The aim of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate a social work empowerment programme for foster parents of sexually abused children. This thesis consists of five sections: SECTION A: Contains the problem statement, objectives and research methodology, the limitations of the study and definitions of key words. The problem statement was formulated as follows: There is no existing scientifically developed and implemented social work empowerment programme for foster parents of sexually abused children available in South Africa. This problem statement resulted in the development of four research objectives. The intervention research model was utilised and implemented within a mixed methodology paradigm. Focus group discussions and the single system design generated quantitative and qualitative data. SECTION B: Consists of four articles combined together, form the research report on the achievement of the objectives. The four articles are: Article 1: The implication of sexual abuse for foster care. The aim of this article is to establish the implications of sexual abuse for foster care by means of a literature study. The impact of child sexual abuse depends on various factors like the age of the child, the amount of force used, the relationship between the child and the perpetrator, and the period over which the abuse took place. The impact of sexual abuse on the child also varies depending on the individual child. In order for the foster parent to assist the foster child to heal from the trauma of child sexual abuse, it is necessary for the foster parent to have knowledge of and insight into such impact on the foster child. Article 2: The empowerment needs of foster parents of sexually abused children. The aim of this article is to establish the empowerment needs of foster parents of sexually abused children. A focus group discussion was used as a method to collect relevant qualitative data. Five (N=5) foster parents with foster children that have been sexually abused, identified from the caseload of a Child Welfare Society in White River and formed part of the discussion group. From the discussion group two categories, namely feelings, experiences and challenges of foster parents of sexually abused foster children and the needs of foster parents of sexually abused foster children were identified. Ten themes and sub-themes were derived and identified. Article 3: The development and implementation of a social work empowerment programme for foster parents of sexually abused children. The aim of this article is to develop and implement a social work empowerment programme for foster parents of sexually abused children. A nine session programme was developed according to the needs identified in the previous article, and implemented over three days to seven (N=7) foster parents, selected according to a non-probability sampling method. It was presented through psychosocial group work as method. Article 4: The evaluation of a social work empowerment programme for foster parents of sexually abused children. The aim of this article was to evaluate the social work empowerment programme and the effect of the programme on the psychosocial functioning of the foster parents of sexually abused children. A single system design was followed to collect data. Three standardised instruments were utilised during pre- and post-test. A self- developed questionnaire was used to gather qualitative data. SECTION C: Summative findings, conclusions and recommendations and contribution of the study. SECTION D: Addendums. SECTION E: Compound list of references. / Thesis (PhD (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The objective of this study is to explore the impact of a social group work programme in the lives of adolescent orphans in foster care in the North–West province who are also affected by HIV and AIDS, and to enhance their social functioning. Keywords: Adolescent, foster care, foster parent, social work, social group work, empower, family, orphan, HIV and AIDS There are a growing number of children in need of care in South Africa who are placed with foster parents. The biggest reason for foster placement is due to the rising mortality rate of biological parents due to HIV and AIDS. Section A refers to the problem statement, research objectives, research procedures and research methodology. The limitations of the research are also investigated and the definitions of key words. The research was conducted in two phases. The needs assessment was conducted in phase one and the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the social group work programme in phase two. The problem statement in section A is based upon the following: It was found that insufficient research is being conducted on the problems and circumstances of adolescent orphans in South Africa. It is evident that the physical and emotional needs of adolescent orphans are not being fulfilled. The HIV and AIDS pandemic have a negative effect on the quality of daily life for orphans under foster care. The problem statement gave rise to five research aims. The overarching research design conformed to the Development and Utilization Research model. The model was divided into five phases that guided the research. The single–system design was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data. A literature study was conducted around the themes of foster care, foster parents, social group work, and circumstances of the foster care situation. Section B consists of the four articles that form the report on the research outcomes Each article is dealt with as a self–contained unit focusing on specific research objectives that were achieved via specific research methods. These methods were employed to collect the necessary data for the design and evaluation of the social group work programme. Article 1: The circumstances and needs of the adolescent orphan in foster care. The aim of this article is to identify the circumstances and needs through a self–designed and structured schedule. Thirty adolescent orphans in foster care from the researcher's case load were identified to take part in the research. Twenty adolescent orphans were selected by means of accidental sampling. Ten (N = 10) were selected for the experimental group and ten (N = 10) were selected for the control group. The results indicated the problems and needs experienced by adolescent orphans. These could be used for discussion during a social group work programme designed to provide knowledge, teach skills, and improve the