'Nobody does the job cause it’s easy'. The factors which empower and inhibit the role of the child and youth care worker

For children and young people living in residential and secure care, there are
links between the relationships they have with Child and Youth Care Workers
and positive outcomes. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Child and
Youth Care Workers in order to ascertain the factors which enhance and inhibit
their ability to have an impact upon the children and young people they support.
Six Child and Youth Care Workers from a residential and secure care
establishment were interviewed and thematic analysis was used to elicit key
themes in the data. The study highlighted three themes: Empowering Factors,
Inhibiting Factors and Supportive Practice. The themes suggest that Child and
Youth Care Workers have qualities which they feel help them to impact positively
upon young people, however there are also many challenges which inhibit this.
They also highlight possible areas of development. This data may help
residential and secure care establishments to understand the importance of the
Child and Youth Care Workers' qualities and the challenges and demands of the
role, and to highlight the additional support required.