This study focuses on the meaning of the Fatherhood of God in the counselling of the adoptee. A study of relevant literature has shown that the metaphor "God the Father" is seldom incorporated in pastoral counselling. This study explores the possibility of successfully incorporating the concept "Fatherhood of God" in the counselling of the adoptee. In order to do so, the perspectives of the basis theory and metatheory have been investigated. The basis theory has been developed through an exegetical study of Old Testament verses that speak explicitly of the Fatherhood of God, as well as the three Abba-texts of the New Testament. This indicates that the covenant is closely related to the Fatherhood of God. The metatheory has been developed after studying literature regarding adoption from the perspective of other disciplines. The matters identity, rejection and loss have been shown as significant issues in the life of the adoptee. An empirical study has been done in addition to the basis- and metatheory. This investigation has brought to light that the adoptee does in general sense not connect the concept "Fatherhood of God" to his adoption. In order to develop an own model, different existing models have been investigated. Thus it was decided to use the model of Eyrich and Hines as guideline. A model has been developed and proposed that successfully incorporates the research findings of this study. It seems that the concept "Fatherhood" of God can be successfully utilised in the pastoral counselling of the adoptee, especially regarding the issues of identity, rejection and loss. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This study focuses on the meaning of the Fatherhood of God in the counselling of the adoptee. A study of relevant literature has shown that the metaphor "God the Father" is seldom incorporated in pastoral counselling. This study explores the possibility of successfully incorporating the concept "Fatherhood of God" in the counselling of the adoptee. In order to do so, the perspectives of the basis theory and metatheory have been investigated. The basis theory has been developed through an exegetical study of Old Testament verses that speak explicitly of the Fatherhood of God, as well as the three Abba-texts of the New Testament. This indicates that the covenant is closely related to the Fatherhood of God. The metatheory has been developed after studying literature regarding adoption from the perspective of other disciplines. The matters identity, rejection and loss have been shown as significant issues in the life of the adoptee. An empirical study has been done in addition to the basis- and metatheory. This investigation has brought to light that the adoptee does in general sense not connect the concept "Fatherhood of God" to his adoption. In order to develop an own model, different existing models have been investigated. Thus it was decided to use the model of Eyrich and Hines as guideline. A model has been developed and proposed that successfully incorporates the research findings of this study. It seems that the concept "Fatherhood" of God can be successfully utilised in the pastoral counselling of the adoptee, especially regarding the issues of identity, rejection and loss. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This systematic literature study examines the significance of contact visit on children who are taken care of and placed in foster care. The main purpose of this work is analyzing whether there are positive or negative consequences that may arise pertaining to a child’s mental health and experience of attachment, during contact visit with biological parents, with the child in focus. The results show that the child tends to easier adapt in their new foster home and the circumstances the foster home brings when given regular contact visit with their biological parents. They also show that the child’s risk of developing internal and/or external behavioural issues - such as anxiety, worry and problematic behaviour - is reduced compared to the children who are given irregular or no visits with their biological parents. The results also showed that the child could experience ambivalent emotions connected to contact visit with their biological parents relating to the experience of loss/grief, loyalty conflicts, anxiety, low self-esteem as well as difficulty bonding with people in their life. Professionals in social services as well as other adults in the child’s vicinity, must guide and support the child during the child’s stay in a foster home in order to develop the capability of attachment and better the child’s mental health. Through the method chosen in this study, a deep and nuanced picture is revealed around the child’s experiences in relation to contact visit with their biological parents focusing on mental health and attachment. In order to get the full picture of the subject matter, this has been achieved by including the child’s perspective as well as those of foster parents, biological parents, professionals as well as researchers. During this process, the complexity of the subject matter has come to light, in a research space that has been void of providing insights into the effects of contact visit on the child. This void has been present for the last 20 years, however as more empirical research is done it has been reduced. The understanding of the significance and effect of contact visit on the child is an important aspect within Child Protective Services (CPS). It has been applied more within the organization. Children who are taken and placed into foster homes can experience it as a trauma due to being unwillingly removed from the first people they have formed attachment to. Therefore, it is important that the child is given the opportunity to create a safe relation to their biological parents through contact visit where a thorough assessment of risk by professionals has been made, in order for the child to strengthen their identity, self-esteem as well as family background for an increased chance to reunite with their biological family. During the contact visit assessment, it is adequate for the child’s voice to be heard as first priority, as well as the wellbeing of the child. It is important to take into account that contact visit is for the child and not for the parents and should therefore be designed around that.

Syftet med den här studien har varit att undersöka familjehemsföräldrars relation till placerade barns biologiska föräldrar, det stöd familjehemsföräldrar upplever att de får eller saknar i relationen till de biologiska föräldrarna samt hur det stödet påverkar de placerade barnen. Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer med 14 familjehemsföräldrar från 11 familjehem, från olika kommuner i Södra delen av Sverige, för att få svar på vårt syfte och våra frågeställningar. Vi har sedan analyserat empirin och det resultatet visar är att majoriteten av familjehemsföräldrarna i vår studie är positiva till att ha en relation till de biologiska föräldrarna men att de saknar stöd i den, ofta svåra, relationen. Det som också framkommer i vårt resultat är att familjehemsföräldrarna är överens om vilket stöd de skulle önska för att få till en fungerande relation och att relationen till de biologiska föräldrarna fungerar bättre för de familjehemsföräldrar som har stor erfarenhet av att vara familjehem. Som teoretisk utgångspunkt för vår analys av intervjuerna har vi valt ekologisk systemteori och socialkonstruktionism. / The purpose of this study has been to research foster parents' relationship to the biological parents of foster children, the support foster parents receive or lack from the social workers in the relationship to the biological parents and how that support affects the children. We have used a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews with 14 foster parents from 11 foster homes, from different municipalities in the southern part of Sweden, to get answers to our purpose and our questions. We have then analyzed the empirical data and the results show that the majority of the foster parents in our study are positive about having a relationship with the biological parents but that they lack support in the, often difficult, relationship. What also emerges in our result is that the foster parents agree on what support they would like to have in a functioning relationship and that the relationship with the biological parents works better for the foster parents who have extensive experience of being a foster home. As a theoretical starting point for our analysis of the interviews, we have chosen ecological systems theory and social constructionism.

