Although much has been written in the field of family history since Phillipe Aires' Centuries of Childhood (1962), the study of foster care in its various forms has received less attention. Themes concerning orphans and foster children do, however, appear guite often in literature and dramatic works. Two academic articles from Iceland and Brazil respectively discuss historical material relating to foster children and orphans in the 19th century. Themes from these articles, about the role of kin and neighbours in foster care, and the use of orphans to meet labour shortages, are discussed as background to the B.C. study. The constitutional-legal framework and social welfare policies adopted in British Columbia in the 1900-1930 period were under Anglo-American influence, with influences from Ontario being most direct. B.C. established some level of economic security for women and children with the establishment of women's pensions in 1920 and in 1927 the B.C. Survey of Child Welfare made recommendations for supervised foster care, that is, foster care subsidized by government and supervised by social workers. Although the legislation mandated "approved foster homes" as early as 1901, and envisaged temporary placement with children's aid societies (CAS) until such homes could be found, the annual reports and discharge summaries of the CASs, and the records of the Superintendent of Neglected Children show that this option was largely ignored. Not until overcrowding and medical crises forced the issue did CASs turn to foster care as an option.

Although much has been written in the field of family history since Phillipe Aires' Centuries of Childhood (1962), the study of foster care in its various forms has received less attention. Themes concerning orphans and foster children do, however, appear guite often in literature and dramatic works. Two academic articles from Iceland and Brazil respectively discuss historical material relating to foster children and orphans in the 19th century. Themes from these articles, about the role of kin and neighbours in foster care, and the use of orphans to meet labour shortages, are discussed as background to the B.C. study. The constitutional-legal framework and social welfare policies adopted in British Columbia in the 1900-1930 period were under Anglo-American influence, with influences from Ontario being most direct. B.C. established some level of economic security for women and children with the establishment of women's pensions in 1920 and in 1927 the B.C. Survey of Child Welfare made recommendations for supervised foster care, that is, foster care subsidized by government and supervised by social workers. Although the legislation mandated "approved foster homes" as early as 1901, and envisaged temporary placement with children's aid societies (CAS) until such homes could be found, the annual reports and discharge summaries of the CASs, and the records of the Superintendent of Neglected Children show that this option was largely ignored. Not until overcrowding and medical crises forced the issue did CASs turn to foster care as an option. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

This study makes an analysis of those situations in which children of mentally ill parents were taken into non-ward care by the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver, B.C., in the years 1957 to 1959. The purpose of the study is to determine the characteristics of the families to whom this service was given, what factors influenced planning, the significance of the factor of mental illness, and whether the plan achieved its stated purpose. In the twenty-four family cases studied, there was a combined total of fifty-six children. Only thirty-six of these children were taken into non-ward care. The majority of families included two parents in the home, and in these instances the parents made greater use of their own resources. The major factor necessitating the use of non-ward care was found to be the hospitalization of the mother for psychiatric treatment. Planning for the care of the children was significantly influenced by emergency referrals, which gave little time to caseworkers to assess the family situation prior to placement of the child. Twenty-nine children were returned to their parents. Twenty-two of these were returned within six months. Most of these families were unknown to the Children's Aid Society prior to the request for non-ward care and showed considerable parental capability. Seven children were either made wards or were placed for adoption. In these instances the parents revealed recurring social dysfunction and parental incapacity. Their children remained in non-ward care for longer periods of time than the first group before a future plan was made. The results of the study are discussed with reference to non-ward care policy of the Children's Aid Society and to basic child welfare concepts. Some reference is made to non-ward care and temporary ward care legislation of other provinces. Some assessment is made about non-ward care. Non-ward care was found to be an invaluable service to families, but this resource must be used judiciously or grave damage to the child and the child-parent relationship may result. Implications of the study are discussed with reference to (a) the caseworker and practice, (b) community planning, and (c) non-ward care theory. