What changes in ‘parenting’ approaches occur over the course of adolescent foster care placements?

An overview of the parenting skills and strategies utilized by foster carers looking after adolescents was given in an earlier paper. This paper focuses specifically on the relationship between the behaviour of fostered adolescents and the quality of parenting provided by the carer. In particular, the paper considers the consequences of situations in which fostered young people have a detrimental impact on other children within the foster family, as this was an especially difficult situation for foster carers to manage. Similarly, foster carers appeared to find it difficult to maintain good parenting skills with young people who were at risk due to their own sexual behaviour although, conversely, caring for a young person whose sexual behaviour put others at risk was connected with improved parenting. The quality of parenting provided by the foster carers was also influenced by the level of stress they were experiencing, with increased levels of stress leading to poorer parenting of the fostered adolescent.     

“She was accused of colluding with the mother”; the training and support needs of parent‐and‐child foster carers: A qualitative study

Parent‐and‐child foster placements are used to accommodate parents with their children, either when the mother is a looked‐after child or as a setting for a parenting assessment. Despite this being a specialized role with significant potential for affecting outcomes for disadvantaged families, there is currently a lack of accessible learning opportunities for foster carers on the physical and mental well‐being of women with complex needs such as a history of domestic abuse, substance abuse, perinatal mental ill‐health, or having a learning disability. Parent‐and‐child carers experience some unique stresses and value the support of others with similar experiences; this kind of peer support is currently largely absent. This qualitative study has used ten focus groups with foster carers, eight interviews with mothers, and nine interviews with supervising social workers, to inform the development of an online learning resource and a social media‐based peer support network for parent‐and‐child foster carers.     

Contact with Family Members and its Impact on Adolescents and Their Foster Placements

This paper discusses findings from a recently completed studyof adolescent foster care, which included a detailed assessmentof the fostering skills and supports of carers and of the contactthat adolescents had with parents, siblings and other familymembers during a long-term foster placement. Sixty-eight fostercarers, young people and their social workers were interviewedat two points in time, 3 months after the start of a new fosterplacement and again at 12 months or at the point of disruptionif this occurred earlier. Detailed questions about contact whichwere asked of foster carers, young people and their social workersenabled the researchers to make summary ratings about the quantityand the quality of contact and its effect on the young peopleand on their placements. This paper describes the contact theyoung people had with their families, its impact on them andon the foster families and how it changed over time. The findingsrevealed that contact for the majority of adolescents was problematicand had a significant impact on placement outcomes. Ways ofmanaging contact are highlighted, and the corresponding implicationsfor policy and practice discussed.     

Could I do something like that? Recruiting and training foster carers for teenagers “at risk” of or experiencing child sexual exploitation

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a category of child abuse that was historically created to recognize the victimhood of children and young people, illuminating the ways that their evolving capacity to consent to sex is manipulated and undermined. Using evidence from the evaluation of specialist foster care provision and a CSE training course for foster carers, this paper considers how training might be used to widen the pool of potential foster carers for children affected by CSE and identifies qualities displayed by effective carers. It argues that improving the recruitment of foster carers can create safer home environments for teenagers at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation and reduce the risk of further harm and that informed and effective foster care provision is crucial to prevent both the sexual exploitation of looked‐after teenagers and placement breakdowns that can ultimately increase risk.     

Traditional kinship foster care in northern Ghana: the experiences and views of children, carers and adults in Tamale

Surveys were employed to explore the experiences of children in care and their carers about traditional fostering. They also examined the perspectives of randomly selected adults in the community about the practice of traditional foster care in the Tamale area of northern Ghana. The 74 participants responded to closed- and open-ended interview questions about traditional foster care. Frequencies and thematic grouping of qualitative responses showed that the need to keep family ties alive was the key reason for placement of children with family and kin. Majority of the children expressed satisfaction with living in foster care, even though they had experienced physical and emotional abuse and intimidation. Although most carers were not formally employed and had little personal income, they were positive about having the care role, but faced challenges in providing for many children in a difficult economic situation. The report highlights the role of reciprocity, altruistic and socio-cultural factors in quality of care, and the potential for the traditional kinship foster care to provide suitable avenues of placement for children as recommended by the Ghana child rights law. It also identifies the need for education for carers around children's needs and Ghana's child rights law.     

