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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Reunification: Bringing Your Children Home From Foster Care

Child Welfare Information Gatewa, 01 May 2016

This Factsheet from the Child Welfare Information Gateway provides information for families who are reunifying after placement in foster care the US.

Downward spiral: The impact of out-of-home placement on paternal welfare dependency

Peter Fallesen - Children and Youth Services Review, 01 May 2016

This article tests how out-of-home placement of children in Denmark affects men's labor market attachment, and in so doing the authors provide a novel parallel to existing research on how fatherhood affects men, which focuses almost exclusively on a child's arrival.

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The Situation of 0-3 Years Old Temporarily Abandoned Children, in Romania, during 2003-2013 Causes, Consequences and Alternatives

Rebeca Scorcia Popescu, 01 May 2016

This study used a secondary analysis of data from 2003 to 2013 to better understand the situation of children temporarily abandoned in Romania. It looked at data for children aged 0-3 years who were abandoned in different hospital units or institutionalized in public orphanages or public and private foster care institutions.

Out of the Shadows: Supporting LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare through Cross-System Collaboration

Martin, M., Down, L., & Erney, R. - The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), 01 May 2016

This report highlights the research on the disparities that exist between LGBTQ foster youth and their nonLGBTQ peers, as well as the compounding effects these factors have in relation to other intersecting factors including race, ethnicity, culture and language.

Addressing childhood obesity among children in care: The missing link to promoting physical well-being outcomes

Kellie O’Dare Wilson & Diane L. Scott - Journal of Family Social Work, 19 Apr 2016

This paper aruges that child welfare agencies (in the US) have an obligation to protect children’s physical and mental well-being, and the social work profession is uniquely qualified to deliver evidence-based obesity mitigation efforts among children in care.

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The complexities of cultural support planning for Indigenous children in and leaving out-of-home care: the views of service providers in Victoria, Australia

Susan Baidawi, Philip Mendes and Bernadette J. Saunders - Child and Family Social Work, 19 Apr 2016

This exploratory research involved focus group consultations with seven child and family welfare agencies to investigate the impacts, barriers, benefits and limitations of cultural support planning for Indigenous young people in, and leaving care in, Victoria.

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Foster Parent Strategies to Support the Functional Adaptation of Foster Youth

Annette Semanchin Jones, Barbara Rittner & Melissa Affronti - Journal of Public Child Welfare, 06 Apr 2016

In this qualitative study, 35 experienced foster parents in the US were interviewed "explored strategies that facilitate the functional adaptation of children transitioning into their care."

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Researching the linkages between social protection and children’s care in South Africa: The Child Support Grant and Foster Child Grant and their effects on child well-being and care

Keetie Roelen, Helen Karki Chettri, Suzanne Clulow, Camilla Jones, Payal Saksena and Emily Delap - Family for Every Child, 01 Apr 2016

This report presents research on the impact of two cash transfer programs for vulnerable children in South Africa on children’s care.

"Skirt? Nope, not for me!" Sexual and gender self-determination for children and youth in alternative care settings

Dreilinden gGmbH / SOS Children’s Villages International, 01 Apr 2016

This issue paper explores the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) children and young people in alternative care settings and highlights some promising practices.

The Buffering Role of Social Support on the Psychosocial Wellbeing of Orphans in Rwanda

Tehetna Alemu Caserta, Raija‐Leena Punamäki, & Anna‐Maija Pirttilä‐Backman - , 28 Mar 2016

This study examined (1) how perceived social support (PSS) varied across orphan‐related characteristics (e.g., orphan status, such as single, maternal or paternal, and their living environments, such as in child‐headed households, on the street, in an orphanage or in a foster home) and (2) the relative importance of sources of PSS (relatives/community/adults and peers) and functional social support (emotional/informational/instrumental and social) and its association with emotional well‐being and mental distress.

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