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This thesis is an examination of an individual, long-term foster home which served a large child placement agency until a few years ago. The foster home was regarded by agency workers as an eminently successful one, both quantitatively and qualitatively particularly with adolescent boys, who are placement problems for any child-placing agency. The study was undertaken as an investigation into the reasons for the foster home's success with adolescent boys, in order to provide a point of departure for more controlled scientific study in the future. The study was done at the Vancouver Children's Aid Society, one of several agencies of its kind in Canada which is responsible for foster home and other forms of placement planning for many children who come into its care, and for the administration of various statutes related to the protection of children. The study includes: 1. An account of the historical development of foster home placement practice, an account of the needs and problems of children (with particular reference to those who require foster home care), and a description of the agency in which the study took place; 2. A survey of the children placed la the foster home and a qualitative study of the foster home, focussing on the twenty-one-year period of its active service to the agency; 3. An examination of the agency's case records of the foster children, their own families, and the foster family. Additional material for the study was obtained from Interviews with the foster mother, her own two children, and four of her former foster children. This study sought to examine the foster home in order to provide some formulation of the dynamics of a good foster home, particularly for adolescent boys. The findings suggest a number of important factors to be sought in any such foster home, including steady and consistent affection for all children, foster and own, an assumption of adult humility, interest, responsibility and leadership on the part of the foster parents, and the Importance of strong community roots for the foster home. These findings, in addition to having implications for future research, may provide a basis for a further refinement of diagnostic efficiency in the agency's future foster home placement programs. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Issues in foster home recruitment and maintenance in a child-placing agency are considered in this thesis. References are made to literature about the historical development of the foster home method of child care and this includes the set-up of the Children's Aid Society of Vancouver. There is the recognition that foster home placement is not the only plan for each child in agency care but that it is one important answer. Placement problems are raised and discussed. Specific factors in the closing of 100 foster homes are examined and the reasons are discussed. Records of 100 closed used foster homes are studied from the standpoints of reasons for closing, motives for boarding children, length of time of service, and number of children placed. A comparison is made of the number of homes closed for avoidable and unavoidable reasons and tables are drawn up to illustrate the factors examined. Case illustrations are used from Children's Aid Society records. The study found that approximately one-third of the homes closed for practical reasons while two-thirds closed for reasons bearing further examination. The largest group closed because of non-acceptance of foster children and their families, and the next largest group closed because of the difficult behaviour of foster children. A considerable number decided they wanted children on a more permanent basis than foster home placement. Over half of the closed homes served the Agency less than one year and a little less than half boarded only one child before closing. A large group stated their original motives for boarding a child as "company for own only child." Conclusions reached about foster homes are around three basic topics; namely the recruitment of homes, the home study, and placement practices. The most important factor in getting good foster homes is a better selection of applicants in the first place. This can more easily be done by treating foster parenthood as a job with preparation and satisfying remuneration. A thorough home study can be facilitated when there is a better selection of homes from which to choose and when skilled, experienced homefinders have ample time to complete the study satisfactorily. With this groundwork good follow-up placement practices such as pre-placement conferences and casework service after placement should do much to recruit and maintain a higher standard of foster homes. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study is concerned with the problem of multiple placement s of foster children, i. e., children who are placed in more than one foster home while they are in the care of a protective agency. Children become "wards" of such societies if there is no possibility of their leading normal, happy, and emotionally secure lives within their own homes. The agencies provide foster home care as a substitute home to give them the care they were not able to obtain in their own homes. But frequent replacement prevents many foster children from gaining security and healthy development due to lack of attachment to a family. The study shows that thirty-nine out of the fifty children in the sample were placed in more than one foster home during their period of care by a children's aid society. The average number of foster homes for the total group was 3.52 homes per child, which means that a child remained in each foster home for a period of 2.08 years, on the average. The study was based on the records of foster children from both of Vancouver's children's aid societies, the sample being selected on a one-in-four basis from all children falling within certain definitions: (l) children who had been in the care of one of the agencies at least two years; (2) children of the white race; (3) children now in the "latency" stage of development; i. e. between the ages of seven and twelve years. The material utilized includes the files kept by the agencies, regarding each individual child, his family and the foster homes. The sample was grouped into four divisions according to the number of placements the children have had. Group A with a single foster home placement only, representing the ideal in child placement; Group B with two foster home placements; Group C a clear multiple placement problem, with three or four foster home placements; and