A forensic psychologists dissertation on the care system and young people:
http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49845/1/4144616_Care_System_Dissertation.pdf
Some quotes that stood out to me:
"Institutional care is associated with negative consequences within young people’s development."
"it is qualitative research methods that offer the most opportunity to explore the situation and to access the richness and diversity of the information, which quantitative methods would not allow. According to Polkki et al. (2012) the United Nations Convention 5 on the Rights of the Child are explicit in emphasising the need to consider young people’s views in matters that impact on them and to involve the young people in the process of implementing changes as much as possible."
"How do young people in care settings experience the care system? How do different types of care settings impact on the young people (for example residential care versus secure institutional care)? How does being ‘in care’ impact on young people’s psychological wellbeing? What do staff relationships mean to them? How do they experience and process societal stigmatisation? What factors do they think make a positive difference to their everyday lives? How can an in-depth understanding of young people’s direct experiences be presented in order to provide insights that inform future practice in residential care?"
Lot's of research questions to consider there and the different research methods she is talking about is also an interesting factor.