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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Differences in the Evaluation and Satisfaction with Foster Care between Kinship and Non-Kin Foster Carers

Nuria Fuentes-Peláez, Carme Montserrat, Rosa Sitjes-Figueras, Gemma Crous, 13 Jun 2023

This study aims to develop an understanding of the distinctive features of kinship and non-kin foster care based on information obtained from fostered children and child care professionals in Spain.

Prevalence and Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence Among Youth With Foster Care Histories

Colleen C. Katz, Nathanael J. Okpych, Pajarita Charles, Eden Wall, Mark E. Courtney, 09 Jun 2023

This US-based study explores factors associated with intimate partner violence using longitudinal data from a representative sample of older youth in California Foster Care who participated in the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH). The authors' IPV outcome measures included victimization, perpetration, bidirectional IPV, and emotional abuse.

Evaluation of Family Reunification after Foster Care in the State of Minas Gerais - Brazil

Aline do Carmo França-Botelho, 01 Jun 2023

This study aimed to brief analyse data from the most recent SUAS census in Brazil, focusing on one of the states of the federation to verify how the referrals of children and adolescents who go through foster care are being carried out. The data showed that in certain places there is discrepancy in reintegration and adoption, the latter being the most common.

From Institution to Foster Care: Olesea

Lumos, 31 May 2023

Olesea, a 24-year old from Moldova with care experience, shares her story of transitioning from a child care institution to foster care.

A Comprehensive Multilevel Analysis of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project: Causal Effects on Recovery From Early Severe Deprivation

Lucy S. King, Katherine L. Guyon-Harris, Emilio A. Valadez, Anca Radulescu, Nathan A. Fox, Charles A. Nelson, Charles H. Zeanah, Kathryn L. Humphreys, 26 May 2023

The Bucharest Early Intervention Project is the first randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care. The authors synthesized data from nearly 20 years of assessments of the trial to determine the overall intervention effect size across time points and developmental domains. The goal was to quantify the overall effect of the foster care intervention on children’s outcomes and examine sources of variation in this effect, including domain, age, and sex assigned at birth.

Child of Two Worlds: How foster care workers perceive their skills in dealing with worldview differences in foster care

Danielle van de Koot-Dees, Martine Noordegraaf, Bernhard Reitsma, 19 May 2023

This article looks at the strategies foster care workers employ when dealing with worldview differences between a foster family and the birth family reviewing examples from the Netherlands, Denmark and the US.

Bridges between Families and Foster Children: Family Reintegration and Adoption of Disabled Children and Adolescents

Patrícia da Silva Bezerra, Yuri Leandro do Carmo de Souza, Matheus dos Santos da Silveira, Edmylla Francyelle dos Santos Silva, Simone Souza da Costa Silva, 15 May 2023

This study aimed to describe the perception of caregivers and the role of professionals in the process of family reintegration and adoption of children and adolescents with disabilities in a host institution in Belém/PA, Brazil.

Child Fostering Care: Kafala in Western Countries

Alessandra Abis, 01 May 2023

This book chapter highlights the consequences of the recognition of the kafala related to the religious freedom of the immigrant’s family, with a special concern to intergenerational transmission of religious values and the religious education of children in host countries.

Non-Kinship Foster Care in Nigeria: Socioeconomic and demographic drivers of mothers’ willingness to foster

Stanley Oloji Isangha, Tosin Yinka Akintunde, Cherry Hau Lin Tam, Wai Man Anna Choi, 05 Apr 2023

This study examined the socioeconomic and demographic drivers of willingness to foster non-kin children among mothers in Nigeria. The findings of this study provide implications for research, social work practice, and education in Nigeria and Africa.

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Examining the Mental Health Indicators and Service Needs of Children Living with Foster Families

Shannon L. Stewart, Alana A. Graham, Jeffrey W. Poss, 01 Apr 2023

This study utilized a large sample of treatment-seeking children across Ontario to compare children living with a foster family to non-foster children, across a number of psychosocial, care needs, and demographic variables.