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The diploma thesis is concerned about the theme of psychological pregnancy of foster parents. The main focus of diploma thesis was map the motivation, expectations and experiences of future foster parents. The diploma thesis was divided to two main parts, theoretic part and practical part. The theoretic part reported summary of information about parenthood, alternative family care, experiences of pregnancy and experiences of expectation a child future foster parents. Practical part was concentrared on motivation and expectations of applicants foster parents. Qualitative research, method of interview was used. The results of diploma thesis could use experts of alternative family care, whoes are interested to specialized training for future foster parents. Key words pregnancy, parenthood, child, alternative family care, foster care, adoption, psychological parenthood, motivation, experience, identity, expectation, training

The thesis focuses on the adoption possibilities for same-sex couples. The main aim is to investigate and assess which opinion is prevailing in our society. Each term related to same-sex partnerships or marriages is defined in particular theoretical parts. The subsequent chapter deals with homosexuality and family. In the empirical part, the data collected in the quantitatve survey have been analysed and interpreted. The survey has been conducted through questionnaires designated for general public as well as homosexuals.

This dissertation is concerned with the issues surrounding substitute family care in the Czech Republic and presents an analysis of its legal regulation as set out in both private law and public law regulations. The term substitute family care encompasses several independent legal institutions, which together form a system serving to protect children at risk who cannot grow up in their own family. The system of substitute care is divided into family-type individual care on the one hand and collective care provided in institutional facilities on the other. This dissertation examines the historical development of forms of substitute care, analyses their current legal regulation, including procedural regulation, and evaluates the interconnectedness and mutual harmoniousness of individual legal regulations. It analyses the inner workings of the substitute care system and delineates the rights and obligations of entities which enter into it in various capacities, with an emphasis on how the fulfilment of the rights of a minor is enforced and how their best interest is considered. Given the subject matter, the topic of the dissertation is approached in an interdisciplinary fashion, for the interdisciplinary cooperation of individual persons acting on behalf of the state in the legal relations of...

Studies have shown that foster children encounter many problems in everyday life. Three of these major problems are access to information, communication and integration. Studies have also shown that digital services such as mobile application can assist this particular type of user with their needs. However, when designing such a service, it is important that the right user experience design process which is suitable for the user will be implemented. For this reason, the goal of this study is to answer the following questions: “Which UX design guidelines are considered more efficient when designing a digital service, especially eHealth services, aimed for adolescent foster children?” In general, this study aims to identify which factors inside user experience design will lead to a more efficient experience for adolescent foster children from the age of 15 to 18. In order to accomplish this, the user centered design and design science research methodology were adopted for this study. Other methods such as literature study, interviews, usability test and heuristic evaluation test were also conducted. Furthermore, to evaluate the identified design guidelines, a mobile prototype which included the design guidelines were created. Based on the results from the usability test and heuristic evaluation test, it can be argued that the design features that would benefit adolescent foster children in a digital service are social features, accessing the right information at the right time, rewards and challenges. Other design features such positive color palates, clear navigation features and minimum use of instructional text should also be used. More importantly, when it came to understanding the needs of the focus group and the context specifics surrounding them, it was realized that designers should create trust with the user, including experts in the area, identifying ethical issues and the exact limitations that the focus group faces. It should be noted that at the beginning of this study, the main plan was to test the concept on actual foster children. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, this was not possible. Instead, a usability test and heuristic evaluation test for the prototype was conducted with participants that were experts in the areas related to this study.