Group D the usually serious situation where a child has lived in five or more foster homes. The cases were then studied in terms of the foster homes in which the children were placed; the intelligence levels of the children; and their adjustment to the foster home program. The adjustment of the child is believed to be the crucial factor in deciding whether foster home placement has succeeded or failed. The third part of the study examines what can be done to improve the methods of placing children in foster homes in order to lessen the problem of multiple placements. There is evidence that the problem of multiple placement of foster children could be reduced by more careful preliminary observation of the child and his needs, closer assessment of foster home potentialities, better matching of the child and the foster home, professional casework service while the child is in the home, and treatment for disturbed children in homes which are especially equipped for this service. The study suggests that many children without family ties could be placed for adoption, thus attaching them to one family instead of facing the possibility of repeated replacements. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study concerns itself with the pros and cons of placing children whose adoptability is questioned on a boarding or foster-home basis. Because of the growing recognition that early, continuous and warm parental relationships offer the most security for a child, it is important that children should reach their permanent homes early, and that the home be well chosen. This is of particular consequence for children those adoptability is obscure in infancy. For exploratory purposes, fourteen wards of the Vancouver Children's Aid Society were selected for study. Each child was in good health when taken into agency care at the age of a few weeks, and each was eventually adopted. The child's file, the relevant foster home files, and the adoption file were studied in every case; and the material was considered in the light of child welfare standards and principles. An attempt was made to distinguish systematically the pros and cons of the procedure and its effects on all the parties to the situation--natural parents; foster parents and/or adoptive parents; the agency and the workers and, above all, the child. The assessment indicates clearly the hazards involved when decision for adoption is delayed. The natural parents (many of whom are unmarried mothers) may react by trying to plan for the child themselves. If these plans do not materialize, the result is unnecessary moves for the child. The refusal of the parents' request for adoption may lead to difficulties later in obtaining consent to the adoption. The child's uncertain status may prejudice the development of enduring affection for him. Lack of decision about adoption makes the social workers' tasks more difficult in interpreting the child's needs to substitute parents, supervising the home, and planning consistently. What stands out as significant from the point of view of the children's development, is that finding a suitable final home can be more critical than the generally-disapproved fact of several foster-home placements. Implications for policy and practice are considered in a final chapter. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The purpose of this study has been to determine the feasibility of introducing a foster home placement service for the aged in British Columbia, A number of social agencies have concerned themselves with old people who are no longer able to care for themselves, and are dependent upon others for many of their dependency needs. With many senior citizens, ability to function independently in the community is limited by problems of health, nutrition, or other basically economic considerations. Very often, family support, and help from relatives are not available, and they must seek assistance from social welfare agencies. At the present time, the resources offered by agencies are, for the most part, institutional, i.e., care in licensed boarding homes, nursing homes, hospitals et cetera. Institutional care is, of course, required for those whose dependency needs are acute. It is not considered the best resource, however, for those who are dependent to the extent where they cannot live alone, but whose dependency needs are not sufficiently grave to require Institutional protection. The theme of this study has been an exploration of the values of foster family placement as an additional and appropriate resource for the care of the aged. Social agencies in the Greater Vancouver and New Westminster areas were most co-operative in permitting the use of case files for purposes of research. Over fifty cases were examined, of which twenty-four were selected as conforming to the definitions outlined in Chapter II, Home visits were made in each case, and brief social histories obtained from both clients and foster guardians. The development of the criteria outlined in Chapter III has been based to some extent on comparable studies of placement services for the chronically ill, mentally ill, as well as for adoptive and foster children. In setting forth the implications of the study, emphasis is given to the professional requirements of the social work practitioners engaged in the finding of suitable foster homes, the selection of clients, and the supervision of those placed in foster care. Practical suggestions have been offered on subjects as, desirable physical standards of the prospective homes, the qualifications desired in those who assume the major responsibility for the care of the client, and the organization of community resources to facilitate the operation of the programme. The study not only illustrates the validity of establishing a programme of foster home placement for the dependent aged, but emphasizes the need of immediate action to alleviate the urgent housing problems of old people. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate