Residential Care
A promotion and protection measure consisting of removing the child from the context of risk.
What is it?
It is a temporary measure and may be applied by the CPCJ (with the consent of the child's legal guardian and of the child themselves, for children aged 12 and over) and by the Family and Children's Court.
If the child is in a situation of imminent danger, a police authority may be called in to provide immediate protection. This emergency procedure is subsequently ratified by the court.
Residential care homes may receive children and young people on a planned or emergency basis. Wherever possible, geographical proximity to their context of origin is prioritised, so that the child maintains their routine, their deep psychological relationships and their meaningful social connections. Children and young people should preferably be placed in the residential unit where they will remain, with intervention starting immediately to deliver their promotion and protection project.
Each care home has a director and a team of specialist caregivers, divided into three teams:
Its role includes close support to families, drawing up and giving meaning to the emotional experiences of children/young people in direct partnership with the therapeutic intervention team, defining and monitoring the Promotion and Protection Project together with the Case Manager of the CPCJ (Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People) or the Court, coordinating the Family Intervention Plans (PIF), etc.
Its role includes the day-to-day running of the home and the daily care of children and young people, in particular educational and health support, activity planning and coordinating the delivery of the Individual Intervention Plans (PII), etc.
In addition to the relational role with the children and young people, it is responsible for laundry, tidying and cleaning, food preparation, etc.
Care homes
Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa's care homes are spread across the city of Lisbon, with additional homes in Sintra, Oeiras and Carcavelos. Each home is set up to receive 12 children or young people of all ages and genders. All the care homes offer a welcoming environment as close as possible to family life, with organising routines and rituals, embedded in the community and supporting the social, educational and cultural integration of everyone who lives there.
Each care home has a director and a team of specialist caregivers, divided into three teams:
- Support Team – in addition to its relational role with the children and young people, it is responsible for laundry, tidying and cleaning, meal preparation, etc.
- Therapeutic Intervention Team – its role includes the day-to-day management of the home and the daily care of the children and young people, in particular education and health support, activity planning and coordination of the implementation of the Individual Intervention Plans (PII), etc.;
- Diagnosis and Life Project Team – its role includes close family support, processing and giving meaning to the emotional experiences of the children/young people in direct partnership with the therapeutic intervention team, defining and following up the Promotion and Protection Project together with the Case Manager of the CPCJ or the Court, coordinating the Family Intervention Plans (PIF), etc.
Frequently asked questions
The notion of welcoming takes on real meaning, as the carer adults take on the challenge of receiving, listening to, getting to know, accepting and taking into account each of the children/young people in their care, and addressing their specific needs — using as their main tool the empathic, affective relationship they build with them.
Therapeutically-intended work is grounded in a transformative purpose, based on an attitude of permanent and genuine interest in the child or young person in care and in their family.
In the specific context of residential care, the figure of the carer is of crucial importance. The carer offers themselves as a role model, giving the child the possibility of identifying with them and, through the relationship, finding — from a restorative perspective — new ways of knowing themselves, expressing themselves, repositioning themselves and transforming.
Therapeutically-intended work is delivered in an integrated, organic way, in a permanent process, and:
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Counts on everyone to support the growth of everyone;
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Does not seek to artificially change the child/young person, but rather to give voice to their real needs and wishes;
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Takes into account the inner time each child/young person needs to go through each stage of their development;
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Values the right to childhood through the possibility of play, both in using the body and developing creativity, and in preserving the child/young person’s inner space;
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Welcomes the child/young person as a whole, with their pains and their potential for growth, and responds empathetically to their expressions;
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Does not, under any circumstances, take an attitude that could be felt as blaming the child or young person for being in care;
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Preserves and nurtures hope;
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Respects individuality, privacy, the right to rest and free time, and access to varied experiences.
The team of carers must be able to adjust its work, like an experienced tailor, to the measure of each child/young person in care.
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Promotes the hearing and participation of children and young people in all decision-making processes regarding their promotion and protection project, in line with their stage of development and maturity.
The residential care measure is temporary, and should last as long as needed to assess, define and deliver a safe project for the child and young person, always prioritising the possibility of family (re)integration.
All meaningful relationships for the child or young person play an important role in their psychological life and may, in time, provide real support throughout their development. Work with the family, in a care home, should have as its main aim the mobilisation of the family’s resources towards an interaction with the child/young person that is as constructive and attuned as possible. To understand the strengths of the family and of the child/young person, so that pathological dynamics can be identified and resolved and genuine relationships can be established, supporting more responsible and protective parenting.
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Adequate fulfilment of the physical, psychological, emotional, educational and social needs of children and young people;
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Establishment of secure and stable affective bonds, decisive for structuring and harmonious development of their personality;
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Minimisation of the emotional damage resulting from the child or young person’s exposure to dangerous situations;
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Acquisition of skills aimed at their personal, social, educational and professional development;
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Conditions that contribute to building their identity and integrating their life story;
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Progressive acquisition of autonomy, with a view to full social, educational, professional and community integration.