Este estudo aborda as possibilidades de vir a ser sujeito em uma instituição de acolhimento, considerando as possíveis implicações para a criança que se encontra separada de sua família de origem. Neste sentido, é importante considerarmos as diferentes questões que podem acompanhar a criança no percurso de sua constituição, atentando para as dificuldades que demarcam este processo, muitas vezes oriundas de falhas nas suas primeiras relações. Buscamos, então, uma compreensão acerca de como se dá a constituição subjetiva no âmbito do abrigo, utilizando para tal uma metodologia de avaliação, prevenção e promoção de saúde mental na primeira infância, que já vem sendo utilizada em outros contextos. Assim, este trabalho propôs, através dos IRDIs (Indicadores Clínicos de Risco para o Desenvolvimento Infantil), a realização de uma operação de leitura da relação que se estabelece entre os bebês (de até 18 meses) e seus respectivos cuidadores (agentes educadores), que se encontram acolhidos em abrigos residenciais da Fundação de Proteção Especial do Rio Grande do Sul, no município de Porto Alegre. Nesta conjuntura, nos apoiamos nos pressupostos teóricos sustentados por Winnicott, de modo que suas contribuições nos auxiliaram a refletir sobre as possibilidades que cada bebê encontra ao se deparar privado da convivência com sua mãe/família. O processo de pesquisa abarcou diferentes momentos: I. Encontro de sensibilização e capacitação para os agentes educadores; II. Visitas a sete abrigos residências (em média quatro a cada casa), onde puderam ser observados dez bebês; III. Rodas de conversa com os agentes educadores responsáveis pelos cuidados dos bebês participantes. Assim, buscamos, a partir de conceitos fundamentais da teoria winnicottiana, apoio para refletir acerca do que se mostrou em evidência, de modo que as concepções de ambiente e de (des)continuidade dos cuidados serviram como base nesta leitura e construção de significados, o que permitiu a emergência de alguns apontamentos: Mesmo ressaltando o direito da continuidade dos cuidados que toda criança possui, a separação da mãe/família não necessariamente se faz, por si só, traumática. Isso nos conduziu a refletir acerca de que lugar ocupa o ambiente abrigo para estas crianças, tendo em vista que o fato de termos encontrado resultados satisfatórios (uns mais que outros) na leitura dos bebês a partir dos IRDIs nos permite inferir que de alguma forma este contexto opera de modo suficiente na subjetivação dos bebês. Compreendemos, portanto, que mesmo sendo portadores de uma marca primeira (privação da família de origem), existe grande possibilidade de o bebê se desenvolver plenamente, desde que possa estabelecer um encontro com alguém/ambiente disponível para sustentá-lo, para proporcionar uma experiência de continuidade e para impedir que seu sofrimento inicial impossibilite seu vir a ser. / This study approaches the possibilities of becoming a subject in a foster institution, considering the possible implications for a child who has been separated from his or her family of origin. Thus, it is important to consider the different issues that may follow the child during his or her constitution, paying attention to the difficulties that mark this process, which often originate from flaws in their first relations. This study seeks, therefore, to understand how the subjective constitution happens in a shelter environment, and uses a methodology of evaluation, prevention, and promotion of mental health in early childhood, which was already used in other contexts. Hence, this study proposed, through the use of IRDIs (Clinical Risk Indicators for Early Childhood Development), a reading operation of the relation established between babies (up to 18 months of age) and their respective caretakers (educational agents), who are hosted in the residential shelters of Foundation of Special Protection of Rio Grande do Sul, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. In this context, Winnicott’s theoretical background was used to support this study, in ways that his contributions helped on reflecting about the possibilities that each baby finds when he or she is deprived of living with his or her mother/family. The research process comprised different moments: I. Awareness and training meeting for the educational agents; II. Visits to seven residence shelters (an average of four per house), where ten babies could be observed; III. Conversation rounds with the educational agents responsible for the care of the participant babies. Hence, the fundamental concepts of the winnicottian theory were used as a support to reflect about what was evidenced, in such a way that the concepts of environment and (dis)continuity of care served as foundation in the reading and building of meanings, which allowed the emergence of some points: Even emphasizing that all children have the right to continuity of care, the separation from the mother/family is not necessarily traumatic on its own. This led us to reflect about which place the shelter environment has for these children, considering that the fact that satisfactory results (some more than others) were found in the reading of babies with the IRDIs enables us to infer that, somehow, this context operates in a sufficient way in the subjectivation of babies. It is therefore understood that even if the babies hold a first mark (deprivation of their family of origin), there is a great possibility that they go through a full development, as long as there is the establishment of an encounter with someone/environment available to support him or her, to grant an experience of continuity, and to impede that his or her initial suffering curbs their process of becoming a subject.

This study was concerned with exploring the meaning birth relatives gave their experiences of counselling following the removal of their children from their care. An exploratory research question was formulated and addressed using a qualitative approach. The involvement of a service user as expert supervisor added an important element and certain validity to the design, analysis and findings. Interviews took place with five birth mothers who had received counselling from one birth relatives counselling service. Three master themes were constructed from the data: From feeling alone, judged and let down to feeling part of a special relationship; "The healing process"; and "My children are my world".

