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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In-Depth Case Studies of Authentic Youth Engagement in Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative Sites

Amy M. Salazar, Rachel Peterson, Sara Spiers, Garrett Jenkins Adrian Tucker Abigail Bambilla - Washington State University Vancouver, 01 Sep 2019

The purpose of this study is to synthesize and share the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative’s approach to youth engagement. The study’s findings communicate how authentically engaging youth can help both the Jim Casey Initiative and youth-serving systems achieve their desired results.

Foster Care and Reintegration: Different Portuguese Similarities

Rachel Baptista, Maria Helena Zamora, Eduardo Santos - International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science (IJAERS) , 01 Sep 2019

This article examines the family reintegration process for those in care in Portugal and Brazil.

Surviving Hurricane Michael - Helping Individuals with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness, Foster Families and Child Welfare Involved Families Prepare and Recover

Lawrence Allen, David Daniels, Angela Lee, Taryn Tasker, Carla Gayle Woffard - Journal of Family Strengths, 01 Sep 2019

This article highlights the experiences of staff who responded to the needs of individuals, families, and communities following Hurricane Michael in Florida, USA in October 2018 and is focused on the perspectives of individuals working in the field.

Pathways in a Forest: Indigenous Guidance on Prevention-Based Child Welfare

West Coast LEAF, 01 Sep 2019

This report explores the experiences of 64 Indigenous parents who have had engagement with the child welfare system in Canada. Their stories and expertise provide a wealth of knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of current prevention-based efforts and programs. Their experiences demonstrate that, despite the Ministry for Children and Family Development’s (MCFD) emphasis on improving prevention-based services for Indigenous families, long-standing apprehension-focused practices continue to permeate the system.

Perspectives on kinship care, foster care and adoption in Scotland. Insights for policymakers and practitioners

Helen Whincup - University of Stirling, 01 Sep 2019

Part of the 'Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland' study, this briefing draws upon the voices of children, carers and adoptive parents in Scotland, offering perspectives on kinship care, foster care and adoption.

A Positive Youth Development Approach to Improving Mental Health Outcomes for Maltreated Children in Foster Care: Replication and Extension of an RCT of the Fostering Healthy Futures Program

Heather N. Taussig, Lindsey M. Weiler, Edward F. Garrido, Tara Rhodes, Ashley Boat, Melody Fadell - American Journal of Community Psychology, 30 Aug 2019

This study replicates and extends previous findings of the Fostering Healthy Futures (FHF) program, a 30‐week mentoring and skills group intervention for preadolescent maltreated children in foster care.

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Challenges and Opportunities Experienced by Young Adults Transitioning Out of Informal Kinship-Based Foster Care in Bikita District, Zimbabwe

Charles Dziro - Emerging Adulthood, 28 Aug 2019

This article examines the challenges encountered by, and the opportunities available to, young adults as they transition from informal kinship-based foster care to independent living in the Bikita District of Zimbabwe.

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Exploring the multi-dimensionality of permanence and stability: Emotions, experiences and temporality in young people’s discourses about long-term foster care in Ireland

Lisa Moran, Caroline McGregor, Carmel Devaney - Qualitative Social Work, 28 Aug 2019

This paper focuses on qualitative findings on how young people in long-term foster care in Ireland interpret permanence and stability.

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Gender Intersectionality and Family Separation, Alternative Care and the Reintegration of Children

Family Care First (FCF) and Responsive and Effective Child Welfare Systems Transformation (REACT), 27 Aug 2019

This study from Family Care First (FCF) and Responsive and Effective Child Welfare Systems Transformation (REACT) utilized a mixed method approach to data gathering and analysis to understand the effects of gender, identity, and institutional practices on the well-being of children in alternative care in Cambodia.

Turning Resistance into Passion for Knowledge with the Tools of Agency: Teaching-Learning about Theories of Evolution for social justice among foster youth

Eduardo Vianna & Anna Stetsenko - Perspectiva, 27 Aug 2019

The authors of this article discuss implementing critical-theoretical pedagogy within a collaborative transformative project in a foster care program in the U.S. to showcase the activist role of the educator in providing tools of agency for youth struggling against oppression.