social functioning of the group. Article 2: The role of the social worker during service delivery to adolescent orphans in foster care. The nature and extent of foster care in the North–West province was investigated by means of the completion of questionnaires. The role of the social worker regarding services to adolescent orphans in foster care was also investigated. A self–structured questionnaire was used for data collection purposes and 85 questionnaires were sent to social workers in the North–West province. The results show the state of existing programmes and the opinions of social workers on topics that could be included in a social group work programme. The data was used in Article 2. Article 3: A social work intervention programme for adolescent orphans in foster care. The programme was developed according to the data received from the 30 (N=30) adolescent orphans in foster care and the 85 (N=85) social workers in the North–West province. The programme was presented to 30 (N=30) adolescent orphans in foster care. Social group work was used as method to present the programme. The group gained knowledge and received skills training, both of which served to enhance their social functioning. Article 4: The evaluation of a social group work programme for adolescent orphans in foster care The purpose of this article is to evaluate the social group work programme. Three standardized measuring instruments were used. The Generalized Contentment Scale, the Index of Family Relations, and the Personal Self–esteem Profile were used. These instruments were used three times: once before intervention, once during intervention and once after intervention. The control group 10 (N=10) also completed the questionnaire three times but did not attend the social group. A self–developed questionnaire was completed before and after each session. A self–developed evaluation was completed after the final session to assess the effectiveness of the programme. Section C - Summary, conclusions and recommendations. Section D - contains the appendices with the results of the three standardized measuring instruments that were used for data collection. Section E - Contains the Bibliography. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The objective of this study is to explore the impact of a social group work programme in the lives of adolescent orphans in foster care in the North–West province who are also affected by HIV and AIDS, and to enhance their social functioning. Keywords: Adolescent, foster care, foster parent, social work, social group work, empower, family, orphan, HIV and AIDS There are a growing number of children in need of care in South Africa who are placed with foster parents. The biggest reason for foster placement is due to the rising mortality rate of biological parents due to HIV and AIDS. Section A refers to the problem statement, research objectives, research procedures and research methodology. The limitations of the research are also investigated and the definitions of key words. The research was conducted in two phases. The needs assessment was conducted in phase one and the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the social group work programme in phase two. The problem statement in section A is based upon the following: It was found that insufficient research is being conducted on the problems and circumstances of adolescent orphans in South Africa. It is evident that the physical and emotional needs of adolescent orphans are not being fulfilled. The HIV and AIDS pandemic have a negative effect on the quality of daily life for orphans under foster care. The problem statement gave rise to five research aims. The overarching research design conformed to the Development and Utilization Research model. The model was divided into five phases that guided the research. The single–system design was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data. A literature study was conducted around the themes of foster care, foster parents, social group work, and circumstances of the foster care situation. Section B consists of the four articles that form the report on the research outcomes Each article is dealt with as a self–contained unit focusing on specific research objectives that were achieved via specific research methods. These methods were employed to collect the necessary data for the design and evaluation of the social group work programme. Article 1: The circumstances and needs of the adolescent orphan in foster care. The aim of this article is to identify the circumstances and needs through a self–designed and structured schedule. Thirty adolescent orphans in foster care from the researcher's case load were identified to take part in the research. Twenty adolescent orphans were selected by means of accidental sampling. Ten (N = 10) were selected for the experimental group and ten (N = 10) were selected for the control group. The results indicated the problems and needs experienced by adolescent orphans. These could be used for discussion during a social group work programme designed to provide knowledge, teach skills, and improve the social functioning of the group. Article 2: The role of the social worker during service delivery to adolescent orphans in foster care. The nature and extent of foster care in the North–West province was investigated by means of the completion of questionnaires. The role of the social worker regarding services to adolescent orphans in foster care was also investigated. A self–structured questionnaire was used for data collection purposes and 85 questionnaires were sent to social workers in the North–West province. The results show the state of existing programmes and the opinions of social workers on topics that could be included in a social group work programme. The data was used in Article 2. Article 3: A social work intervention programme for adolescent orphans in foster care. The programme was developed according to the data received from the 30 (N=30) adolescent orphans in foster care and the 85 (N=85) social workers in the North–West province. The programme was presented to 30 (N=30) adolescent orphans in foster care. Social group work was used as method to present the programme. The group gained knowledge and received skills training, both of which served to enhance their social functioning. Article 4: The evaluation of a social group work programme for adolescent orphans in foster care The purpose of this article is to evaluate the social group work programme. Three standardized measuring instruments were used. The Generalized Contentment Scale, the Index of Family Relations, and the Personal Self–esteem Profile were used. These instruments were used three times: once before intervention, once during intervention and once after intervention. The control group 10 (N=10) also completed the questionnaire three times but did not attend the social group. A self–developed questionnaire was completed before and after each session. A self–developed evaluation was completed after the final session to assess the effectiveness of the programme. Section C - Summary, conclusions and recommendations. Section D - contains the appendices with the results of the three standardized measuring instruments that were used for data collection. Section E - Contains the Bibliography. