In an attempt to inform policy development and improve practice, the author engaged in a 14-month study to understand staffed group home life for children and youth. Generally, the term “group home” refers to an extrafamilial care setting for young people in specially created residential settings. These group homes are staffed and usually include between four and eight young residents. Chapter 1of the text provides a brief overview of the history of residential care settings for youth. Factors that have influenced contemporary group homes are also examined. Chapter 2 discusses the research design and implementation. Under examination was the nature of group home care and group home life for children and youth in British Columbia. Fieldwork included participant observations of group homes, interviews, and reviews of related documents. The purpose was to build a theoretical framework for how group homes function. Chapter 3 outlines, in general terms, the major elements of the theoretical framework that was developed based on the data. Chapter 4 discusses the main variable that is central and pervasive in group home life, namely congruence in service of the children’s best interest. The author found this main theme of congruence in service of the children’s best interest permeated throughout the data and encompassed all of the other major categories that emerged from the data. Chapters through 7 present each of the three related major psychosocial sub-themes that emerged from the data and that play key roles in the functioning of group homes for youths. Chapter 5 focuses on the creation of an extrafamilial living environment; chapter 6 discusses the challenges of responding to pain and pain-based behaviors; and chapter 7 explores the ways in which group home residents strive for a sense of normality. Chapter 8 analyzes selected literature through the theoretical framework developed throughout this text, while chapter 9 explores the implications of this research for policy, education, practice, and research. References