As the number of children in foster care without a familial placement continues to grow, the child welfare system is turning towards a new placement approach called Residential Treatment Foster Care. This study performed a process evaluation of 30 Residential Treatment Foster Care facilities in Los Angeles County that explored the four characteristics of case plan design, team decision-making, therapeutic intervention, staff training, and overall treatment effectiveness with regards to the number of Absences Without Leave (AWOL) and completion of treatment plan.

The purpose of this study was to look at the factors that lead to disruption in the adoption of special needs children. Families that adopt special needs children may or may not be aware that they need post adoption services and may be reluctant to ask for them even when they are experiencing difficulty.

The purpose of the study was to examine child welfare workers' perceptions of the effectiveness of a TDM (Team Decision Making) meeting on permanency plans with Foster care youth who receive specialized alternative services.

During the researcher's work with looked after children for the past four years, it became clear that adolescent placements were much more likely to break down than others. Although there is some literature about foster placement breakdowns, the researcher did not really get an answer as to the causes of adolescent placement breakdowns. This study therefore explores causal factors of adolescent placement breakdowns as seen by foster carers, adolescents and professionals. It is evident from this study that there are no easy answers. Although the adolescent, as much as any other child, craves to belong, to be listened to and be respected, it seems that it is not always possible for foster carers to put this into practice, given the challenging behaviour that adolescents often display. Recommendations are based on relevant literature and the empirical study, in the hope that it might be useful to those with an interest in this field. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of current child welfare policy, specifically the Adoption Assistance and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), on the perceptions of child welfare workers about their decisions.

The child protection system includes foster care. Yet some foster children are neglected, physically or emotionally abused and are used to obtain Foster Care Grants. The essence of this study is to develop a thorough and comprehensive understanding from the frame of reference of social workers on the factors that contribute to the neglect and abuse of foster children as well as their suggestions about possible interventions. The qualitative research approach was applied. The researcher utilised purposive sampling to select social workers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather information and data was analysed. It is clear from the findings that the foster care system needs to be reviewed to minimise or stop neglect and abuse of foster children. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

Decisions made by social workers during the rendering of services play a crucial role in foster care. This study employed a qualitative approach to explore the factors that influence the decisions made by social workers when rendering foster care services, and to develop a matrix to guide decision-making. A collective case study design, informed by the explorative, descriptive and contextual designs, was used. The intuitive, analytic and mixed theories of decision-making served as the conceptual framework of the study. The populations of the study were social workers rendering foster care services in government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their supervisors. One case file of each social worker sampled, was consulted as an additional data source. The sampling technique was purposively sampling with a set of criteria to enable data optimisation. Triangulation of data collection methods was utilised, namely, case file analysis and semi-structured interviews with social workers and supervisors. Case studies are context-based and the data collection occurred in the natural settings of the participants. Ethical clearance was obtained for the study and before the commencement of data collection participants were fully briefed about the study and informed consent was obtained. The data collection instruments, a guide of case file analysis and two interview guides, were piloted twice in both government and NGOs. The data collection was audio recorded and an independent transcriber was used to transcribe the data to control for researcher-influence on the manipulation of the data. Trustworthiness was addressed by ensuring credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability of the data collected. Both the top down or deductive data analysis approach, and the bottom up or inductive approach were adopted to analyse the data. Findings on the social workers’ decision-making processes, decisions made, factors influencing decision-making and the nature of decisions were explored and described in the assessment phase (including the intake, prevention and early intervention, as well as the investigation stages), the placement phase and the supervision phase of foster care services. These findings and the participants’ suggestions on what a decision-making matrix should address, were synthesised and the matrix to guide the decision-making of social workers rendering foster care services was developed. / Social Work / D. Phil (Social Work)

