“And then I was back home again…” lived experiences of young people returning to their families from residential care

Abstract

Returning to the family from out-of-home care is a critical life event with profound implications for young people’s social and personal development. Yet, their voices and lived experiences are rarely represented in research on this transition. Drawing on biographical-narrative interviews with 18 young people (aged 14–18) who have returned to their families from residential care in Switzerland, this study explores how the young people experienced their return. Data analysis employed Reconstructive Grounded Theory, integrating narrative analysis and Grounded Theory to develop a nuanced understanding of young people’s return experiences. An empirically grounded typology of six experience types is presented, based on young people’s Agency in the decision to return, their sense of Belonging to the residential care facility and their families, and their Post-Return Trajectory. It captures the diversity of return experiences, from straightforward transitions to crises following return. Building on this typology, recommendations for policy and practice are provided. By centering young people’s perspectives, the study contributes to a more differentiated understanding of return experiences from residential care and to a growing body of research that emphasizes the voices of young people within child welfare.