Foster Care | Better Care Network

Foster Care

The term “foster care” is used in a variety of ways, and, consequently, it often causes confusion and miscommunication. In the industrialized world it is generally used to refer to formal, temporary placements made by the State with families that are trained, monitored and compensated at some level. In many developing countries, however, fostering is kinship care or other placement with a family, the objective(s) of which may include the care of the child, the child’s access to education, and/or the child’s doing some type of work for the foster family.

Such care is informal and unregulated by the State. Foster care can also be understood as formal care, typically provided by adults who are not related to the child, but may include formalized kinship care. It is usually for a limited period until the child can return home or move into a more permanent placement such as adoption.

In emergency situations, such as armed conflict, informal fostering often occurs spontaneously when a family takes in an unaccompanied child. Also, in some emergency situations, agencies have organized a quasi-formal type of foster care to ensure immediate, family-based care for unaccompanied children. Such foster care should be formally arranged by the local authority or child protection organisation and include assessing each child’s best interests; screening, training, and monitoring of caretakers; and planning for the longer term needs of each child.

Foster care can provide the advantages of family-based care within a child’s own community. In some situations, particularly spontaneous care initiated during an emergency, it can become de facto adoption in settings where State child protection services and formalization of care arrangements are very limited or do not exist.

Foster care plays an important role in a situation where a child’s own family is not providing adequately for his or her care. It can provide protection and care for the child while the family situation is improved, with the eventual aim of family reunification.

It is vital that children are provided opportunities to express their wishes and concerns regarding with whom they live and have contact. The appointment of a legal guardian is a means of ensuring their opinions are taken into account.

Foster caretakers often receive support to meet the child’s needs and prevent placement breakdown. This may include parenting guidance and access to basic services for the child. Payment for care requires thoughtful consideration and should not encourage the separation of children from their families, or the use of a child for financial gain. All placements should be regulated to ensure the standards of care protect the child and encourage her development.

This body of literature provides examples from around the world of spontaneous, informal and formal fostering. It includes guidance on standards of care and child care policy.

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Designing Research to Study the Effects of Insitutionalization on Brain and Behavioral Development

Charles H. Zeanah, Charles A. Nelson, Nathan A. Fox, 2003

An overview of the largest longitudinal investigation of institutionalized children less than 2 years old ever conducted.

The Care and Protection of Children Affected by Armed Conflict and Disasters

David K Tolfree, 2003

Overview of a research study which provides guidelines for care of separated children in large-scale emergencies, focusing on the negative impact of residential care, extended family care, spontaneous and agency fostering, adoption, and alternative placements for adolescents.

National Seminar on Effective Foster Care: Bangalore, India

Vathsalya Charitable Trust, 2003

Explores temporary foster care as an alternative to institutionalization in India. Emphasis on analyzing and reforming guidelines for foster care.

Russia Country Report

N/A, 2003

Country report of Russia on the situation of children in residential care in anticipation of the Second International Conference on Children and Residential Care: New Strategies for a New Millennium, to be held in Stockholm 12 – 15 May 2003.

Guidelines for Liberian Separated Children in Alternative Care

International Rescue Committee, Save the Children UK, UNICEF, and UNHCR, 2002

Guidelines and criteria for establishing and monitoring alternative care arrangements including emergency transit booth care (ETBC), foster care, and independent living for separated Liberian refugee children in Sierra Leone.

England and Wales: National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services

Department of Health, UK , 2002

A set of standards for the delivery of a national fostering service. It includes standards for the management of the service, the delivery of care, reunification with birth families, and working with caregivers.

Case Study of the Care and Protection of Separated Children in the Sinje Refugee Camp, Liberia

Miatta Abdullai, Edwin Dorbor, and David Tolfree, 2002

This paper outlines the response of Save the Children to the civil war outbreak in Liberia. Using the concept of child participation, the organization was able to address the needs of the children, which included family tracing and reunification, child protection and education.

IFCO Addenda to Foster Care Guidelines

K. Siroka, 2002

Brief guidelines on assessing and training foster carers, and supporting children in foster care placements.

Institutions vs. Foster Homes: The Empirical Base for a Century of Action

Richard P. Barth , 2002

A review of institutional care and family-centered care with a discussion of both positive and negative aspects of group care. This review paper is primarily focused on showing the inefficacy of group care and recommending other forms of care such as kinship care and even foster care as options that are more cost effective and better for children’s development.

Shared Family Care: Providing Services to Parents and Children Placed Together in Out-of-Home Care

Price Amy, Richard P. Barth - Family Foster Care in the Next Century, 30 Mar 2001

This article, a chapter from the book Family Foster Care in the Next Century, describes several innovative types of shared family care arrangements that demonstrate promise in the protection of children and the promotion of family well-being.

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