Social Work & Social Sciences Review 13(1) 2007 pp.41-58. DOI: 10.1921/19628 What matters in fostering adolescents? (original) (raw)
Related papers
The fostering system in England: evidence review
2017
Section 1: Background to the review Section 2: Methodology and reporting Focus and elements of the review Literature Interviews Section 3: Issues and challenges facing the contemporary fostering system Key findings Fostering system Government policies and fostering Social work and fostering Permanence Commissioning Reflections Section 6: Recruiting, retaining and supporting the foster care workforce Key findings Background Recruitment of foster carers Retaining foster carers Training Reflections Section 7: Foster care placements: How they are made, kept stable and supported 91 Key findings Decision making and matching Stability and quality of placements Stability: Reasons related to children and young people Stability: Reasons related to foster carers Stability: Professional and system-related reasons Stability: Comparisons with adoption Reflections We wish to express our sincere thanks to the many people who gave generously of their time. The work was funded by the Department for Education and Emma Balmforth provided support and advice throughout and, along with her colleagues Maura Lantrua and Claire Steeksma commented on earlier drafts. We appreciated the timely responses to simple queries as well as the helpful comments on lengthy drafts. At an early stage Professor Nina Biehl provided both advice and support on approaching the review. Ovita Williams, Associate Director of Field Education at Columbia University, New York, responded to our request to provide an overview of the major issues in fostering in the US in one to two pages for an appendix. We knew the enormity of what we were asking and we were grateful that she accepted the challenge and completed it so ably.
We are also very grateful to the foster carers who o ered their comments and support including Crystal Coad, Jenny Harris, Chris Massey, Julie Quin, Mike Wilson and Theresa Winnard; and to the people who provided feedback on being in a family that fostered, including Harry Edworthy. Responsibility for the nal text remains with the authors. The Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education is supported by the Core Assets Group, an international children's services provider with a particular interest in fostering services in the UK and internationally. The Centre's research agenda is developed in consultation with Core Assets and other key stakeholders in the UK and internationally. These stakeholders include children and their foster carers, social workers, local authorities and managers across the public and independent sectors. The research undertaken and its publication is governed by the University ethics process, and conducted independently of any speci c interest groups or funders. Rees Centre publications do not usually include a dedication. However, one of our advisors, having herself experienced being in care, suggested that this publication should be dedicated to the children of foster carers who should be recognised as a hidden asset and rewarded for their sel essness. They are giving in so many ways yet sometimes on the receiving end of the most di cult behaviour. Many then go on to become foster carers themselves. We hope this publication will lead to a greater acknowledgement of their contribution.
Aspirations of vulnerable young people in foster care
2015
Youth unemployment is significantly associated with mental health difficulties. This collaborative research project was conducted in Greece and the UK. It aimed to understand the work aspirations of a group of vulnerable young people in care and the barriers they face in terms of youth unemployment. The task within this work package was to support young people in foster care using a qualitative participative approach to identify resilience strategies to help other young people in care. Co-producing a resource that is of value to the young people involved in the task in each country was the main deliverable. This report provides a summary of the work conducted and provides an outline of the highly illustrated resources that were developed.
Foster children: a longitudinal study of placements and family relationships
International Journal of Social Welfare, 2009
Foster children's family relationships have been one of the themes in a longitudinal study, starting with a disadvantaged group of children, 0-4 years of age when taken into care and placed in a children's home in Sweden. Seven rounds of data collection were carried out; the last two when the children were young adults. This article is about those 20 children in the study group who, in addition to temporary residential care at an early age, have experiences from foster care, either for the remainder of their childhood or before or after a period of reunion. Placement history is put in relation to family relationships, i.e. relationships to birth family and foster family. The categorisation in secure and insecure relationships or attachment patterns is based on interviews with the young adults, with a retrospect of previous relationships. The connection between placement history and family relationship is not obvious in this high-risk group. However, inclusive attitudes from the foster family towards the child's family promote continuity and a sense of security, also in periods of reunion or re-placement, and facilitate foster children's hard work in coming to terms with their family background and finding their own way.
Teenagers in foster care: Issues, themes, and debates from and for practice and policy
Child & Family Social Work, 2019
The task of fostering adolescents is unique, requiring skills, qualities, and information that acknowledge each young person's particular needs. This editorial summarises a range of research in this special issue covering parenting styles, transitions out of care, child sexual exploitation, and the needs of LGBTQ and separated teenagers. Three themes emerging from the papers are discussed: autonomy and control; risk, resilience, and trauma; and relationships, identity, and stigma.