This paper investigates two aspects of the United States Foster Care System: racial inequality and privatization. Investigating the racial disproportionality of foster care children reveals that racial inequalities result from disproportionate rates of child maltreatment among minority children. The extended lengths of stay of minority children and difficulties in placing minority children in adoptive homes reveal that racial biases can impact the system, and overcoming these biases requires reforming child welfare either through developing orphanages, altering pay structures, racial matching, or privatization. Privatization, however, does not always result in improved quality and reduced costs. This paper analyzes the state-wide privatization initiative of Kansas and prison privatization movement to draw recommendations about the efficacy of future privatization efforts in the child welfare space.

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The diploma thesis is concerned about the theme of psychological pregnancy of foster parents. The main focus of diploma thesis was map the motivation, expectations and experiences of future foster parents. The diploma thesis was divided to two main parts, theoretic part and practical part. The theoretic part reported summary of information about parenthood, alternative family care, experiences of pregnancy and experiences of expectation a child future foster parents. Practical part was concentrared on motivation and expectations of applicants foster parents. Qualitative research, method of interview was used. The results of diploma thesis could use experts of alternative family care, whoes are interested to specialized training for future foster parents. Key words pregnancy, parenthood, child, alternative family care, foster care, adoption, psychological parenthood, motivation, experience, identity, expectation, training

The thesis focuses on the adoption possibilities for same-sex couples. The main aim is to investigate and assess which opinion is prevailing in our society. Each term related to same-sex partnerships or marriages is defined in particular theoretical parts. The subsequent chapter deals with homosexuality and family. In the empirical part, the data collected in the quantitatve survey have been analysed and interpreted. The survey has been conducted through questionnaires designated for general public as well as homosexuals.

This master thesis deals with educational needs of foster parents. The main assumption of this thesis is that foster parents are despite all specifics among all parents. Therefore it firstly mentions competences, that are essential for good parenthood and relationship between parents as partners. Than it focuses on specific competences that are essential for foster parents. The main question then is how to encourage these competences during educational activities. In the next part this thesis describes the current state of education of foster parents, examples of good practice and present researches. The empirical part of the thesis consists of a qualitative research, which aims to describe the educational needs of foster parents, current deficiencies and suggestions on what to improve. The research is based on semi-structured interviews with foster parents and professionals in the field of alternative family care. On the basis of this research I propose a suitable educational programme for foster parents. KEY WORDS: education of foster parents, foster care, alternative family care, competences of parents

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / In the United States, foster care is provided to children to avert maltreatment and abuse of children in distressed families by providing a temporary home or a foster home. Courts with jurisdiction over families have been charged by Congress to find appropriate homes when necessary circumstances occur. In fiscal year 2009, there were 423,773 children in foster care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). When the term “foster child or foster care” is used, most individuals view the term as negative. Most statistical data reaffirms this belief and casts a negative light on the foster care system in the United States. Foster children exit the foster care system and face higher rates of substance abuse, unemployment, and incarceration, and lower educational attainment. Though foster children do suffer from uncertainty of shattered relationships, there are success stories that arise from foster care. This study examines the discovery of strengths and emerging possibilities in the State of Kansas foster care system and the conditions that make them possible. This study identifies and examines success stories of 15 former foster children in the State of Kansas and analyzes how to build on those success stories. This case study uses qualitative methods such as audio-taped interviews and an interview protocol with a pre-determined set of open-ended questions. This study identifies stories of effectiveness in the State of Kansas foster care system.

This dissertation is concerned with the issues surrounding substitute family care in the Czech Republic and presents an analysis of its legal regulation as set out in both private law and public law regulations. The term substitute family care encompasses several independent legal institutions, which together form a system serving to protect children at risk who cannot grow up in their own family. The system of substitute care is divided into family-type individual care on the one hand and collective care provided in institutional facilities on the other. This dissertation examines the historical development of forms of substitute care, analyses their current legal regulation, including procedural regulation, and evaluates the interconnectedness and mutual harmoniousness of individual legal regulations. It analyses the inner workings of the substitute care system and delineates the rights and obligations of entities which enter into it in various capacities, with an emphasis on how the fulfilment of the rights of a minor is enforced and how their best interest is considered. Given the subject matter, the topic of the dissertation is approached in an interdisciplinary fashion, for the interdisciplinary cooperation of individual persons acting on behalf of the state in the legal relations of...

1 Abstract This thesis deals with the legal regulation of the registered partnership and focuses mainly on the current issues concerning the rights of gay people towards minors. It consists of nine chapters, which gradually discuss the various areas related to the registered partnership. The first chapter deals with the historical context and the outline of the development of homosexuality in the society. The second chapter defines the basic terms with which the thesis operates. The third chapter discusses the sources of legal regulation at the European Union and the constitutional law level. The fourth chapter talks about the coexistence of people and especially about the institute of the registered partnership and it is divided into three subchapters. The first subchapter deals with the institute of marriage, a traditional union of two persons. The next subchapter deals with the development of the institute of the registered partnership and the process of approval of the law, including some arguments that have been heard during the legislative process at the Chamber of Deputies. The last subchapter is devoted to the analysis of the valid legal regulation, with attention to some particularities of the legal regulation of the registered partnership. Two following chapters deal with the development of the...

