M.A. / The South African Government, through its social services, takes great caution about the children and their well-being. To emphasize this the minister of Social Development has priorities, which are outlined in the minister’s Ten-Point Plan. In this ten-point plan, services are outlined according to their priorities and one of the priorities in this plan is the well- being of vulnerable groups, including all children in South Africa. Foster care, as a form of substitute care, is not new in the system. For years, children who have been regarded as children in need of care have more than often been placed in foster care. This method is preferred by the Department of Social Development. The current state of affairs in South Africa, characterized by the high rate of HIV/AIDS infections and death, as well as poverty, calls for more children to be placed in alternative care. Therefore, for such children, foster care has been identified as the most viable option. However, it has always been the researcher’s experience that once children are placed in foster care there is often limited if no contact by the social workers. Thus, the children’s experiences are often not known. The assumption is often that if the foster parent is not complaining about the well-being of the child concerned, then the placement is perceived to be going well. The primary aim of the study therefore was to explore and describe the degree of contentment that foster children have about their status of being a foster child. Quantitative descriptive methods were used in the study. A sample of 67 foster children was drawn from the population (i.e. foster children in Tsakane). The researcher made use of group administered questionnaires to collect data. (iv) The results of the study show that most children have a positive experience about foster care. It is however significant to note that although the children are positive about their status, they feel that less attention is being given to them by their social workers and that procedures about foster care are often not explained to them. Therefore, mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that constant attention is provided to the children in need of care, for without this the social worker cannot assess whether the foster care system is effective for the child concerned or not. The researcher provides inside knowledge about the foster children’ degree of contentment about their status. The results of the study are discussed and recommendations are offered to improve on service delivery. / Dr. E. Oliphant

This study is an investigation of long-term foster care, which focuses on the reflections of 40 adults, aged 18-30, who grew up in foster families. The theoretical approach taken is developmental and the study draws on theories of attachment and resilience. The research method was qualitative. In-depth interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed in order to generate a picture of the pathways taken through childhood and into adult life. The primary focus of the interviews was on family relationships and the development of the self, but relationships with peers, school experiences and practice relevant issues, such as what it meant to be `in care', the experience of stigma and the role of social workers, were also discussed. The analysis used the dimensions of placement continuity, the quality of family relationships and the nature of family membership to identify seven different pathways. The data suggests that although the development of secure emotional relationships is an important part of successful placement experiences, the development of a sense of family membership is also highly significant, particularly in adult life. In a psychosocial model of long-term foster care, a `secure base' can therefore be understood in attachment terms as an emotional resource, but can also be understood in a more social context, as providing a family identity and a place in society. The study concludes that foster families where there are no biological or legal ties can still be a form of permanent family placement. This has important implications for social work practice, both in the way in which placements are planned and in the importance of promoting continuity into adult life of relationships which officially end when a child leaves care. It requires a change in attitudes, so that long-term foster families are no longer treated as placements for childhood only, but are recognised as offering a home and a family for life

Families with children in residential foster-care settings are characterized by chronic family conflict, verbal abuse, and neglect. Previous research has supported increased risks in mental health psychopathology and heightened physiological reactivity among these children and youths. Recent research in family therapy has further hinted that debriefing of the children’s physiological arousals induced by family disputes can motivate the families to resolve their conflicts. The present study investigated whether the proposed intervention, which includes using the biofeedback equipment and debriefing of children’s physiological arousals, can increase the sense of hope in the families. Twenty Hong Kong parent-child dyads, with children in the residential child-care setting, participated in the study. Children’s physiological arousals were measured through skin conductance, heart rate and peripheral temperature. The present findings revealed that parents and children who went through the intervention procedure reported greater increase in hope than those did not receive the intervention. Amongst the variables that correlated with the changes in hope, higher level of behavioral engagement among the children was associated with increased insight and plans disclosed by the parents. Negative parent-child interactional pattern was also found to associate with higher changes in the hope among the parents. The results identified that negative interactional patterns in form of responsiveness and participation from the children could be powerful in giving insights to the parents, which in turn could foster increased hope. These findings have significant clinical implications to family intervention strategies with these at-risk families. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Psychology