Factors associated with placement breakdown initiated by foster parents – empirical findings from Germany

This study investigates the effects of covariates on the probability of placement breakdown in non‐kinship family foster care. Breakdowns are distinguished according to the initiator: children, carers, foster parents and the local child welfare authorities. The children concerned had entered foster care at ages ranging from 0 to a maximum of 17 years (n = 14 171). A significantly higher risk of breakdown on the initiative of the foster parents is found in male children, children whose parents receive financial support, children whose parents were removed from the register of carers, children who were between 6 and 15 years old when they joined the foster family, children who had earlier lived in a different foster family or residential care, children from patchwork families and children whose joining of a foster family was the result of disruptive social behaviour. Two‐thirds of the children from non‐kinship family foster care who stay in the foster family was ended on the initiative of the foster parents are subsequently looked after in residential care. That is three times the rate for all terminated foster relationships. Breakdowns on the initiative of the foster parents thus indicate a high risk of unstable care history developing and accordingly necessitate prevention strategies.     

Placement breakdowns in long‐term foster care – a regional Swedish study

We used a regional sample of children in long‐term foster care to investigate the prevalence of placement breakdown in adolescence, and to assess risk factors/risk markers for placement disruption. The sample consisted of all 136 foster children in the region, born 1980–1992, who on their 12th birthday had been in the same foster family for at least 4 years. They were followed in case files until date of disruption or their 18th birthday. Data on conditions before and during placement were retrieved from case files, and analysed in bi‐ and multivariate models. Results showed that one in four placements broke down in adolescence. The median child who experienced a breakdown was 14 years old, and had been in the same foster home for more than 10 years. Prominent risk factors were (i) being placed after age 2 and (ii) having a birth sibling in the same foster home. We also uncovered strong risk markers that can be viewed as precursors of placement disruption. When the child or the foster parents repeatedly over time expressed dissatisfaction with the placement, this ended with a placement breakdown in 60% of cases. Implications for practice are discussed.     

How do placements in kinship care compare with those in non‐kin foster care: placement patterns,progress and outcomes?

As the use of kinship care is set to rise in England, it is important that policy and practice developments are based on firm evidence about kin placement outcomes and how these compare with those in stranger foster care. The research reported in this paper was based on case file reviews of 270 children, half in kin placements and half in stranger foster care, and on interviews with a sub-sample of 32 kin carers, social workers, children and parents. Kin carers were found to be significantly more disadvantaged than stranger foster carers: more kin carers were lone carers, with health problems, living in overcrowded conditions and had financial difficulties. The children, in contrast, were remarkably similar in the two kinds of placement. The main differences between the children in the two settings are examined in the paper. The children's progress and outcomes in terms of placement quality and disruption were very similar in the two settings, but kin placements lasted longer, mainly because fewer were planned as interim placements. However, because kin carers persisted with very challenging children and yet received fewer services than stranger foster carers, they were more often under strain. The implications for policy and practice are examined.     

Foster care placement breakdown in the Netherlands and Flanders: Prevalence,precursors, and associated factors

Family foster care is the option of choice for children in need of out‐of‐home care in Flanders and the Netherlands. Foster care is however a vulnerable intervention, and questions can be raised as to its efficacy. Although the literature on placement breakdown has made significant progress during the last years, empirical knowledge regarding breakdown in Flanders and the Netherlands remains scant. Consequently, this study aimed at investigating prevalence and precursors of breakdowns in long‐term foster care, the duration of placement before breakdown, and the association of child and placement characteristics with breakdown. Case files of 271 Dutch and 309 Flemish foster children were analysed with a coding scheme designed for this study. After 6 years, 398 placements had terminated: 169 placements broke down and 229 placements ended positively. Placements broke down mainly because of behavioural problems of the foster child, foster parents' parenting problems, and conflicts between birth and foster parents. Foster children with behavioural problems, older foster children, foster children denied treatment, and foster children in care because of sexual abuse were more at risk of breakdown. Assessing these factors is important when evaluating the appropriateness of a family foster care placement.     

Fostering confidence: Foster caregivers' relationship efficacy and associations with marital and co‐parenting relationship quality

Although healthy marital and co‐parenting relationships are important characteristics of a high‐quality, two‐parent foster home, little attention has been given to foster caregiver couples' perceptions of their marital and co‐parenting relationships and the contextual factors that influence these perceptions. Guided by the contextual model of family stress and social cognitive theory, the current study explores patterns of foster caregivers' relationship efficacy, covariates associated with efficacy, and how efficacy is associated with marital and co‐parenting relationship quality. On the basis of data collected from a random sample of 93 foster caregivers, latent profile analysis identified 49.5% as reporting moderate levels of relationship efficacy and 50.5% as reporting high relationship efficacy. Additionally, findings suggested that those who had been married previously, did not have a current placement, had been married longer, had fewer children, and received support from family reported higher levels of relationship efficacy, which was positively associated with positive marital and co‐parenting relationship quality. Implications for how the child welfare system can support foster caregiver marital and co‐parenting relationships are shared.     