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Foster care is currently a topic that arouses certain controversy in society, which often stems from ignorance of this type of alternative family care. In the diploma thesis, with the help of the analysis, the domestic system of substitute family care was comprehensively described with a focus on foster care. This system was subsequently compared with foreign systems. The work also deals with the identification of the main motivational factors that are essential for the performance of foster care. To find out important information about the motivational factors of foster care, the method of a questionnaire survey was used, which was conducted with foster parents and also with persons without experience with foster care. The questionnaire survey with foster parents showed that the main motivating factor for foster parents is selfless help for children in institutional care. The questionnaire survey with people without experience with foster care showed that their motivation for foster care would be stimulated by helping children in institutional care and efforts to provide family facilities for such children. Several responses from the questionnaire surveys were also compared. From this comparison came significant differences in motivational factors between foster parents and people without...

The most usual form of out-of-home care for children in Sweden is foster care. The responsibility lies with the municipalities' social services, while implementation can be handed over to independent foster care agencies, IFA. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the unit managers’ experiences with IFA, with a focus on support towards the foster parents. The thesis was conducted through semi-structured interviews with eight unit managers from various parts of the country and analyzed through qualitative thematic analysis. The results showed that the quality of the service varied between different providers, and that most municipalities wanted to become independent again with the management of foster homes, due to excessive costs and a lack of transparency. The result also showed that support such as high availability of the consultant could be a contributing factor when engaging the service, especially in more difficult cases. The unit managers often experienced a competition for the few available foster homes, while at the same time they believed that the recruitment work of private actors was deficient as they approved unsuitable foster homes. This result creates uncertainty about whether the children's needs are met in a legally secure manner.

Against the background of evidence that parent involvement benefits learners, parents, schools and communities, a need has arisen for effective parent involvment strategies to be developed particularly in rural and disadvantaged communities. A literature study investigated models of parent involvementand the provision of education in North West Province. Barriers to parent involvement in schools were also investigated. A qualitative methodology was used to investigate parent involvement in three rural schools in North West Province. Data were gathered by means of observation, semi-structures focus group interviews with parents and educators and semi-structures in-depth interviewswith principals of participating schools. Thus parents and educators blame each other for lack of participation. Other findings relate to the lack of resources and facilities in schools. Guidelines for proper parent involvement were proposed. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Comparative Education)

The diploma thesis deals with contacts of a child in foster care with a child's biological family. The aim of this work was to map the experiences of children in foster care with contacts with biological family. The diploma thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part is focused on approaching the system of surrogate family care, further explains the differences between partial forms of surrogate family care. Attention is paid to the experiencing of children, child's identity and also to the subject of attachment. The work deals in detail with the biological family of a child in foster care and their subsequent contacts as one of the main topics. The practical part follows the qualitative processing of narrative interviews, where the effort is to describe how children in long-term foster care experience contact with a biological family. The work is focused on the experience of a child in foster care with contacts with a biological family from the perspective of nine young people growing up in a foster family who formed the research set. The method of simple intentional selection and the snowball method were used to select the participants. The obtained data were evaluated using the cluster method. The research showed 7 clusters common in the participants' statements. These are the following clusters: the child's contact with the biological family; obtaining information about the biological family; feelings connected with contact; child's attitude to the biological parent (relatives); foster parents' reaction to the contact; child-foster relationship; current view of the contact. Each participant looks at the course of contacts with the biological family individually, but the results of the research have shown that there are situations that informants and informatics have in common. For example, the desire to get to know their biological parents, although individuals need time to process the obtained information about the biological family before contacting the biological family. The thesis will help to raise awareness about foster care and may be useful for future foster parents.

