Peer-reviewed article
Characteristics of child participation in different types of alternative care in Croatia: adults’s and children’s perspectives
Ivana Jeđud Borić, Andrea Ćosić, Marijana Majdak ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This research examined how children in three types of alternative care in Croatia participate in decisions about their own care. The study interviewed 26 children and 24 adults working in care settings. While participation rights exist on paper in all three types of care, both children and adults said this was not meaningful because children had little real influence over decisions affecting them. Children with more behavioral challenges and those in structured environments participated even less.
Key points
- Participation rights in all three forms of alternative care are fulfilled formally but not meaningfully
- Both children and adults agree that children lack real influence and sufficient involvement in decision-making about their care
- Children with higher risk behaviour and those in more structured environments participate less
- There is a need to improve the scope, quality, and outcomes of child participation in alternative care
Limitations
This is a small qualitative study in one country, so findings may not generalize beyond Croatia or to other types of care. The study describes participation characteristics but does not test interventions to improve participation or measure long-term outcomes for children.
Abstract
Participation of children in alternative care is not just as a reflection of child rights but also as a manifestation of children’s voice in care. To achieve meaningful participation, it is important to hear voices from adults and children. The aim of this qualitative research was to gain a comprehensive insight into the characteristics of children’s participation in different types of alternative care in Croatia from the perspective of children (N = 26) and adults engaged in care for children (N = 24). Results show that participation rights in all three forms of alternative care are fulfilled in a formal way. However, both children and adults strongly express that this is not satisfactory, since children don’t have influence and do not participate enough in decision-making related to care. Results show that participation differs in two key aspects: the type of living environment and the level of risk behaviour. Children who have more risk behaviour and live in a more structured environment participate less. Results indicate that there is a need to focus more on three aspects of child participation: scope of the participation, quality of participation and outcome of participation for individual child (quality of life) and for the alternative care system (quality of care).