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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Home-visiting interventions for families with complex and multiple problems: a systematic review and meta-analysis of out-of-home placement and child outcomes

A. G. (Arjen) van Assen, J. (Jana) Knot-Dickscheit, W. J. (Wendy) Post, H. (Hans) Grietens - Children and Youth Services Review, 10 Apr 2020

The aim of this study is to investigate out-of-home placement rates and child outcomes of home-visiting interventions.

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The effects of autonomy support and psychological capital on readiness for independent living through personal growth initiative among youth in out‐of‐home care

Boyoung Kwon & Ok Kyung Yang - Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 09 Apr 2020

This study explored the effects of the factors on independent living readiness among youth under out‐of‐home care. Specifically, this study focused on the effects of caregivers' autonomy support and psychological capital on independent living readiness through personal growth initiative.

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‘There are a Lot of Good Things that Come Out of it at the End’: Voices of Resilience in Youth Formerly in Foster Care During Emerging Adulthood

Kim Hokanson, Sarah Elizabeth Neville, Samantha Teixeira, Erin Singer, Stephanie Cosner Berzin - Child Welfare, 09 Apr 2020

This study uses interviews with 20 youth formerly in foster care who exhibit better-than-average outcomes to explore contextual aspects of resilience during emerging adulthood, elucidating how both relational and organizational support contribute to their resiliency.

Better outcomes for children in treatment foster care through improved stakeholder training and increased parent-school collaboration

Danita Henry Stapleton & Roy K. Chen - Children and Youth Services Review, 09 Apr 2020

This article provides a conceptual depiction of how schools and treatment foster parents partnerships can be formed and maintained.

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ЗАКРИЛА ЗА ДЕЦАТА ПО ВРЕМЕ НА ПАНДЕМИЯТА ОТ КОВИД-19: Деца в алтернативна грижа

Better Care Network, The Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action, and UNICEF and Inter-agency Task Force, 09 Apr 2020

Целта на тази „Специализирана информация“ е да подпомогне работещите в сферата на закрила на детето и правителствените служители в незабавния им отговор на проблемите, пред които се изправят децата, които са в риск от разделяне със семейството или в алтернативна грижа по време на пандемията от Ковид-19.

Are the voices of young people living in out-of-home care represented in research examining their health?: A systematic review of the literature

Madelaine Smales, Melissa Savaglio, Susan Webster, Helen Skouteris, Bengianni Pizzirani, Renee O'Donnell, Rachael Green - Children and Youth Services Review, 08 Apr 2020

This systematic review aimed to explore if and how the voices of young people in out-of-home care (OoHC) are represented in research examining their health.

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Parent–Child Interaction Therapy: Findings from an exploratory qualitative study with practitioners and foster parents

Katelyn Blair, James Topitzes, Erin N Winkler, Cheryl B McNeil - Qualitative Social Work, 08 Apr 2020

This exploratory study examines practitioners’ and foster parents’ perceptions on use of Parent–Child Interaction Therapy in child welfare.

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Child Protection Hypothetical Case Studies for a Virtual Archive: Professional Perspectives Versus the Lived Experience and Expertise of Care Leavers in Victoria, Australia

Philip Mendes, Jacqueline Z Wilson, Frank Golding - The British Journal of Social Work, 07 Apr 2020

This article, an auto-ethnographic collaboration between a social work professional and two care leavers, aims to address the problems with records compiled by care workers, social workers and other relevant personnel by constructing a ‘virtual archive’ consisting of several hypothetical records compiled in the style typically employed by caseworkers, which are then critiqued by the care leavers.

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‘We are the same as everyone else just with a different and unique backstory’: Identity, belonging and ‘othering’ within education for young people who are ‘looked after’

Lisa Jones, Charlotte Dean, Ally Dunhill, Max A. Hope, Patricia A. Shaw - Children & Society, 06 Apr 2020

This paper develops understandings of how being publicly identified and consequently labelled as ‘looked after’ can have damaging consequences for young people, particularly in how they are perceived by their peers in the context of schooling.

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The intersection and parallels of Aboriginal peoples’ and racialized migrants’ experiences of colonialism and child welfare in Canada

Jennifer Ma - International Social Work, 06 Apr 2020

This comparative analysis will illuminate how injustices continue to be reproduced, focusing on the child welfare system, as part of the devastating effects that colonization has on Aboriginal peoples, but also as evidence of colonization being reproduced through current discriminatory legislation and practices.

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