<p>Istraživanje prikazano ovim radom imalo je za cilj da opi&scaron;e mentalno zdravlje<br />dece na hraniteljstvu ranog &scaron;kolskog uzrasta i da sagleda kakvu ulogu u aktuelnom<br />stepenu njihovog psihosocijalnog funkcionisanja ima kvalitet brige koji im je pružen u<br />hraniteljskoj porodici. Kvaliteta staranja o detetu je konceptualizovan iz okvira teorije<br />afektivne vezanosti kao posvećenost hranitelja detetu na sme&scaron;taju i podrazumeva nivo<br />emocionalne investiranosti i motivisanosti hranitelja da sa detetom uspostavi emotivno<br />blizak, stabilan i trajan odnos.<br />U uzorak istraživanja je uključeno 82 dece na sme&scaron;taju u hraniteljskim<br />porodicama, uzrasta od 5 do 11 godina, koji su &scaron;tićenici Centra za socijalni rad Grada<br />Novog Sada i vi&scaron;e op&scaron;tinskih centara na teritoriji Vojvodine (Novi Bečej, Bačka<br />Topola, Mali Iđo&scaron; i Vrbas), bez ozbiljnijih smetnji u psihomotornom razvoju i koja u<br />aktuelnoj hraniteljskoj porodici borave najmanje dva meseca. U uzorku je podjednak<br />broj dečaka i devojčica, pri čemu dominiraju deca koja su na sme&scaron;taju u standardnim<br />(nesrodničkim) hraniteljskim porodicama (90.2 %), u odnosu na srodničke.<br />Podaci o mentalnom zdravlju dece su prikupljani uz pomoć dve skale za procenu<br />dečije psihopatologije koje su popunjavale hraniteljice: Liste provere dečijeg pona&scaron;anja<br />za decu od 6-18 godina (Child Behavior Checklist for ages 6-18, CBCL/6-18,<br />Achenbah &amp; Reskorla, 2001) i Liste za procenu dece u socijalnoj za&scaron;titi uzrasta od 4-11<br />godina (Assessment Checklist for Children for ages 4-11, ACC, Tarren-Sweeney,<br />2007). Podaci o mentalnom zdravlju su prikupljani i za kontrolni uzorak dece koja<br />odrastaju u biolo&scaron;kim porodicama, ujednačenom po broju, polnoj i uzrasnoj strukturi sa<br />uzorkom dece na hraniteljstvu, kao i u odnosu na pol roditelja koji pruža podatke<br />(majke). Za operacionalizovanje i procenjivanje kvaliteta staranja o detetu od strane<br />hranitelja je kori&scaron;ćen polustrukturirani intervju &ldquo;To je moje čedo&rdquo; (&ldquo;This Is My Baby&rdquo;<br />interview&rdquo;, TIMB, Bates &amp; Dozier, 1998) koji se sastoji od standardizovanih pitanja u<br />vezi hraniteljicinih osećanja prema detetu i njihovog međusobnog odnosa i daje uvid u<br />tri dimenzije: prihvatanja deteta na sme&scaron;taju kao svog (eng. acceptance), posvećenosti u<br />podsticanju njegovog rasta i razvoja bez emotivne &ldquo;zadr&scaron;ke&rdquo; (eng. commitment) i<br />svesnosti o uticaju uspostavljenog odnosa sa detetom na detetov emocionalni i socijalni<br />razvoj, aktuelno i u budućnosti (eng. awareness of influence).<br />Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju da deca na hraniteljstvu u poređenju sa svojim<br />vr&scaron;njacima koji odrastaju u biolo&scaron;kim porodicama, ispoljavaju značajno vi&scaron;e problema<br />mentalnog zdravlja, pri čemu prednjače problemi sa pažnjom, smetnje afektivne<br />vezanosti u vidu nediskriminativnog, pseudozrelog i nesigurnog pona&scaron;anja u<br />5<br />interpersonalnim relacijama, eksternalizujući problemi (agresivno pona&scaron;anje, kr&scaron;enje<br />pravila), abnormalni obrasci ishrane (čuvanje, skladi&scaron;tenje i krađa hrane) i<br />samopovređivanje. Mentalno zdravlje dece je determinisano nepovoljnim razvojnim<br />okolnostima koje prethode sme&scaron;taju ali i kvalitetom brige koja im je pružena u<br />hraniteljskoj porodici, pa se kod dece o kojima brinu hraniteljice visokog nivoa<br />prihvatanja i posvećenosti beleži manje emocionalnih problema, problema u pona&scaron;anju i<br />odnosu sa drugima. Rezultati ukazuju i na moderirajuće efekte kvaliteta staranja, u<br />smislu da je stepen prihvatanja i posvećenosti od strane hraniteljica posebno značajan za<br />decu koja su pre sme&scaron;taja u hraniteljsku porodicu imala visoko rizično iskustvo, čineći<br />ih znatno vulnerabilnijim u okolnostima niskog kvaliteta brige, kao &scaron;to i okolnosti<br />visokog kvaliteta staranja u ovoj grupi dece ostvaruju najintenzivniji protektivni i<br />kompenzatorni efekat.<br />Rezultati su diskutovani u svetlu teorije afektivne vezanosti, u smislu potvrde<br />kvaliteta staranja kao protektivnog činioca koji podstiče rezilijentnost dece i implikacija<br />relevantnih za praksu socijalnog rada u oblasti hraniteljstva.