The purpose of the study was to gather data that could help minimize the number of placements that foster children often experience. The results of this study are intended to help California child welfare agencies and other foster care agencies develop additional policies that support the development of stable foster care placements for dependent children.

Thesis (M Social Work (Social Work))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The goal of this study is to shed some light on the needs of children orphaned by AIDS as well as on the training and support that their foster parents will need, in order to provide guidelines for equipping foster parents to care for AIDS orphans. The motivation for this study was the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in the South Africa and the one million South African AIDS orphans left in its wake. Most of these children end up in substitute homes, and many of them in foster care. Researchers agree that AIDS orphans have special needs because of the circumstances surrounding their parents’ death. Foster parents will therefore need to be prepared to meet these needs. It is an internationally documented fact that foster parents have a need for training and support to meet the demands of foster care, and having an AIDS orphan as a foster child will increase, and focus this need. The study was also motivated by the current shortages and challenges in the foster care system in South Africa which makes it difficult for social workers to effectively train and support foster parents, and aims to contribute towards overcoming some of these problems so that foster parents can be properly prepared to see to the well-being of the AIDS orphans in their care. The research was done based on a literature study, which firstly made use of the Ecological Systems Perspective to explore the effects of parental death by AIDS on their children. Subsequently an overview of foster care within the South African context is given, with emphasis on foster care in general, foster care within the challenging South African context and foster care of AIDS orphans. The last part of the literature review discusses foster parent cell groups as a means of training and supporting the foster parents of AIDS orphans for the parenting process. The empirical investigation of the study investigated to what extent, and in what ways, social workers are training and supporting foster parents to care for AIDS orphans. This investigation confirmed some of the findings of the literature study, namely that AIDS orphans have needs that differ from those of other foster children and that social workers are too overburdened to be able to give the foster parents of these orphans the needed training and support. In light of the findings derived from the literature study and empirical research, conclusions and recommendations are made concerning the phenomena under investigation. The recommendations focus on guidelines that can be used by social workers to train and support the foster parents of AIDS orphans. The recommendations centre on the utilisation of resource-friendly methods to train and support foster parents; bringing structure into the foster care process and on social workers having to use research for guidance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om lig te werp op die behoeftes van kinders wat deur VIGS wees gelaat is, sowel as op die opleiding en ondersteuning wat hul pleegouers nodig het, ten einde riglyne te verskaf vir die toerus van pleegouers om na VIGS-weeskinders om te sien. Die studie is gemotiveer deur die vinnige verspreiding van MIV/VIGS in Suid- Afrika en die een miljoen VIGS-weeskinders wat agtergelaat is. Die meeste van hierdie kinders word in plaasvervangende huise ingeneem, waarvan baie pleegsorgplasings is. Navorsers stem saam dat VIGS-weeskinders spesiale behoeftes het as gevolg van die omstandighede wat met hul ouers se dood gepaard gaan. Pleegouers sal dus voorberei moet word om in hierdie behoeftes te voorsien. Internasionale studies bewys dat pleegouers self ‘n behoefte aan opleiding en ondersteuning het om aan die vereistes van pleegsorg te voldoen. Hierdie behoefte verdiep en word meer gefokus vir ‘n pleegouer wat ‘n VIGS-weeskind in pleegsorg neem. Die studie is ook gemotiveer deur die huidige tekortkominge en uitdagings inherent aan die pleegsorgstelsel in Suid-Afrika wat dit vir maatskaplike werkers moeilik maak om pleegouers genoegsaam op te lei en te ondersteun. Die studie het dus ten doel gehad om ‘n bydrae te lewer tot die oorkoming van sommige van hierdie probleme sodat pleegouers voorbereid kan wees om na die welsyn van hierdie weeskinders in hulle sorg om te sien. Die navorsing is gebaseer op ‘n verreikende literatuurstudie. Die literatuurstudie het eerstens gefokus op die gebruik van die Ekologiese Sisteemperspektief om die effek van ouers se afsterwe weens MIV/VIGS op kinders te ondersoek. Daarna is ‘n oorsig gegee van pleegsorg binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Klem is geplaas op pleegsorg in die algemeen, pleegsorg binne die uitdagende Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, en pleegsorg spesifiek met VIGS-weeskinders. Die laaste deel van die literatuuroorsig bespreek die moontlikheid om pleegouer-selgroepe te benut om pleegouers die nodige opleiding en ondersteuning te gee vir die proses van ouerskap. Die empiriese studie ondersoek ook in watter mate en op watter manier, maatskaplike werkers besig is om die pleegouers van VIGS-weeskinders op te lei en te ondersteun. Hierdie ondersoek bevestig sommige van die bevindinge van die literatuurstudie; spesifiek dat VIGS-weeskinders unieke behoeftes het en dat maatskaplike werkers te oorlaai is om die pleegouers van hierdie weeskinders die nodige opleiding en ondersteuning te bied. In die lig van die bevindinge van die literatuurstudie en empiriese navorsing is gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings gemaak. Die aanbevelings het primêr gepoog om riglyne te verskaf wat deur maatskaplike werkers gebruik kan word om pleegouers op te lei en te ondersteun. Die aanbevelings het gesentreer rondom die gebruik van hulpbronvriendelike maniere om pleegouers op te lei en te ondersteun; die strukturering van die pleegsorgproses en die noodsaaklikheid vir maatskaplike werkers om daadwerklik van navorsing gebruik te maak vir leiding.

