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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Caregiver‐endorsed strategies to improving sexual health outcomes among foster youth

Katie Albertson, Julia M. Crouch, Wadiya Udell, Allison Schimmel‐Bristow, Jessica Serrano, Kym R. Ahrens - Child & Family Social Work, 13 Jan 2020

For this study, the researchers conducted 11 semistructured focus groups with 86 foster and kinship caregivers in three child welfare jurisdictions to understand their strategies for monitoring and communicating with youth in foster care around sexual health topics, with the overall goal of developing a training for caregivers to reduce STI and unintended pregnancies among youth in foster care.

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Fostering healthy families: An exploration of the informal and formal support needs of foster caregivers

Jacquelyn K. Mallette, Lindsey Almond, Hannah Leonard - Children and Youth Services Review, 12 Jan 2020

This qualitative study examines the challenges foster caregivers face within their families and seeks to understand their formal and informal support systems so that future trainings may be created to provide for the specific and realistic needs of foster caregivers.

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Long-term Head Start Impact on developmental outcomes for children in foster care

Kyunghee Lee - Child Abuse & Neglect, 11 Jan 2020

This study examined the long-term effects of the Head Start early childhood program on foster children's developmental outcomes from ages 3–4 to 8–9.

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“I wish someone would explain why I am in care”: The impact of children and young people's lack of understanding of why they are in out‐of‐home care on their well‐being and felt security

Jo Staines & Julie Selwyn - Child & Family Social Work, 09 Jan 2020

Drawing on a large‐scale online survey of looked after children's subjective well‐being, this paper demonstrates that a significant number of children and young people (age 4–18 years) did not fully understand the reasons for their entry to care.

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“I wish someone would explain why I am in care”: The impact of children and young people's lack of understanding of why they are in out‐of‐home care on their well‐being and felt security

Jo Staines & Julie Selwyn - Child & Family Social Work, 09 Jan 2020

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A report on the deaths of looked after children in Scotland 2012-2018: An overview from notifications and reports submitted to the Care Inspectorate

Care Inspectorate, 02 Jan 2020

This report draws attention to themes emerging from notifications of the deaths of 61 care experienced children and young people over seven years from 2012 to 2018.

The Experience of Power Relationships for Young People in Care. Developing an Ethical, Shortitudinal and Cross-National Approach to Researching Everyday Life

Hélène Join-Lambert, Janet Boddy & Rachel Thomson - Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 2020

In this article the authors look for a suitable method which takes account of power relations while investigating young people's perspectives on their everyday lives.

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Enduring issues in adoption and fostering: a 40-year review

Roger Bullock - Adoption & Fostering, 2020

This article explores changes in policy and practice in children’s services in the UK over the past 40 years and discusses the thinking that has underpinned them.

State of the Nation’s Foster Care: Impact Report 2020

The Fostering Network, 2020

The Fostering Network's State of the Nation’s Foster Care survey is the largest survey of foster carers in the UK. This impact report lists the positive changes that have happened in the world of fostering since the publication of the State of the Nation 2019 report to the end of 2020.

Familial Attendance at Indian Residential School and Subsequent Involvement in the Child Welfare System Among Indigenous Adults Born During the Sixties Scoop Era

Amy Bombay, Robyn J. McQuaid, Janelle Young, Vandna Sinha, Vanessa Currie, Hymie Anisman, and Kim Matheson - First Peoples Child & Family Review, 2020

Through an online study, the authors of this paper explored the links between familial (parents/grandparents) Indian Residential School (IRS) attendance and subsequent involvement in the child welfare system (CWS) in a non-representative sample of Indigenous adults in Canada born during the Sixties Scoop era.