What can agencies do to increase foster carer satisfaction?

Stable, long‐term foster care homes are critical to ensuring a safe and nurturing childhood for many children worldwide. Greater foster carer satisfaction is associated with increased carer retention and is therefore critical in securing such stable homes for children. The purpose of this study is to determine which factors associated with foster care agencies contribute to higher levels of foster carer satisfaction. Results from a longitudinal study of 137 foster carers indicate that perceived adequacy of agency support, preplacement training, money to cover placement expenses, and a good match between the carer and the child are predictive of higher foster carer satisfaction. A mediation model further points to the provision of preplacement training as key to ensuring higher levels of satisfaction. Results offer new insights into factors related to foster carer retention and provide guidance to foster care agencies about actions that they can take to maximize the retention of foster carers.     

Foster carer perceptions of support and training in the context of high burden of care

The challenges of providing sensitive and structured care for children in foster care go well beyond normative experiences of parenting. The present paper describes a mixed‐methods study of foster carers' perceived need for support and training, referenced to estimates of their burden of care. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 17 foster carers in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Carers' perceived need for support and training were identified through qualitative analysis of interviews using domain analysis method. Carers' burden of care was estimated from the Parenting Stress Index and from a measure of carers' encounters with children's emotional, behavioural and relationship difficulties that was designed for the present study (the Caregiver Behavioural Encounters Index). Foster carers reported substantive, unmet needs for support and training. Foster carers also reported high parenting stress and encounters with a wide range of children's mental health difficulties, including both uncommon and severe difficulties, which together represent an exceptional burden of care. Carers' highest priority need was for training and support on managing and responding to children's mental health difficulties, while their greatest existing support came from Caregiver Liaison Social Workers and other carers. The findings suggest a number of critical implications for practice.     

The science of attracting foster carers

Across the world the number of children needing a foster home is increasing; however, the number of individuals willing to foster a child is decreasing. It is therefore critical to gain insight into the barriers preventing people from fostering a child. Using data from a 2009 survey of 756 Australians, combinations of barriers are investigated by conducting a posteriori segmentation analysis within the market of potential foster carers. Four segments are identified and profiled to determined significant differences in terms of psychological and socio‐demographic characteristics. Findings, including the fact that almost one‐third of respondents indicated that they had not considered foster caring before because no one had ever asked them to, have practical implications. Improved marketing strategies tailored to the characteristics of each segment are required to harvest the full potential of individuals willing to foster a child and thus contribute to solving one of the most difficult social challenges facing developed nations.     

Foster carers' experiences of a paired reading literacy intervention with looked‐after children

Previous studies have shown that paired reading, a structured literacy intervention, is a promising method for improving looked‐after children's literacy skills. The aim of this study was to explore variations in foster carers' experiences of conducting the intervention. Interviews were carried out with 15 Swedish foster carers with varying experiences in programme compliance and of practicing the method. Findings suggest that the intervention process starts with getting carers involved, which seems to be dependent on a positive carer attitude. Integrating the reading training in the everyday life is another important aspect, which evolves around motivating the child and prioritizing the reading sessions. Furthermore, the results emphasize the need of having a flexible approach when delivering the intervention. The results suggest that it is possible to engage foster carers in literacy training for looked‐after children and that paired reading can provide a model for competent reading and also result in improved child/carer relations. However, participants need support, and in some cases adjustments in the day‐to‐day delivery of the intervention are required.     

A four factor model predicting likelihood of foster carer retention

This study used a self‐report method to test a conceptual model for predicting the likelihood of retention of foster carers for children requiring out‐of‐home care. It was hypothesized that satisfaction levels of foster carers would be determined by locus of control and social support, and that the decision to stay or leave fostering within the next 18 months would be influenced by foster carer satisfaction, and commitment to a child/ren in care. Participants were 185 Queensland foster carers. Results supported the proposed model. Logistic regression analysis revealed that an increase in either satisfaction or commitment would result in foster carers being more likely to decide to stay in fostering. Multiple regression analysis found that both locus of control and social support made a significant contribution to the prediction of carer satisfaction. The findings were further supported by qualitative data. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Training foster carers in challenging behaviour: a case study in disappointment?

