The thesis is devoted to the topic of preparatory courses for applicants for foster care. The aim of the thesis is to chart the course of professional preparation of future foster parents and replenish their subjective opinions. The theoretical part refers to the current legislative changes affecting the area of foster care in the Czech republic. It also deals with topics closely related to foster care, such as kinship care, contact with the biological parents or the identity of children in foster care. The following section is focused on the analysis of available training programs for foster parents, their specifics and the related methodological recommendations of Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. Practical work was supported by DC Paprsek. By the form of semi-structured interviews with applicants for foster care was studied their subjective view of the importance and effectiveness of training courses.

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)

In the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, welfare organisations in Vryheid situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal have noted dramatic increases in requests for foster care placements for orphaned children. In many instances, orphans have lived by private arrangement with extended families for several years. However, families are increasingly overwhelmed with the burden of overextending scarce resources, forcing them to seek welfare assistance. Community-based responses to the crisis are regarded as top priority. This study examines literature regarding child care alternatives for orphans, focussing on foster care as the primary option. A study was conducted which explored community perceptions towards the local orphan crisis and foster care in particular. Findings revealed that although the adage 'Blood is thicker than water' still applies, foster care cannot stand alone. Alternate forms of care-giving need to be found to avoid plunging orphan care into further crisis. / Social work / M.A.(Social Science (Mental Health))

In the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, welfare organisations in Vryheid situated in northern KwaZulu-Natal have noted dramatic increases in requests for foster care placements for orphaned children. In many instances, orphans have lived by private arrangement with extended families for several years. However, families are increasingly overwhelmed with the burden of overextending scarce resources, forcing them to seek welfare assistance. Community-based responses to the crisis are regarded as top priority. This study examines literature regarding child care alternatives for orphans, focussing on foster care as the primary option. A study was conducted which explored community perceptions towards the local orphan crisis and foster care in particular. Findings revealed that although the adage 'Blood is thicker than water' still applies, foster care cannot stand alone. Alternate forms of care-giving need to be found to avoid plunging orphan care into further crisis. / Social work / M.A.(Social Science (Mental Health))