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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An exploration of life outcomes for college graduates with foster care histories by race: Preliminary results from a campus-based program

Yvonne A. Unrau, Ann W. Dawson, Jonathan C. Anthony, Tamara M. Toutant, Ronicka D. Hamilton - Children and Youth Services Review, 30 May 2020

This paper explores how college graduates with foster care histories fare after graduating from a 4-year college that offered a campus-based program.

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Expedited Case Management Process for Permanent Placement in Families after COVID-19 Lockdown

Miracle Foundation, 25 May 2020

This guidance from Miracle Foundation outlines case management process and tools aimed at children in Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in India who have been placed with their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of these case management processes and tools is to determine feasibility of permanent placement and expedite family-based care in families in which children were placed quickly and without proper preparation during COVID-19 lockdown.

Subjective Well-Being of Children in Care: Comparison Between Portugal and Catalonia

João M. S. Carvalho, Paulo Delgado, Carme Montserrat, Joan Llosada-Gistau & Ferran Casas - Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 24 May 2020

This study aims at comparing subjective well-being (SWB) of children in residential care and in foster families in two European territories or jurisdictions: Portugal and Catalonia (Spain).

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Principles of foster care as the basics for the functioning of its system. Catalog, characteristics and meaning

Krajewska, Beata - Problemy Opiekuńczo-Wychowawcze, 22 May 2020

The subject of investigation in this study is the principles of foster care, including the assumptions and solutions.

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Mothers abused by intimate partners: Comparisons of those with children placed by child protective services and those without

Leslie M. Tutty & Kendra Nixon - Children and Youth Services Review, 20 May 2020

This exploratory secondary data analysis compares demographics, mental health/well-being, and protective mothering strategies of mothers who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) whose children were taken into care compared to those whose children were not to identify key characteristics associated with children being removed by child protective service (CPS) in Western Canada.

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Association of childhood out-of-home care status with all-cause mortality up to 42-years later: Office of National Statistics Longitudinal Study

Emily T. Murray, Rebecca Lacey, Barbara Maughan & Amanda Sacke - BMC Public Health, 20 May 2020

This study examined whether childhood out-of-home care was associated with all-cause mortality until the end of 2013 in the UK.

Mental Health and Resilience Status Of Eritrean Unaccompanied Refugee Minors In Sudan

Abdelrahman Badri, Shahla Eltayeb, Marwa Mohamed, Helen Verdeli - Children and Youth Services Review, 19 May 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and resilience in Eritrean unaccompanied refugee minors living with foster parents in Sudan.

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Association Between State-Level Criminal Justice–Focused Prenatal Substance Use Policies in the US and Substance Use–Related Foster Care Admissions and Family Reunification

Maria X. Sanmartin, Mir M. Ali, Sean Lynch, et al - JAMA Pediatrics, 18 May 2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the consequences of criminal justice–related prenatal substance use policies for family reunification and to examine differences in parental reunification by racial/ethnic group.

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Emotion Regulation among Children in Foster Care Versus Birth Parent Care: Differential Effects of an Early Home-Visiting Intervention

Labella MH, Lind T, Sellers T, Roben CKP, Dozier M - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 17 May 2020

The current study uses two randomized control trials, one conducted with foster caregivers and one conducted with birth parents, to investigate the longitudinal effects of caregiver type (foster versus birth parent) and a home-visiting parenting intervention on emotion regulation among young children referred to Child Protective Services (CPS).

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Making the Transition: How Asset Building Services Can Promote Positive Adult Outcomes for Foster Youth

Melanie L. Nadon - Children and Youth Services Review, 15 May 2020

This paper examines the frequency with which transition-age foster youth receive asset building services and whether the youth who receive services experience improved outcomes compared to those who do not.

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