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A combination of an exploratory and descriptive study together with an approach containing elements of both the quantitative and qualitative approach was chosen in order to obtain knowledge of and insight into the role of the social worker in the reunification of foster children with their biological parents. The motivation for this study arose from the awareness of the lack of South African literature on the role of the social worker in the reunification of foster children with their biological parents as well as the lack of accessible information about social workers’ use of reconstruction services in the reunification of foster children and biological parents in South Africa. The researcher became aware of this lack in South African literature about family reunification services and programmes delivered during a preliminary search done on the Nexus Data-Base (1999). The aim of the study is therefore to gain a better understanding of how social workers render reconstruction services to contribute to the reunification process of foster children with their biological parents in terms of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983. The literature study first focused on the process and procedures of statutory removal of children within the South African context of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983 to gain a better understanding of the circumstances where the removal of children is justifiable according to the Act. The literature study was also undertaken to gain insight into the decisions social workers make when placing children in foster care as well as the services social workers deliver to foster parents, biological parents and foster children during reconstruction service delivery. The role of the social worker in the delivery of foster care and reconstruction services was explored, where the social development and strengths perspectives have become the norm, guiding social workers to engage in a range of interventions as stipulated in the White Paper for Social Welfare (Ministry for Welfare and Population Development, 1997) and the Integrated Service Delivery Model (2004). he researcher involved 21 social workers in this study who render reconstruction services with both children and their parents in selected non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rendering child and family welfare services in the Strand, Stellenbosch, Somerset West, Kuils River and the Department of Social Services in Paarl. The results of the investigation largely confirmed the findings of the literature study namely that a large number of children are removed from parental care (the biological parents), and need reconstruction services from child welfare organizations in South Africa where social workers are the catalysts in rendering such services. Social workers however, due to the lack of sufficient resources such as time and sufficient numbers, do not have the ability to deliver reconstruction services to sustain and enhance the prompt return of children to their biological parents. The results therefore gave a good indication of social workers’ delivery of reconstruction services. Social workers should have their workload reduced, enabling them to provide more therapeutic services to foster children, biological parents and foster families in the foster care process; government should support welfare organizations financially, increasing the probability of welfare organizations to employ more social workers, and thereby increasing the number of social workers rendering reconstruction services; social workers should through cooperation with other welfare organizations deliver foster care services to increase resources such as knowledge and skills to assist foster children and their biological parents in their reunification. The recommendations were aimed at services relating to assessment, prevention and intervention with this vulnerable and marginalized group. The recommendations also included that future research be done in order to focus on the specific reconstruction services that could increase the probability of foster children returning to their biological parents. This may decrease the large number of foster children currently staying in foster care for longer than the restricted period of two years. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ʼn Kombinasie van ʼn verkennende en beskrywende studie, tesame met ʼn benadering wat beginsels van sowel die kwantitatiewe as oor die kwalitatiewe benadering insluit was gekies in ʼn poging om kennis en insig te verkry van die rol van die maatskaplike werker in die hereniging van pleegkinders met hul biologiese ouers. Die motivering vir hierdie studie het na vore gekom na bewuswording van ʼn leemte in Suid-Afrikaanse literatuur oor die rol van die maatskaplike werker in die hereniging van pleegkinders met hul biologiese ouers, insluitende ʼn leemte aan toeganklike inligting aangaande maatskaplike werkers se gebruik van rekonstruksie dienslewering in die hereniging van pleegkinders met hul biologiese ouers. Die navorser het van hierdie leemte in die Suid- Afrikaanse literatuur ten opsigte van familiehereniging dienslewering en die lewering van programme bewus geword tydens ʼn voorondersoek van die Nexus- databasis (1999). Die doel van die studie was dus om inligting in te samel om ʼn beter begrip te ontwikkel van maatskaplike werkers se lewering van rekonstruksie dienste wanneer pleegkinders met hul biologiese ouers herenig word in terme van die Kinderwet, Wet 74 van 1983. Die literatuurstudie het eerstens gefokus op die proses en prosedure van statutêre verwydering van kinders binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks van die Kinderwet nr 74 van 1983. Statutêre verwydering is ondersoek om ʼn beter begrip te ontwikkel van die omstandighede waar statutere verwydering toelaatbaar is met verwysing na