1 ABSTRACT The diploma thesis is focused on experience with self-reflection of social workers who supporting foster families. It is divided into two parts - theoretical and empiric. Aim of the thesis was to find out what kind of experience with self-reflection has social workers of organizations supporting foster families. The theoretical part has five chapters. The first chapter shows to readers what profession of a social worker is about - at first it looks at social work in context of helping professions, then it defines expert studies, abilities, and personality of social worker, and it also mentions possible motivation for working in this field. The second chapter brings topic of foster care and a definition of supporting; it describes supporting organizations for foster families and role of social worker in it. In the third chapter there can be found definition of self-reflection (in narrow meaning it brings nearer parts of self-reflection such as self-approach, self-knowledge, or self-regulation); further there can be found consideration of what importance self-reflection has for social workers and which tools to reach it they can use. The fourth chapter is aimed at view of influence which can affect self-reflection, such as emotion of worker, projection, topic of power and powerlessness, work with...

in English language This thesis focuses on foster care for a transitional period. The aim of the thesis is to describe the role of foster carers for a transitional period, OSPOD workers and foster family guides in period between the process of taking a foster child for a transitional period and re-transferring to a biological family or one of the long-term types of foster care. The thesis describes foster care for a transitional period and individual roles according to available literature, legislation, methodology and interviews with actors themselves. The partial goal is to find out how participants perceive each other, what they expect, what competencies they should have. Another partial aim of this work is methodological recommendation.

Child maltreatment and household dysfunction have long been linked to delinquency, adult criminality, and sexual offending. However, the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), factors related to out-of-home placement, and the onset of maladaptive behaviors has not thoroughly been explored in adolescents who have engaged in sexually abusive behavior. In the present study, we examined archival records of 120 male youths who have received treatment for sexually abusive behavior. As expected, the male adolescents in this sample have experienced higher rates of ACEs than samples of adult males in the community, adult males who committed sexual offenses, and juvenile justice–involved males as reported in the literature. Discrete-time survival analyses yielded increased risks of onset of aggression and sexually abusive behavior during early childhood and mid-to-late childhood, with significant associations between higher ACE scores and a greater number of out-of-home placements. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Studiens syfte är att belysa hur eventuella missförhållanden i pågående familjehemsplaceringar kommer till kännedom för socialtjänsten, samt att belysa vilka åtgärder socialtjänsten använder för placerade barn och/eller familjehem, när missförhållanden föreligger. Den tidigare forskningen lyfter fram hur barn påverkas vid missförhållanden och beskriver socialtjänstens utmaningar samt möjliga åtgärder vid missförhållanden. De teoretiska perspektiven som används är anknytningsteorin och kristeorin. Den använda metoden i denna studie är sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare från två olika städer i Mellansverige. De centrala resultat som framkommer är att socialtjänsten uppmärksammar eventuella missförhållanden genom att få information från myndigheter, familjehemsplacerade barn, familjehem och biologfamiljer genom orosanmälningar, barnsamtal, hembesök samt uppföljningsmöten. De åtgärder som socialtjänsten använder för barn och/eller familjehem när det föreligger missförhållanden är att inte genomföra någon direkt åtgärd, sätta in råd och stödåtgärder i familjehem genomföra utredningar på familjehem utifrån barns bästa och omplaceringar av barn. / The purpose of this study is to highlight how abusive situations in ongoing foster care placements come to the knowledge of the social services, and what actions the social services use for placed children and/or foster care, when abusive circumstances exist. The previous research highlights how children are affected in abusive situations and describes the social service's challenges as well as possible actions in abusive situations. The theoretical perspectives used are attachment theory and crisis theory. The method used in this study is six semi-structured interviews with social workers from two different cities in Central Sweden. The central results that emerge are that the social services obtains knowledge of possible abuses by obtaining information from authorities, foster care children, foster families and biological families through reports of concern, meetings with children, home visits and follow-up meetings. The actions that the social services use for children and/or foster families when there are confirmed abuses are not to take any immediate action, to put in counselling and support measures in foster families to conduct investigations on foster families based on children's best interests and relocation of children.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka familjehemssekreterares syn på samarbetet inom det tredelade föräldraskapet bestående av socialtjänst, familjehem och biologiska föräldrar samt samarbetets påverkan på familjehemsplacerade barns anknytning. Studien undersöker även hur socialtjänsten hanterar sammanbrott i familjehemsvård. Med semistrukturerade intervjuer som metod fokuserar studien på fem familjehemssekreterares upplevelser då tidigare forskning saknar deras perspektiv. Resultatet visar att socialtjänsten inom det tredelade föräldraskapet brister i samverkan främst på grund av tid- och resursbegränsningar. Hög personalomsättning och bristande kompetens är vidare faktorer som nedmonterade det tredelade föräldraskapet. Socialtjänsten kunde på grund av detta inte ge det stöd som behövdes varpå familjehemmen fick ta ett större ansvar i det tredelade föräldraskapet, vilket ökade risken för sammanbrott. Det hade även negativa effekter på barns anknytning till både familjehemmet och till sina föräldrar. En bättre balans inom det tredelade föräldraskapet skulle därför kunna bidra till bättre förutsättningar för barn i familjehemsvård. / This study aims at investigating social workers’ view on the Swedish three-part parenthood, consisting of the social services, the foster home and the biological parents, and its effects on children's attachment. The study also explores how social services handle breakdowns in foster care. The main focus lies on the perspective of the social workers who are in charge of the contact and support of foster homes, due to the lack of this perspective in earlier research. The study follows a qualitative interview method, with a total of five interviews that took place both digitally and in person. Our findings show that the three-part parenthood lacked cooperation within the social services mainly because of time and resource issues. Furthermore, high staff turnovers and low competence were factors that dismantled the three-part parenthood. Because of this, the social workers could not give the support that was needed. As a consequence, the foster homes had to take a bigger responsibility, which increased the risk of breakdowns. It also brought a negative effect on children's attachment to both the foster home and to their biological parents. A better balance in the three-part parenthood could therefore facilitate a better outcome for children in foster care.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur förekomsten av sammanbrott kan minskas. Detta utifrån familjehemsföräldrars upplevelser av stöd och behov av stöd från Humana, samt familjehemsföräldrarnas upplevelser av relationen mellan familjehem och det placerade barnet. Kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes digitalt med fyra konsulentstödda familjehem. Respondenterna upplevde att stödet var tillfredsställande, men att de saknade fler grupphandledningar. Studien visade att familjehemsföräldrarna upplevde att Humanas stöd vid konflikter mellan familjehemmet och det placerade barnet minskade risken för sammanbrott, alternativt fördröjde ett sammanbrott i de fall det var oundvikligt. Vi hade fått en mer heltäckande bild om vi tog hänsyn till det placerade barnets eget perspektiv men av etiska skäl exkluderades barnens perspektiv från studien. En lämplig matchning mellan familjehem och barn innan placeringen visade sig kunna motverka sammanbrott då det ledde till en bättre relation mellan placerat barn och familjehemsföräldrar. / The aim of this study was to examine how the occurrence of placement breakdowns can be reduced. This through foster parents’ experiences of support and need of support from Humana, together with the foster parents’ experiences of the relationship between themselves and the foster child. Qualitative semi-structured interviews took place digitally with four consultancy-supported foster parents. The respondents found the support satisfying, but wanted more group tutoring. The study showed that the foster parents experienced that support from Humana in conflicts between them and the foster child reduced the risk of a breakdown, or delayed the breakdown in those cases it could not be avoided. Taking the foster childrens’ opinions into account would have given a bigger picture, but their point of view was excluded due to ethical reasons. A suitable match between the foster parents and the child led to a better relationship and therefore resulted in preventing breakdowns.