The purpose of this study was to get a greater understanding for how the people surrounding children in foster care support these foster children in their education. In order to learn more about that, I had to understand these individuals own opinion on education for foster-children. Do the people that stand close to a child in foster care think that foster children have the same abilities to learn in school as other children? And is it fair to require the same investment as we ask from other children? And how does the way professionals and foster parents inform each other and work togeter influence this process? The study was conducted through six semi-structured interviews. The perspective of four different foster parents, a teacher and a social worker were examined in this qualitative study. To help understand why some people have better chances in life than others and how a foster family can make a difference in that for a child, I have used Pierre Bourdieu's Cultural Theory. The theory helps understand that a foster child is in a very low social position in society, especially at the beginning of the placement, and has to work itself up to get acces to more symbolical resources. The results of the study show that support from people around the foster child is a very important factor for a child to succeed in school. Every one of the individuals I have interviewed was aware of that fact. The main obstacle people experience is that information about the child is not always shared and they do not alwas know how other organizations function. The factor that is most favorable is a positive work relation between the professionals, foster parents and the child.

De flesta barn som blir placerade utanför det egna hemmet lever i familjehem, varav många familjehemsföräldrar även har egna biologiska barn. Dessa barn osynliggörs av socialtjänsten, trots den vikt de tillskrivs i fostringsprocessen av ett placerat barn. Syftet med vår studie är att undersöka hur tidigare forskning har uppmärksammat familjehemsföräldrars biologiska barns uppväxt och på vilket sätt. Utifrån en systematisk, integrativ litteraturstudie har 15 artiklar valts ut och redogörs för i tematisk struktur varpå en analys har genomförts med hjälp av barndomssociologin som teoretisk ansats. Resultatet konstaterar att familjehemsföräldrars biologiska barn har en viktig roll i familjehemmet och är i många fall aktiva i behandlandet av det placerade barnet. Socialtjänsten bör förbereda familjehemsföräldrar och deras biologiska barn för de utmaningar, känslor och tankar biologiska barn kan erhålla när de agerar familjehem. / Most children that are placed in care are living in foster homes where many of the foster parents also have their own biological children. These biological children are found invisible by social services. The purpose of our study was to investigate how and to what extent previous research has drawn attention to foster carers own children. Based on a systematic, integrative literature study, 15 articles have been selected. We have analyzed these articles within the theoretical frame of childhood sociology. The results, states that the biological children have an important role in the foster care process and in the treatment process of the child being placed. The social services should prepare both parents and their children in the foster family for the challenges, feelings and thoughts that the biological children may possibly experience in the foster home care.

Abstract not available

Given the increased number of children from racialized groups requiring foster care and the decreasing number of foster parents from racialized groups, transcultural foster placements are on the rise. Addressing racial and cultural diversity within the context of transcultural foster care placements is one of the most pressing dilemmas of contemporary child protection practice, in Canada. In this qualitative exploratory study, the perspectives of regular non-kinship foster parents groups in Nova Scotia and British Columbia, Canada, who provide foster care to children and youth from racialized groups, were explored through open-ended structured interviews. Participants consisted of nine foster parents, between the ages of 30 and over 60 years old, who were asked to share their experiences regarding transcultural foster care placements. The results of this study indicated foster parents were culturally receptive and ‘fostering cultural development’ in their homes as well as their respective communities.

Inledning: Studien syftar till att undersöka och lära av familjehemsplacerade ungdomars upplevelser och erfarenheter av bra relationer med sina familjehemsföräldrar. Många barn och ungdomar placeras i familjehem varje år, och avbrott och oplanerade avslut är relativt vanligt. Samtidigt vittnar många ungdomar om att tiden i familjehemmet varit avgörande för hur de kunnat bemästra komplicerade familjeförhållanden och nå ett fungerande vuxenliv. Frågeställningar: Vilka erfarenheter och upplevelser uppmärksammar familjehemsplacerade ungdomar som tycker att de har en bra relation till sina familjehemsföräldrar? Hur kan man förstå ungdomarnas upplevelser och erfarenheter? Metod: Kvalitativ intervjuundersökning Resultat: Studien visar på betydelsen av bland annat trygghet och tillhörighet som centrala teman och att detta skapas bland genom frånvaron av utskällningar och de ”pratvanor” som etableras i familjehemmen. Diskussion: Resultaten diskuteras och analyseras bland annat utifrån ett systemiskt perspektiv och ett anknytningsteoretiskt perspektiv. / Introduction: The study aims to understand and learn from the experiences of foster children with good relationships with foster parents. Many children and youth are placed in foster homes every year, and disruptions and unplanned terminations of care are common. At the same time, many youth give evidence that the time in the foster home has been crucial for their possibilities to master difficult family relationships and reach a functional life. Research questions: What experiences do foster children pay attention to when telling about their good relationship with foster parents? How can their experiences be explained and understood? Research method: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with five teenagers in foster care. Results: The study shows the significance of safety and belonging for the youth, and that the experiences are created from, among other, absence of conflicts and scolding, and from the conversational practices established in the foster home. Discussion: The results are discussed in the light of attachment theory and a systemic perspective.

The aim of this study was to increase the understanding of how foster parents of unaccompanied children and youths build and maintain relations with the foster placed children. Furthermore, this study highlights the foster parents’ view of being a foster parent and the effects of the commitment of being a foster home. The empirical material data has been collected by interviews with seven foster parents’ in Sweden and the theories that have been used for the analysis of the result are systems theory and a concept from the attachment theory, called internal working models. The conclusions of this study are that foster parents of unaccompanied children and youths have an ability to establish a valuable relationship with said children, however they experience cultural and linguistic difficulties in the process of establishing a relationship with the youths and children. Another conclusion is that the foster parents’ family lives have changed in positive terms while being a foster home.

No description available.

No description available.