Studies have shown that foster children encounter many problems in everyday life. Three of these major problems are access to information, communication and integration. Studies have also shown that digital services such as mobile application can assist this particular type of user with their needs. However, when designing such a service, it is important that the right user experience design process which is suitable for the user will be implemented. For this reason, the goal of this study is to answer the following questions: “Which UX design guidelines are considered more efficient when designing a digital service, especially eHealth services, aimed for adolescent foster children?” In general, this study aims to identify which factors inside user experience design will lead to a more efficient experience for adolescent foster children from the age of 15 to 18. In order to accomplish this, the user centered design and design science research methodology were adopted for this study. Other methods such as literature study, interviews, usability test and heuristic evaluation test were also conducted. Furthermore, to evaluate the identified design guidelines, a mobile prototype which included the design guidelines were created. Based on the results from the usability test and heuristic evaluation test, it can be argued that the design features that would benefit adolescent foster children in a digital service are social features, accessing the right information at the right time, rewards and challenges. Other design features such positive color palates, clear navigation features and minimum use of instructional text should also be used. More importantly, when it came to understanding the needs of the focus group and the context specifics surrounding them, it was realized that designers should create trust with the user, including experts in the area, identifying ethical issues and the exact limitations that the focus group faces. It should be noted that at the beginning of this study, the main plan was to test the concept on actual foster children. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, this was not possible. Instead, a usability test and heuristic evaluation test for the prototype was conducted with participants that were experts in the areas related to this study.

Este estudo aborda as possibilidades de vir a ser sujeito em uma instituição de acolhimento, considerando as possíveis implicações para a criança que se encontra separada de sua família de origem. Neste sentido, é importante considerarmos as diferentes questões que podem acompanhar a criança no percurso de sua constituição, atentando para as dificuldades que demarcam este processo, muitas vezes oriundas de falhas nas suas primeiras relações. Buscamos, então, uma compreensão acerca de como se dá a constituição subjetiva no âmbito do abrigo, utilizando para tal uma metodologia de avaliação, prevenção e promoção de saúde mental na primeira infância, que já vem sendo utilizada em outros contextos. Assim, este trabalho propôs, através dos IRDIs (Indicadores Clínicos de Risco para o Desenvolvimento Infantil), a realização de uma operação de leitura da relação que se estabelece entre os bebês (de até 18 meses) e seus respectivos cuidadores (agentes educadores), que se encontram acolhidos em abrigos residenciais da Fundação de Proteção Especial do Rio Grande do Sul, no município de Porto Alegre. Nesta conjuntura, nos apoiamos nos pressupostos teóricos sustentados por Winnicott, de modo que suas contribuições nos auxiliaram a refletir sobre as possibilidades que cada bebê encontra ao se deparar privado da convivência com sua mãe/família. O processo de pesquisa abarcou diferentes momentos: I. Encontro de sensibilização e capacitação para os agentes educadores; II. Visitas a sete abrigos residências (em média quatro a cada casa), onde puderam ser observados dez bebês; III. Rodas de conversa com os agentes educadores responsáveis pelos cuidados dos bebês participantes. Assim, buscamos, a partir de conceitos fundamentais da teoria winnicottiana, apoio para refletir acerca do que se mostrou em evidência, de modo que as concepções de ambiente e de (des)continuidade dos cuidados serviram como base nesta leitura e construção de significados, o que permitiu a emergência de alguns apontamentos: Mesmo ressaltando o direito da continuidade dos cuidados que toda criança possui, a separação da mãe/família não necessariamente se faz, por si só, traumática. Isso nos conduziu a refletir acerca de que lugar ocupa o ambiente abrigo para estas crianças, tendo em vista que o fato de termos encontrado resultados satisfatórios (uns mais que outros) na leitura dos bebês a partir dos IRDIs nos permite inferir que de alguma forma este contexto opera de modo suficiente na subjetivação dos bebês. Compreendemos, portanto, que mesmo sendo portadores de uma marca primeira (privação da família de origem), existe grande possibilidade de o bebê se desenvolver plenamente, desde que possa estabelecer um encontro com alguém/ambiente disponível para sustentá-lo, para proporcionar uma experiência de continuidade e para impedir que seu sofrimento inicial impossibilite seu vir a ser. / This study approaches the possibilities of becoming a subject in a foster institution, considering the possible implications for a child who has been separated from his or her family of origin. Thus, it is important to consider the different issues that may follow the child during his or her constitution, paying attention to the difficulties that mark this process, which often originate from flaws in their first relations. This study seeks, therefore, to understand how the subjective constitution happens in a shelter environment, and uses a methodology of evaluation, prevention, and promotion of mental health in early childhood, which was already used in other contexts. Hence, this study proposed, through the use of IRDIs (Clinical Risk Indicators for Early Childhood Development), a reading operation of the relation established between babies (up to 18 months of age) and their respective caretakers (educational agents), who are hosted in the residential shelters of Foundation of Special Protection of Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. In this context, Winnicott’s theoretical background was used to support this study, in ways that his contributions helped on reflecting about the possibilities that each baby finds when he or she is deprived of living with his or her mother/family. The research process comprised different moments: I. Awareness and training meeting for the educational agents; II. Visits to seven residence shelters (an average of four per house), where ten babies could be observed; III. Conversation rounds with the educational agents responsible for the care of the participant babies. Hence, the fundamental concepts of the winnicottian theory were used as a support to reflect about what was evidenced, in such a way that the concepts of environment and (dis)continuity of care served as foundation in the reading and building of meanings, which allowed the emergence of some points: Even emphasizing that all children have the right to continuity of care, the separation from the mother/family is not necessarily traumatic on its own. This led us to reflect about which place the shelter environment has for these children, considering that the fact that satisfactory results (some more than others) were found in the reading of babies with the IRDIs enables us to infer that, somehow, this context operates in a sufficient way in the subjectivation of babies. It is therefore understood that even if the babies hold a first mark (deprivation of their family of origin), there is a great possibility that they go through a full development, as long as there is the establishment of an encounter with someone/environment available to support him or her, to grant an experience of continuity, and to impede that his or her initial suffering curbs their process of becoming a subject.