This paper sets out key features of a semi‐experimental investigation conducted between March 1999 and April 2001 into the impact of training foster carers in techniques to manage challenging behaviour. We identified a sample of children (n = 103) in foster care in four authorities in South Wales who were selected by a checklist as showing behaviours that could be defined as challenging. From this search procedure we identified their foster carers (n = 106) and created a training intervention group for 53 carers looking after 49 children and a non‐intervention comparison group of 53 carers looking after 54 children. Both groups of carers were interviewed using a range of measures before and after the delivery of the training in order to identify any changes they perceived in the conduct of children and changes they perceived in their own capacities as carers. The training was delivered in small groups and evaluative feedback was gathered from carers and from training officers in those agencies that participated in the study. The results suggested that training, as designed and delivered in this study, had limited impact on child conduct and carer capacity. The reasons for this are discussed in light of selected findings. We spend some time on describing our methods in order to expose our approach to the critical scrutiny of readers, whose views would be welcome as we make our future research plans in this field.     

'The past, the present, but never the future': thematic representations of fostering disruption

The paper discusses some of the findings of a small-scale explor-atory research project which analysed the dynamics involved in substitute family care placements for young people, and assessed the processes demonstrated in fostering breakdowns in terms of the interactions, negotiations and adjustments between the re-spective parties over time. The paper concentrates on three core and interlocking themes: first, the perception of foster placements as 'second best'; secondly, the 'images of family life' permeating placements; and finally, the 'nature vs. nurture' debate which affected the ability of users and carers to sustain placements. These themes were selected for their significance in the development of an explanatory framework for understanding the interactional dynamics involved in placement disruption. The paper concludes with a discussion of the key implications for social work practice, considering foster carer training, sustaining placements, and part-nership arrangements between the young people, their natural families, foster carers and social work professionals.     

Foster parent training programmes for foster youth: a content review

Foster parent training is a well‐recognized component of providing quality care in child welfare. Well‐trained foster parents can improve placement stability, reduce behavioural problems and encourage successful reunification or adoption. A review of the foster parent training programmes can provide a better understanding of the current state of foster parenting training and inform future practice and policy‐making. This review examined published and unpublished research on foster parent training conducted from 1970 to 2014 and provided an overview of the structure and content of 22 foster parent training programmes. Common patterns in the content and structure of foster parent training programmes are identified and discussed, highlighting trends towards multi‐session in‐service training with eclectic content. The development of new training programmes with strong theoretical grounding that train foster parents on specific behavioural skills is recommended.     

Supporting unaccompanied asylum‐seeking young people: The experience of foster care

Although research on the experiences of unaccompanied asylum‐seeking young people in the UK has grown steadily in recent years, their experience of fostering and of the role played by foster carers in helping their adjustment have been neglected. This paper reports findings from the first UK study into these experiences, describing issues arising from initial assessment and preparation for fostering and the ways in which young people and foster carers adjusted to their lives together. It assesses the progress made by young people during placement, the strategies that appeared helpful to relationship building, and the extent to which young people had become integrated within the wider network of family relationships. Given that most young people first arrive as teenagers, it also considers the ways in which foster carers and social workers helped young people prepare for adult life in the context of uncertainties arising from the asylum process.     

Matches and Mismatches: The Contribution of Carers and Children to the Success of Foster Placements

Correspondence to Professor Ian Sinclair, Social Work Research and Development Unit, University of York, York YO10 5DD. E-mail: acs5{at}york.ac.uk Summary Data were collected on 472 foster children at an interval of14 months. The children's social workers, the family placementsocial workers and the foster carers reported on disruptions,and the reasons for placement success or lack of it. These views,combined with comments from the children, led to hypothesesabout the origins of successful placements. Statistical testsof these hypotheses suggested that success depended on threeaspects of the placement. First of these was the children'scharacteristics. Children, who wanted to be fostered (had attractivecharacteristics and low levels of disturbance), did better.Second were the qualities of the foster carer. Placements withwarm, child-oriented carers were more successful. Third wasthe interaction between carer and child. The findings emphasizethe crucial importance of the foster carers to outcomes. Theyalso support the need to pay close attention to children's views,and the potential importance of early intervention to preventnegative spirals of interaction between carer and child.