Les familles d’accueil sont une composante essentielle du système de protection de l’enfance. Or, le réseau québécois est confronté à certaines difficultés de recrutement et de rétention. De plus, deux importants chantiers modifieront la pratique entourant l’accueil familial : le déploiement de l’approche S’occuper des Enfants (SOCEN) et la mise en application de la Loi sur la représentation des ressources (LRR), qui engendre une professionnalisation du rôle de famille d’accueil. Il importe donc de s’intéresser à l’expérience des parents d’accueil, afin d’identifier certaines pistes pour mieux faire face à ces défis et transformations. L’objectif de ce mémoire est de mieux comprendre les facteurs qui influencent la satisfaction des parents d’accueil dans leur rôle. Un sous-objectif est de comprendre si l’approche SOCEN a une influence sur cette satisfaction. Pour ce faire, des entrevues individuelles semi-directives ont été effectuées auprès de treize parents d’accueil d’une région du Québec qui implante l’approche SOCEN depuis 2003. Une analyse de contenu thématique concernant leur satisfaction, leur motivation et les défis qu’ils rencontrent a été effectuée. Les résultats montrent que selon les parents d’accueil, la satisfaction dans leur rôle s’incarne dans trois dimensions distinctes: la dimension parentale, la dimension professionnelle et la dimension personnelle. Les facteurs qui influencent leur satisfaction sont : les enjeux de parentalité en contexte de placement à long terme, l’impact du placement sur la famille du parent d’accueil et les enjeux de reconnaissance. Il ressort également que les principes et les outils proposés par l’approche SOCEN pourraient agir sur les facteurs évoqués et ainsi augmenter la satisfaction des parents d’accueil dans leur rôle. / Foster families are an essential part of the youth protection system. However, in the province of Québec the youth protection network faces certain difficulties in recruiting and retaining candidates. Furthermore, two major changes may have an important impact on the practice of fostering children and youth: the implementation of the Looking After Children approach (LAC) and the application of the Act on the representation of family-type resources and certain intermediate resources, which implies the professionalization of the role of foster families. It is therefore imperative to take a closer look at foster parents’ experiences in order to identify better ways to cope with these transformations and challenges. The objective of the present thesis is to better understand the influential factors that affect the level of satisfaction foster parents attain through their role as caregivers. An underlying objective is to determine if the LAC approach affects the level of satisfaction. In order to achieve these objectives, thirteen foster parents from a region of the province of Quebec where the LAC approach has been implemented since 2003 were interviewed using individual, semi-directive interview techniques. An analysis of the thematic content pertaining to their level of satisfaction, their motivation and the challenges that they meet regularly was then conducted. According to the results found, the foster parents identify their level of satisfaction as pertaining to three distinct dimensions: parental, professional and personal. The factors which influence their level of satisfaction are: the parenting issues surrounding long-term foster care, the impacts that fostering has on a foster parent’s own family, and issues surrounding recognition/gratitude. The results also found that the principles and means suggested by the LAC approach may affect the factors evoked, therefore increasing the level of satisfaction of foster parents in their role as caregivers.

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Against the background of evidence that parent involvement benefits learners, parents, schools and communities, a need has arisen for effective parent involvment strategies to be developed particularly in rural and disadvantaged communities. A literature study investigated models of parent involvementand the provision of education in North West Province. Barriers to parent involvement in schools were also investigated. A qualitative methodology was used to investigate parent involvement in three rural schools in North West Province. Data were gathered by means of observation, semi-structures focus group interviews with parents and educators and semi-structures in-depth interviewswith principals of participating schools. Thus parents and educators blame each other for lack of participation. Other findings relate to the lack of resources and facilities in schools. Guidelines for proper parent involvement were proposed. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Comparative Education)