•Sixty unique characteristics of successful foster parents are identified.•Foster families must meet high expectations.•Foster care workers denominate necessary competencies of foster families.
...Concept mapping was used to identify characteristics of successful foster families in Flanders (Dutch speaking part of Belgium). A sample of 97 (out of 505) foster care workers from all foster care agencies were asked to answer in writing the question: “What characteristics does a successful foster family have?” Sixty unique characteristics were identified by three researchers. In a second phase, 50 foster care workers individually grouped together the statements that according to them covered the same topic. Furthermore, they were asked to indicate the degree of importance of each response on a seven-point scale. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchic cluster analyses identified eight clusters of successful foster family characteristics: willingness to cooperate with all stakeholders (foster care worker and birth parents), emotional-affective characteristics, characteristics that are conditions for stability, a child-oriented motivation supported by the whole family, adaptability, social-cognitive characteristics, social and material circumstances that are conditions for foster care, and good parenthood. Although sometimes differently grouped or named, the characteristics mentioned by foster care workers were almost entirely in line with findings from other research. Identification of these characteristics can contribute to the development of a foster family profile. Such a profile increases the chance of screening of quality foster families, enables training of families that don’t meet certain conditions, and contributes to standardized decision-making.
The aim of this paper was to investigate foster family care to better understand this unique care-giving context. The research objective was to understand motivation, family functioning, and ...individual attachment styles in foster families. Participants were 33 foster parents who completed a questionnaire that included the motivations for choosing foster care, the relationship with the birth family and with social service workers, a measure of family functioning and adult attachment. The motivations for becoming a foster family were very different between families with a birth child and families without a birth child. The results showed that for the foster mother, the relationship with the birth family constituted a very critical element of the fostering experience. The same trend emerged in the relationship with the minor. The results showed that foster families were cohesive and expressive. With respect to attachment style, foster parents had lower scores than a normative sample on the discomfort with closeness, the tendency to consider relationships as secondary and the need for approval subscales. These results have implications for the practices of social work for foster family support and developing a shared commitment to the needs of the foster family in terms of both resources and weaknesses.
The article contains the results of research on the organization and course of communication (contacts) in emergency situations, e.g., the COVID 19 pandemic (border closure, quarantine, social ...distance, epidemiological supervision). The conducted research concerned the contact of children in foster families in emergency situations with their natural parents with the use of electronic communication, which has been standardized by Polish law. The diversified involvement of natural parents in contacts as well as the low use of electronic communication means for contacts was indicated. The obtained research results make it possible to recommend the use of children in foster families in emergency situations with natural parents from electronic communication means in emergency situations, such as pandemics, epidemics, long-term separation in the vast majority of cases. Such solutions should be legally established as alternatives. The conducted research and analysis of results supplement the knowledge in the field of communication, education and organizational solutions for communication in emergency situations. The author, analyzing the common phenomenon of the effectiveness of contacts between natural parents and children staying in foster families in emergency situations, analyzed the involvement of the natural family and foster family from the perspective of emergency situations and the possibilities offered by electronic communication means.
The aim of this study was to compare the psychological health of children in foster care with that of children in institutional care. Social workers were asked to assess the psychological health of ...the children as well as several other criteria on the basis of an analysis grid. Our sample consisted of 568 children placed in foster care and 661 children placed in institutions. Our results show that children in care who lived longer with their birth parents have a lower psychological health. Furthermore, the psychological health of children in residential care is lower than children placed in foster families. As children in institution are placed later than children in foster families, this may partially explain the lower psychological health of children in residential care. As a result, children in residential care have experienced more abuse and neglect and witnessed more domestic violence than children in foster care. In addition, children in residential care have more poor‐quality contacts with their birth parents than children in foster family. These contacts negatively influence their psychological health. Finally, the factor that most influences the psychological health of children in care is the quality of the relationship with the people who care for them on a daily basis. Again, children placed in foster families have better‐quality relationships with their foster families than children placed in institutions.
•Fostered children's cortisol levels were no better compared to orphanage children.•Children of target groups showed both altered lower and higher levels of cortisol.•Child-to-child or adult-to-child ...affective touch protocol was performed in both groups.•An affective touch protocol leads to the balancing of cortisol level in both groups.•Resistance to stress is associated with balancing cortisol levels.
