Challenges of Work and Handling of Responsibility within Assisted Living as a Type of Residential Care for Youths with Endangering Behavior or Background

Assisted Living in out of home care for adolescents has developed as an apt alternative to round the clock care especially for youths who either have been living with a long term neglect through their families or who have experienced homelessness or multiple interventions through child welfare and therefor show a rejectionist attitude. Those youths very often are not ready or capable of living by the stricter rules necessary in a group setting and constant supervision by youth workers.

The deinstitutionalized approach of Assisted Living gives them an impression of autonomous living while still offering support, and carers are able to get into a working relationship with youths who rejected any kind of pedagogical intervention.

Yet one of the biggest challenges for the professionals working in this setting is the need of constantly balancing the (legal) responsibility for a minor with sometimes high risk behavior in a setting with only a small modicum of supervision of those teenagers.

I would like to tell you about our experience with this difficulty and present to you an exemplary case.