die Kinderwet, Wet 74 van 1983. Die literatuurstudie het ook die rol van die maatskaplike werkers in pleegsorg en rekonstruksie dienslewering ingesluit om ʼn beter begrip te verkry van die omstandighede waarin maatskaplike werkers besluite moet neem tydens die plasing van kinders in pleegsorg. Die literatuurstudie het ook gefokus op die rol van maatskaplike werkers tydens pleegsorg en rekonstruksie dienslewering ten einde ʼn beter begrip te ontwikkel van die dienste wat maatskaplike werkers bied aan pleegouers, biologiese ouers en pleegkinders tydens pleegsorg. Die literatuurstudie het ook die rol van die maatskaplike werker in die lewering van pleegsorg en rekonstrukise dienslewering vanuit n maatskaplike ontwikkeling en sterkte perspektief verken ten einde ʼn beter begrip te ontwikkel van die beginsels vir intervensie soos bepaal in die Witskrif vir Welsyn (Departement van Welsyn en Bevolkings ontwikkeling, 1997) en die Geïntegreerde Diensleweringsmodel (2004). Daar is besluit om 21 maatskaplike werkers wat rekonstruksie dienste tydens pleegsorg lewer aan sowel kinders as hul ouers wat van die Strand, Stellenbosch, Somerset-Wes, Kuilsrivier en die Departement van Maatskaplike Dienste in die Paarl afkomstig is, by die studie te betrek. Die resultate van hierdie ondersoek het tot ʼn groot mate die bevindinge van die literatuurstudie bevestig, naamlik dat ʼn hoë persentasie van kinders verwyder word van hulle ouers se sorg. Hierdie biologiese kinders benodig rekonstruksie dienste gelewer deur maatskaplike werkers werksaam in kinder-en gesinsorgorganisasies in Suid-Afrika. Maatskaplike werkers tans werksaam in Suid-Afrika het egter nie genoeg hulpbronne, tyd of die voldoende aantal maatskaplike werkers om effektiewe rekonstruksie dienste te lewer in ʼn poging om die terugkeer van kinders na hul biologiese ouers vol te hou en aan te moedig nie. Die resultate van die studie het dus ʼn aanduiding gegee van maatskaplike werkers se vermoë om rekonstruksie dienste vir pleegkinders en hul biologiese ouers te lewer: maatskaplike werkers se werklading moet verlig word om hulle in staat te stel om meer terapeutiese dienste te lewer in pleegsorg; die regering behoort maatskaplike werkorganisasies finansieël te ondersteun, wat die waarskynlikheid van welsynsorganisasies om meer maatskaplike werkers in diens te neem verhoog, en dus tot ʼn toename sal lei in die persentasie van maatskaplike werkers wat rekonstruksie dienste lewer; maatskaplike werkers behoort deur samewerking met ander welsynsorganisasies die beskikbaarheid en effektiwiteit van hulpbronne soos kennis en vaardighede tydens rekonstruksie-dienslewering aan kinders in pleegsorg en hul biolgiese ou Die aanbevelings het gefokus op dienste wat verband hou met assessering, voorkoming en intervensie met hierdie kwesbare kinders in pleegsorg en hul biologiese ouers. Die aanbevelings sluit in dat vêrdere navorsing gedoen word ten einde die fokus te plaas op spesifieke rekonstruksie- dienste wat die waarskynlikhied van pleegkinders se terugkeer na hul ouers sal verhoog. Dit hou die moontlikheid in dat die hoë persentasie pleegkinders wat vir langer as die beperkte tydperk van twee jaar in pleegsorg bly, verlaag sal word.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether: 1) Southwest Region TRIO high school students between the years 1991 - 2001 continued to college immediately after high school at rates significantly different than similar population students on national and state levels; and 2) immediate college continuation for this group was a function of social and economic characteristics including race, gender, parental education, and home-care environment. The sample included 414 TRIO program participants from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Data on the 414 participants were gathered using an existing database containing demographic and post-secondary enrollment information on study participants. The findings of this study reveal Southwest Region TRIO students during this ten-year period continued to college immediately after high school at rates not significantly different than the national low-income population of students. Results indicate that when compared to all students in the five-state southwest region, the majority low-income, first-generation TRIO population continued to college at rates not significantly different than all-income students in the region. Findings of this study also revealed select social and economic characteristics were not predictors of immediate college continuation for this group. Finally, the study showed out-of-home care environment students continued to college at significantly higher rates than in-home care Southwest Region TRIO students.

The diploma thesis is concerned with the long-term foster care; particularly with the experience of foster carer's own children. It provides knowledge of the alternative care system in the Czech Republic and the particularities of foster families. It describes how own children of foster carers experience the period of time before their foster sibling's arrival, what are their feelings and reactions after the arrival, how their positions in the family change, how their relationships are formed and how they perceive their parent's decision retrospectively. The theoretical part is followed by empirical part which is composed of quantitative and qualitative research. The results of quantitative research introduce the experience of biological children and create a basic idea of the situations in foster families. The conclusions of the qualitative research are then an addition of the quantitative part and help to a better imagination of the life in foster families. This thesis should contribute to foster care applicants, their children and specialists who work with foster families. Key words alternative family care, foster care, foster family, biological child, foster children, foster carers training, siblings