Institutionalized children are often deprived of affective touch. Such tactile deprivation often leads to constant stress, as measured by the levels of salivary cortisol. We report here the impact of an affective touch program, optimized to activate a specific population of unmyelinated mechanosensitive nerves in the skin called c-tactile afferents (CT) on stress resistance. Two populations of children (age 4–10) were recruited: (i) a cohort living in an orphanage and (ii) a fostered cohort. Both groups received the affective touch program daily for 10–15 min for 5–6 weeks. A cohort of age-matched children living in a family environment acted as a control group and did not receive any instructions for tactile stimulation. Salivary cortisol was collected at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of the study in all three groups. For institutionalized and fostered children there was a significant improvement in the level of cortisol (p < 0.0001) between T1 and T2, which is manifested in the balancing cortisol levels: a decrease where it was elevated and an increase, where the critically low level testified to the distress of the child. Balancing cortisol levels is a process of recovery to normal values, which indicates the restoration of neurohumoral mechanisms of stress regulation. The effect of balancing cortisol levels was more pronounced in the group of fostered children compared to the group of orphanage children (p = 0.0326). The children in the control group had no significant differences.
Stability is vital for the development, health and relationships of children in family foster care. Instability can lead to social and school issues, low self-esteem and diminished trust in ...caregivers. This article examines the risk and protective factors for stability for these children. Data, drawn from case files in six municipalities (n = 116), combine qualitative and quantitative analyses for a comprehensive understanding. Twenty children from each municipality were selected, with 10 in stable placements (lived in one family foster home for over a year) and 10 in unstable placements (lived in at least two different family foster homes). Quantitative results highlight the importance of factors like familiar placements, a child's age at the time of placement, behavioural challenges and the number of children in the foster home. Stable placements were more common in homes with fewer children (including foster and biological children). Qualitative findings show that in some instances, breakdowns in foster care placements could not be foreseen, often arising from stressful events within the foster family's life after the child's placement. Additionally, we observed that breakdowns sometimes resulted from foster parents lacking the necessary resources to address the child's requirements, particularly in cases involving children with behavioural challenges or extensive needs.
This book sheds light on the foster carers’ own children and their perspectives on growing up with foster siblings. The complex and multifaceted relationship between foster children and biological ...children in foster families creates many paradoxes and dilemmas. I discuss how challenges in foster care placement may impact on children in foster families, and the moral responsibility of the social workers for the well-being of these children. Recognition, from both parents and professionals, is crucial for how they cope with the difficulties.
Adolescents in foster care are removed from their families of origin and are placed with foster families for temporary care until they are able to be granted a more permanent placement. This purpose ...of this qualitative study was to explore the bonding experience of adolescents in foster care = with their foster parents. This study included 10 foster parents who had an African-American adolescent between the ages of 12 to 18 in their care. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The analysis began with coding to develop an understanding of the bonding experiences between adolescents and their foster parents. Four processes emerged that seemed to influence bonding: communicating in conflict with empathy or assertion, sharing personal time, creating rituals, and offering support. Foster parents appeared to demonstrate the processes when there was a focus on the adolescent being a part of the family. This present study has implications for theory, research, and practice.
There were 7032 children in out-of-home care in 2018 in Portugal. Of these, only 2.8% were in foster care, despite this being the recommended response according to legal regulations. It is critical ...that more families be encouraged to become foster carers and also that experienced carers stay in the system to create a sustainable programme. How is the will to foster a child maintained? What can we learn from foster families’ experiences to improve childcare and the child protection system? The methodology of this study was based on interviews with foster carers. The analysis was inspired by grounded theory. We found three types of foster families, classified according to their will to leave or remain in foster care—unconditional, hesitant, or retired. The results suggest that the key elements for foster carers to remain in the foster care system are (i) their level of satisfaction with how the previous placement concluded, (ii) keeping in touch with the ex-foster child, (iii) the feeling of acknowledgement by all the stakeholders, and (iv) the quality of social services as well as the support of the professional teams.
•Three factors were found: self-oriented, child-centered and family-related reasons.•Being female and younger were positively related to willingness and intention.•Greater child-centered reasons were ...positively related to willingness and intention.•Parental experience, lower education and more income were related to intention.
Research into the reasons that could lead community samples to become foster families is sparse, as most studies focus on the reasons identified by licensed or prospective foster families. The present study aims: (1) to assess the validity and reliability of the Reasons for Fostering Inventory adapted for a community sample (Portuguese version); and (2) to test the role of family factors and the different reasons for fostering as potential predictors of willingness and behavioral intention to foster. The reliability and validity of the inventory were assessed using a convenience sample of Portuguese adults (n = 441), 84 % female, aged 26–74. A three-factorial structure (self-oriented reasons, child-centered reasons, and family-related reasons) composed of 22 items was identified. The factorial structure was tested with a holdout randomization method for cross-validation. All factors were reliable, with internal consistency levels ranging from 0.85 and 0.88. Being female, younger, and scoring lower on family-related reasons and greater on child-centered reasons showed positive associations with both willingness and intention to foster. Lower scores on self-oriented reasons were associated with higher willingness to foster; while having parental experience, lower education, and greater income were associated with a higher intention to foster. This study contributes with additional psychometric evidence for this scale for use with community samples. It also provides new insight into how individual resources may be linked with willingness and intention to foster in a community sample.
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