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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Educational outcomes of children in contact with social care in England: a systematic review

Matthew A. Jay and Louise McGrath-Lone - Systematic Reviews, 28 Jun 2019

This open access systematic review aimed to appraise the extant research evidence from longitudinal studies and answer the question: how do educational outcomes differ between children in contact with Children’s Social Care (CSC) and the general population in the UK?

Country Care Review: Cabo Verde

Better Care Network, 27 Jun 2019

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

To understand the incomprehensible: A qualitative study of parents' challenges after child removal and their experiences with support services

Ellen Syrstad & Tor Slettebø - Child & Family Social Work, 27 Jun 2019

This article elucidates the challenges parents face when they lose the care of their children and their experiences of family counselling as a support service in Norway.

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‘Being a student with care experience is very daunting’: Findings from a survey of care experienced students in Scottish colleges and universities

Linda O’Neill, Neil Harrison, Nadine Fowler, Graham Connelly - CELCIS, 26 Jun 2019

The research presented in this report aimed to broaden and deepen understanding of the barriers and enablers that care experienced students encounter in going to, being at and staying at college and university in Scotland.

Children looked after away from home aged five and under in Scotland: experiences, pathways and outcomes

Linda Cusworth, Nina Biehal, Helen Whincup, Margaret Grant, Alison Hennessy - Universities of Stirling, York, and Lancaster in collaboration with Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland, 20 Jun 2019

The aim of this particular strand of the Permanently Progressing? study was to investigate the experiences, pathways, and outcomes of children who became looked after away from home, together with the factors associated with achieving permanence.

Perspectives on kinship care, foster care and adoption: the voices of children, carers and adoptive parents

Maggie Grant, Helen Whincup, Cheryl Burgess - Universities of Stirling, York, and Lancaster in collaboration with Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland, 20 Jun 2019

This report has been completed as one part of the study Permanently Progressing? Building secure futures for children in Scotland which heard directly from children about their experiences.

Do place-based programs, such as Family Resource Centers, reduce risk of child maltreatment and entry into foster care?

Casey Family Programs, 20 Jun 2019

This issue brief addresses the following questions: What are family resource centers? What are the defining characteristics of a family resource center? What do we know about the effectiveness of family resource centers in reducing child welfare involvement? What is the return on investment? What is missing from the research literature?

Decision making for children

Helen Whincup, Maggie Grant, Cheryl Burgess, Nina Biehal - Universities of Stirling, York, and Lancaster in collaboration with Adoption and Fostering Alliance (AFA) Scotland, 20 Jun 2019

The Decision making for children report is one strand of the Permanently Progressing? study. In this strand, during 2015-17, 160 decision makers were interviewed across Scotland mainly in groups, but some individually.

Pathways to Permanence for children who become looked after in Scotland

Nina Biehal, Linda Cusworth, Jade Hooper, Helen Whincup, Marina Shapira, 20 Jun 2019

This report presents the findings from strand one of the Permanently Progressing? study, Pathways to Permanence for children who become looked after in Scotland. This strand analysed data from the Children Looked After Statistics (CLAS) provided to the Scottish Government by all 32 local authorities on the total cohort of children who became looked after during the year 1 August 2012 - 31 July 2013 when they were aged five and under

Do place-based programs, such as Family Resource Centers, reduce risk of child maltreatment and entry into foster care?

Casey Family Programs, 20 Jun 2019

This issue brief describes family resource centers, their defining characteristics, and what is known about their effectiveness in reducing child welfare involvement. The brief also discusses return on investment and what is missing from the research literature.