</p> / <p>The purpose of the research presented in this paper is to describe the mental<br />health of children in foster care at early school-age and to analyse the role that the<br />quality of care they receive in foster family plays in the current level of their<br />psychosocial functioning. The quality of child care has been conceptualized from the<br />framework of the attachment theory as the commitment of foster carers to the foster<br />children and it implies a level of emotional investment and motivation of the foster<br />carers to establish an emotionally close, stable and permanent relationship with the<br />child.<br />The research sample involved 82 foster children, aged 5 to 11, who are in the<br />care of the Centre for Social Work of the City of Novi Sad and several municipal<br />centres in the territory of Vojvodina (Novi Bečej, Bačka Topola, Mali Iđo&scaron; and Vrbas),<br />who are without serious difficulties in psychomotor development and who have been<br />with the current foster family for at least two months. The sample included the same<br />number of boys and girls, and the majority were children in standard (non-kinship)<br />foster families (90.2 %), as opposed to kinship foster families.<br />Information about the mental health of the children was collected using two<br />scales for the assessment of psychopathology in children, which were filled out by<br />foster mothers: Child Behaviour Checklist for ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18, Achenbah &amp;<br />Reskorla, 2001) and Assessment Checklist for Children for ages 4-11 (ACC, Tarren-<br />Sweeney, 2007). Information about the mental health was also collected for the control<br />sample of children who live with biological families, identical in number, gender and<br />age structure with the sample of children in foster care, as well as in relation to the<br />gender of the parent providing the information (mother). In order to operationalize and<br />assess the quality of child care, the research used the semi structured interview &ldquo;This Is<br />My Baby&rdquo; (TIMB, Bates &amp; Dozier, 1998) which contains standardized questions in<br />relation to the foster mother&rsquo;s feelings towards the child and their mutual relationship<br />and it also provides insight into three dimensions: acceptance of foster child as her own,<br />commitment in encouraging their growth and development without emotional<br />&ldquo;reservations&rdquo; and the awareness of influence of the established relationship with the<br />child on the child&#39;s emotional and social development, now and in the future.<br />The results of the research indicate that the children in foster care, as compared<br />to their peers growing up with biological families, display significantly more mental<br />health problems, and the most frequent ones are attention problems, attachment related<br />difficulties in the form of indiscriminate, pseudo mature and insecure interpersonal<br />8<br />behaviours, externalising problems, aggressive and rule-breaking behaviour, eating<br />problems, food maintenance behaviour and self-injury. The mental health of the<br />children is determined by the unfavourable development circumstances prior to<br />placement in foster care, but also by the quality of care that they receive in foster<br />family, and so the children in the care of foster mothers with a high level of acceptance<br />and commitment display fewer emotional, behavioural and interpersonal problems. The<br />results also indicate the moderation effects of the quality of care, in the sense that the<br />level of acceptance and commitment by the foster mothers is of particular significance<br />for the children who had high-risk experience before they were placed in foster family,<br />which made them significantly more vulnerable in the circumstances of low-quality<br />care, just like the circumstances of high-quality care with this group of children<br />produced a more intensive protective and compensatory effect.<br />Results are discussed in the light of the attachment theory, in terms of<br />confirmation of the quality of care as a protective factor which encourages the resilience<br />of children, as well as the implications relevant to the social work practice in the field of<br />foster care.</p>

