This article presents empirical findings about children’s experiences in the closed childcare institution service (CCIS) in Estonia and the assistance children receive from their own perspectives and those of parents and practitioners. The study draws on the lived experiences of 12 children/young people, four parents, and 26 practitioners working with children in need in the CCIS system through interviews conducted May–August 2022. Four main themes emerged from the data analysis: negative factors arising from the child’s development environment, inadequate early identification and inefficient networking as risk factors in aggravating the need for assistance, shortcomings in the organisation of services, suitability and unsuitability of the service. The results of this study indicate that most of the children’s problems and difficulties originated in the home environment, the family’s inability to cope, and a lack of parental ability. The ‘journey’ toward the CCIS began, in part, because timely services and support were unavailable. On the one hand, the children’s relationship – more precisely, the supporting relationship – with their child protective worker was inadequate, but on the other, it turned out that there were no suitable services available before referral to the CCIS, and the children’s and families’ difficulties were therefore not identified at an early stage. Negative experiences among families and children in need reduce their openness to assistance, which makes further intervention difficult. Systemic support, including quality of relationships, interagency collaboration, and practical support by practitioners, is the basis for improving permanence, positive navigation of difficulties, and stability as well as promoting resilience.

本文介绍了有关儿童在爱沙尼亚封闭式托儿机构服务 (CCIS) 中的经历的实证研究结果，以及儿童从自己以及家长和从业人员的角度获得的帮助。该研究通过 2022 年 5 月至 8 月进行的访谈，借鉴了 CCIS 系统中 12 名儿童/青少年、4 名家长和 26 名与有需要的儿童一起工作的从业者的生活经历。数据分析得出了四个主题：儿童的发展环境、早期识别不足和网络效率低下等风险因素加剧了对援助的需求，服务组织方面存在缺陷，服务是否适合。研究结果表明，孩子的大部分问题和困难源于家庭环境、家庭无力应对、父母能力不足。迈向 CCIS 的“旅程”开始的部分原因是无法获得及时的服务和支持。一方面，孩子们与儿童保护工作者的关系——更准确地说，是支持关系——不充分，但另一方面，事实证明，在转介到 CCIS 之前没有合适的服务，孩子们和家庭因此，没有在早期阶段发现困难。有需要的家庭和儿童的负面经历降低了他们对援助的开放程度，这使得进一步的干预变得困难。系统性支持，包括关系质量、机构间协作和从业者的实际支持，是提高持久性、积极克服困难、保持稳定以及增强复原力的基础。