From Quality Standards to Their Positive Impact on Children

At the end of 2017, FICE Austria initiated the development of quality standards for the professional out-of-home care of children and youth in Austria. The common goal is to provide a high quality of alternative care in all facilities, which ensures the best interests of the child according to the individual needs. The lecture focuses on relevant aspects for the implementation of the standards in child care facilities, which is analysed as organizational process. The implementation succeeds, if team members and leaders work together in reflecting and communicating the organizational goals, mission, vision, strategy and professional attitudes in a participative way. A culture of lived quality standards needs procedures of self-assessment, as well as tailored measures of human resource development. Finally achieving the goal of integrated quality standards in care facilities requires constructive dialogues with all contractors as well as controlling authorities. Thus, there is a lot of work to do be done to bring the standards to life. In addition, the standards themselves are neither rigid rules nor of timeless validity. According to organizational characteristics and changes of professional insights and legal conditions, all standards have to be open to the specificity of organizations and situations, empirical verification and further development.