O presente trabalho dedica-se a explorar o funcionamento da medida protetiva de acolhimento institucional para crianças e adolescentes, desvelando as forças presentes nesse campo de trabalho, bem como os efeitos nas vidas sobre as quais age. A partir da compreensão de que tais equipamentos integram a chamada rede de Proteção Social Especial de Alta Complexidade da política de Assistência Social brasileira e são ancorados no discurso de cuidado e proteção, bem como na lógica da garantia de direitos, busca-se afirmar as potências, os desafios e as contradições presentes nessas instituições. Tais equipamentos carregam traços de uma história em que o trato à criança e ao adolescente é marcado por uma engrenagem precarizada e produtora de vidas adoecidas - vidas permeadas por sofrimento e que, simultaneamente, geram práticas protetivas e de cuidado. As vidas das quais falamos são das crianças e dos adolescentes acolhidos, de seus familiares ou mesmo dos profissionais presentes nos equipamentos em tela. Objetiva-se compreender, a partir do funcionamento dos serviços e das políticas em voga, quais os modos de vida têm sido engendrados nesses equipamentos. A experiência em Serviços de Acolhimento para Crianças e Adolescentes (Saica) foi disparadora das questões presentes nesta dissertação e permitiu acessar formas de analisar as relações familiares, as práticas cotidianas, as relações institucionais e seus jogos de poder, bem como os elementos presentes no trabalho com família e nas práticas de adoção. Três histórias foram escolhidas para dar a ver essas diferentes questões e fazem parte de uma escrita-narrativa tecida com elementos dessas histórias, discussões teóricas, dados quantitativos e reflexões. Os movimentos e as inflexões nas vidas acolhidas institucionalmente carregam facetas do emaranhado que de fato é um Saica e permitem articular essas vidas às suas condições de existência ressaltando os esforços para que as práticas cotidianas gerem proteção e cuidado / The present work is dedicated to exploring how the protective institutional foster care for children and teenagers measure works, revealing the forces present in this scope of work, as well as the effects on the lives upon which it acts. Considering the premise that such equipment is part of the so-called Special Social Protection Network of High Complexity of the Brazilian Social Assistence policy and are anchored in the discourse of care and protection, as well as in the logic of guaranteeing rights, it is affirmed the powers, challenges and contradictions present in these institutions. These institutions bear traces of a history in which the treatment of the child and adolescent is marked by a precarious process of life-sickness lives permeated by suffering and which, simultaneously, result in protective and care practices. The lives of which we speak are lives of the children and adolescents, lives of their family or even the professional presents in the concerned institutions. The objective is to understand, from the functioning of the services and policies in vogue, which modes of life have been engendered. The experience in Serviço de Acolhimento para Crianças e Adolescentes (Saica) incited the issues presents in this dissertation and allowed access to ways of analyzing family relationships, daily practices, institutional relationships and their power relations, as well as the elements present in the work with family and adoption practices. Three stories were chosen to show these different questions and are part of a writing-narrative woven with elements of these stories, theoretical discussions, quantitative data and some reflections. Movements and inflections in institutionally fostered lives carry facets of the tangle that in fact is a Saica and allow them to articulate these lives to their conditions of existence by emphasizing the efforts that day-to-day practices generate protection and care

This qualitative study examines the current barriers of services to transition age youth (TAY) who are newly emancipated from foster care. Data collection was derived from eight in depth interviews with local administrators within San Bernardino County with experience with youth and services within the TAY population. Study themes focused on how professionals suggested to engage TAY, tactics to instilling hope, highlighting successful services, and providing professional insight on working with the unique population. Present day research emphasizes the importance of the emotional capacity of TAY, which is a key theme within the present study. As current rates of homelessness, the dependency of government assistance programs, and mental health services increase for the TAY population, the need for improved services is apparent. Study results indicated five distinct themes pertaining to youth impediments and the need for foster system adjustments, and include: unmet mental health needs, available housing facilities, mistrust from the youth, the integration from Peer and Family Assistant’s, and systemic barriers.