ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to develop some core themes for social work practice following from analysis of interviews with youth in care. It focuses on the movement from family of origin into living in care. The chapter deals with the transition period, and also focuses on narratives of youths' lives at home with their families, and their reflections on their new life in care. The voices of the youths point through the moments of the interviews to their desire to tell the interviewer about the realities of their lives in care, to agree to be interviewed, and to arrive at child welfare offices for the interviews. A turn to conversation analysis, and careful attention to the stories of youth, is vital not only for research and understanding of child protection, but to ensure good practice. Indeed, the stories produced in Children's Aid Society Teen meetings, perhaps due to such interactive dynamics generally present articulate and efficient statements of experiences in care.
