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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Family Preservation in Udaipur, Rajasthan India: Rapid Assessment of 366 Palanhar Yojana Families

Sophia Gardner, Bhagyashri Bhandakkar, Rajesh Sharma, Ian Anand Forber-Pratt - Foster Care India , 18 Feb 2015

In January and February of 2015, in order to create an evidence-based foundation on which to design community-oriented family preservation services, FCI conducted a rapid assessment survey of 366 Palanhar Yojana beneficiary families in the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.

“The love that I was missing”: Exploring the lived experience of motherhood among teen mothers in foster care

Elizabeth Aparicioa, Edward V. Pecukonisa, Shalita O'Nealeb - Children and Youth Services Review, 10 Feb 2015

The present study employed Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experiences and meaning of motherhood among teen mothers in foster care in the United States.

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Country Care Review: Cambodia

Better Care Network, 04 Feb 2015

This country care review includes the care related Concluding Observations adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Primera infancia en familia: Guía de experiencias de referencia para la preservación de los vínculos tempranos

RELAF y UNICEF, 01 Feb 2015

Esta Guía reúne una serie de programas, prácticas y políticas públicas que resultaron en la garantía del derecho a la convivencia familiar y comunitaria de niñas y niños en su primera infancia. En particular, se caracterizan por ser innovadoras o por haber obtenido buenos resultados en la protección y la restitución de este derecho. Las experiencias recopiladas abarcan programas, proyectos e iniciativas públicas, privadas o mixtas de fortalecimiento familiar, provisión de cuidados alternativos, y de reintegración familiar.

A Social Worker’s Tool Kit for Working With Immigrant Families: Healing the Damage: Trauma and Immigrant Families in the Child Welfare System

The Center on Immigration and Child Welfare, 01 Feb 2015

This toolkit, originally published in September 2010 and updated in February 2015, serves as a resource for social workers in the US who are working with immigrant families within the child welfare system.

Can a Munro-Inspired Approach Transform the Lives of Looked after Children in England?

Martyn Higgins, Annabel Goodyer & Andrew Whittaker - Social Work Education: The International Journal , 01 Feb 2015

This paper discusses and examines the lessons learned from the Munro Review relevant for looked after children. The Munro Review provides an analysis of the current state of the child protection system, challenging bureaucratised practice and arguing for a reclaiming of professional social work identity, knowledge and understanding.

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Child Welfare Outcomes for Youth in Care as a Result of Parental Death or Parental Incarceration

Terry V. Shaw, Charlotte Lyn Bright, Tanya L. Sharpe - Child Abuse & Neglect , 30 Jan 2015

This study examines the outcomes for children in the U.S. foster care system who have been placed into care due to parental death and parental incarceration.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poor Mental Health Outcomes Among Racially Diverse Foster Care Alumni: Impact of Perceived Agency Helpfulness

Antonio R. Garcia, Kirk O’Brien, Minseop Kim, Peter J. Pecora, Tracy Harachi and Eugene Aisenberg - Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23 Jan 2015

This study examines the influence of a subset of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), placement instability, and childhood disability in uniquely predicting mental health outcomes among racially diverse foster care alumni from a private foster care agency in the US.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poor Mental Health Outcomes Among Racially Diverse Foster Care Alumni: Impact of Perceived Agency Helpfulness - Online First - Springer

Breaking social barriers: A participatory observation of social-media interactions in an undergraduate-student mentorship of at-risk youth at a foster care institution in Puerto Rico

Elenita Irizarry Ramos - University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, 2015

This thesis paper employed qualitative methods to capture the online interaction of undergraduate volunteers as part of an undergraduate-student mentorship program. This program was developed to provide mentorship and tutoring for at-risk-youth at a foster care institution.

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Fact Sheet for Tribal Child Welfare Officials

Children’s Bureau , 2015

This factsheet looks at whether States in the US are following best practices in regards to the Indian Child Welfare Act, such as notification of Tribes and placement preferences. Findings from the Reviews are presented.