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This PhD research investigated the effect of animal presence in long-term foster care through the lens of attachment theory. Previous research has supported the notion that animals may facilitate human-human relationships (Beck & Madresh, 2008; Bernstein et al, 2000; Fine, 2000; Kruger & Serpell, 2006; O’Haire, 2013; Olex, 2003; Sanders, 1999) and improve aspects of relational abilities such as care, empathy, and love (Plakcy & Sackson, 2006; Walsh, 2009a). Other research has suggested human-animal relationships may be beneficial to the facilitation of positive attachment representations and that insecure attachment patterns may be altered through the adjustment of individuals’ working models in relation to their animals (e.g. Kurdek, 2008; Kwong & Bartholomew, 2011; Parish-Plass, 2008, 2013; Sable, 1995; Zasloff, 1996). Empirical and theoretical research has also suggested that along with facilitating human-human relationships, animals may achieve attachment figure status in their own right and enter a human’s attachment hierarchical network (c.f. Beck & Madresh, 2008; Ferry, 2006; Kurdek, 2008; Carr & Rockett, 2013; Sable, 1995; Zilcha-Mano, Mikulincer & Shaver, 2011, 2012). Utilising a reworked version of West at al’s (1998) Adolescent Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ), longitudinal child-diaries and semi-structured interviews, results demonstrated that (a) children were able to form relationships with animals that satisfied the criteria for attachment bonds (Kwong & Bartholomew, 2011) and (b) that animal presence within the long-term foster environment assisted the development of more- secure relationships between the children and their carers through dual processes of softening the environment (Levinson, 1969) and attachment switching (priming attachment preparation through enhanced relational capabilities – Emmens, 2007). Findings suggest that children living in long-term foster care could benefit from being placed with animal companions and have implications for the attachment literature and foster care practitioners.

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This thesis reports on a study examining the direct and indirect costs to volunteer carers of providing a fostering service in Australia. The study highlights the current difficulties in carer recruitment and retention, the increases in the challenging and complex needs of the children coming into care, and the growing professionalism of fostering. The study uses a budgetary approach to estimate the direct costs of fostered children. In-depth interviews and focus groups with carers are instrumental in providing a range of perspectives that assist our understanding of how the direct costs of fostered children are different from (higher than) the costs of other children. The study found the costs of fostered children were 40 per cent higher than the costs of children not in care. The thesis indicates that, to maintain and retain a volunteer workforce, an adequate carer remuneration system to meet the direct costs of fostered children is critical. To examine the indirect costs of fostering, the study uses a multi-method approach providing a monetary value of the opportunity costs (foregone earnings model) and time costs (proxy good or market replacement model) for foster carers. The emotional and psychological dimensions of fostering are also examined, though no monetary value is assigned to these costs. Carers??? vivid and contrasting stories from the interviews explain how ???money??? fits with carer motivation and fostering???s more professional role, how carers perceive the nature of fostering (job or parenting), and whether carers should be paid to foster. Revelations of fostering???s emotional and time dimensions and restricted employment opportunities (indirect costs) highlight the impact fostering has on carers and their families. The study found that the indirect costs of fostered children were around four times the value of the direct costs. In light of the growing professionalism of contemporary foster care, difficulties in carer recruitment/retention, and the demanding nature of fostering, the thesis examines whether carers should be paid for the service they provide (compensation for indirect costs). Using a number of theoretical concepts developed by feminist economists and social theorists on paying for caring labour, the thesis found support for the contention that altruism (???love???) and carer pay (???money???) are not incompatible, and ambiguities and tensions for foster mothers around money and love can be resolved. Studies of countries where carers receive a wage component as part of their remuneration package provide insights into wage levels, perceived adequacy of the wage, and the impact of wages on carer recruitment/retention. The study found that, due to the profoundly gendered nature of fostering, the compensatory aspects of remuneration (fee/wage or salary) are generally poor. The implications for government welfare spending of paying Australian carers are discussed, and the savings to governments of using a volunteer workforce are demonstrated.