Familjehemsvård är den vanligaste placeringsformen i Sverige för barn som inte kan bo med sin familj. När sammanbrott sker berörs de närmast involverade. Syftet var att genom en allmän litteraturöversikt undersöka familjehemsföräldrars perspektiv på sammanbrott i familjehemsvård. 10 vetenskapliga artiklar låg till grund för resultatet som analyserades med hjälp av sorg- och kristeori samt salutogenetiskt perspektiv. Resultatet visade att sammanbrott väcker olika känslor som sorg, förlust, lättnad och ångest. Familjehemsföräldrar kände sig misslyckade och upplevde sig ha svikit barnet. Dessa känslor kunde även leda till en identitetskris hos familjehemsföräldrarna. Vidare uppmärksammades att relationen till, och kommunikationen med, socialtjänsten påverkade upplevelsen av sammanbrott. Brister i samverkan med socialtjänsten kunde negativt påverka stödet till familjehemsföräldrarna. / In Sweden, family foster care is the most common form of placement for children who cannot live with their families. Disruptions in placements can occur and affect those most immediately involved. The purpose of this literature review was to explore foster parents’ perspectives on placement breakdown. The result was based on 10 scientific articles that were analyzed through bereavement theory and salutogenic perspective. Results show that placement disruption awakens emotions such as sorrow, loss, relief and anxiety. Foster parents’ experienced failure and felt that they had betrayed the child. These feelings could also lead to an identity crisis for the foster parents. Further observations indicated that the relationship to, and communication with, social services affected foster parents’ perceptions of disruption. The shortcomings in collaboration with social services could influence the support offered to foster parents in a negative way.

This thesis deals with a topic of specific needs of early traumatised children living in a foster family. The theoretical part is divided into five chapters. The first chapter describes foster care as a part of Czech system of care about children in need. The second chapter deals with the psychological development in early childhood. The third chapter applies itself to early trauma and its causes. The fourth chapter is focused on consequences of early trauma and resulting specific needs of children. The fifth chapter is devoted to the possibilities of working with early traumatised children in a foster family. The following practical part consists of three segments. The first one has a form of research among foster parents. It is focused on specific needs of children and also a need of support, which should be given to foster families. The second section presents the research survey among non-profit organisations that deal with direct support for foster families. It examines their experience with a topic of early trauma. The third section presents a unique project of one Czech organisation, which is focused on the transition of child from institutional care to family environment.

The summary goal of this thesis is to characterize how the issue of alternative child care in the Czech Republic is solved, to characterize the system of alternative child care and it's problematical areas, and also to analyze the role of non-profit organizations in the society generally, and specifically in the solving of issue of alternative child care in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part of this thesis deals with concept of civil society, with typology of its organizations and their functions in the society, and also with chosen theories which explain functions of non- profit organizations in the society, and also with the history and the present of these organizations in the Czech Republic. Afterwards this theses characterize the system of the care of endangered children in the Czech Republic, the system of the alternative care of children and also contemporary reform of the care of endangered chidren and its important concepts of psychological deprivation of the children in institutional care and of rehabilitation of family. In the empirical part of thesis is on the basis of qualitative analysis of texts and documents and realized semistructured interviews presented which form, in which fields and also which specific activities engage non-profit organizations in the solving of issue of...

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