and neglect that aspect of their work with teenagers."

The report also found that the majority of field social workers felt that staff did in fact have the skills to meet the needs of the young people they worked with, including dealing with the issue of grief. However, many also pointed out that the way the care system operates limits the way staff skills and expertise are harnessed. Factors such as high staff turnover, lack of experience and differences in the manner in which people work hinder such work.

What the report found
Key findings in relation to children in secure care settings:

• 49 per cent of the sample had experienced a significant bereavement. This was defined as the death of a parent, step-parent, grandparent, sibling, other family
  member, parent's partner or friend
• Of these, 42 per cent had experienced the death of one parent, while one young person had both parents deceased
• 55 per cent had experienced the death of another significant person
• In 11 cases, death was cited as a result of murder, suicide, traffic accidents, drug or alcohol abuse

Recommendations include preventative work such as:

• Recognising and addressing need
• Providing continuity of work before, during and after placements
• Family support services that address both the needs of young people and their parents

The report also calls for more effective inter-agency work, one-to-one work and therapeutic input.

Download the full report [PDF 700 KB].

For a workshop on this research, please email tgeraghty@ncb.org.uk.