This study aimed to analyze how the Court of Appeal takes the child's best interest intoaccount when considering a custody transfer decision in favor of the family homeparents. The analysis of this study´s chosen Court of Appeal judgements were codedthrough a thematic analysis to gather recurring patterns in the Court of Appealsestablishment of the child's best interest. Some of the most recurring patterns that thestudy concluded were the child's needs, the child's own will on the basis of age andmaturity, the biological parents adequacy as well as if there had been any functioningaccess between the biological parents and the child during the time of placement in thefamily home. The results were analyzed through the attachment theory as well as antheory of legal interpretation, which led to an understanding of the part attachmenttheory plays in custody cases, both the child's attachment to its biological parents andfamily home parents. The study could also conclude that the interpretation of the child'sbest interest in a legal matter depended on how the child's legal role was considered bythe Court of Appeal. The consideration of the child's best interest were seen to varybetween cases that led to an transfer of custody for the family home parents and caseswhere the custody transfer were rejected, based on what the Court of Appeal consideredthe Child´s best interesest to be in each particular case. / Denna studie syftade till att analysera hur hovrätten beaktar barnets bästa i rättsfall somgäller vårdnadsöverflytt till familjehemsföräldrar. Studiens valda hovrättsdomar analyserades utifrån en tematisk analys Återkommande mönster i hur hovrätten argumenterade för-, och fastställde barnets bästa i sin bedömning eftersöktes. Några av de meståterkommande mönstren tematiserades under rubrikerna barnets behov, barnets egenvilja utifrån ålder och mognad, de biologiska föräldrarnas lämplighet och ett fungerande umgänge under tiden för placering. Resultatet analyserades utifrån ett anknytningsteoretiskt- och ett rättsteoretiskt perspektiv, vilket bidrog till en djupare analys avanknytningens roll i en vårdnadsöverflytt, både barnets anknytning till de biologiskaföräldrarna såväl som till familjehemsföräldrarna. Även framkom det att beroende påhur hovrätten ser barnets roll i en rättslig process, så varierar tolkningen av barnetsbästa. Hur hovrätten beaktade barnets bästa skiljde sig i de domar som kom att leda tillen vårdnadsöverflytt, kontra de domar som kom att leda till ett avslag i frågan om envårdnadsöverflytt på så sätt att det som ansågs vara barnets bästa, skiljde sig från fall tillfall.

Denna studie avhandlar föräldrars upplevelser gällande sina barns placering i enlighet med lagen med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga, (LVU) 2§. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod, där sju föräldrar intervjuats. Studien undersöker föräldrars upplevelser och därav metodvalet, att kunna ställa respondenternas perspektiv i centrum, i detta avseende deras individuella upplevelser. Studien utgår från teoretiska utgångspunkterna symbolisk interaktionism och intersubjektivitet för att belysa föräldrars upplevelser av att vara förälder till ett placerat barn. Studien belyser även det negativa sociala arvet samt generationstrauma, vilket visar sig i att flera av föräldrarna har erfarenhet av att själva ha utsatts för våld från sina föräldrar och flera har även själva varit familjehemsplacerade som barn. Studiens resultat visade på varierande upplevelser av att få sitt barn placerat enligt 2§ LVU. Flera respondenter beskrev en känsla av att inte uppleva sig själva som förälder förutom under umgänge, andra respondenter ansåg sig själva fortfarande vara föräldrar trots placeringen. De föräldrar som upplevde placeringen som negativ uppgav en känsla av motstånd från familjehemmet samt att bli fråntagen sin roll som förälder. Vissa föräldrar beskrev även en känsla av ambivalens utifrån att de upplevde en viss tacksamhet gentemot familjehemmet trots att föräldern inte samtycker till placeringen. / ABSTRACTThis study deals with parents' experiences regarding the placement of their children in accordance with “lagen med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga, (LVU) 2§”. The study was carried out using a qualitative method, where seven parents were interviewed. The study investigates parents' experiences and hence the choice of method, to be able to place the respondents' perspective in the center, in this respect their individual experiences. The study is based on the theoretical starting points of symbolic interactionism and intersubjectivity to shed light on parents' experiences of being the parent of a placed child. The study also highlights the negative social legacy and generational trauma, which is shown in the fact that several of the parents have experience of having been subjected to violence from their parents themselves and several have also themselves been placed in family homes as children. The results of the study showed different experiences of being seated according to § 2 LVU. Several respondents described a feeling of not experiencing themselves as a parent except during socializing, other respondents still considered themselves to be parents despite the placement. The parents who experienced the placement as negative stated a feeling of resistance from the family home and of being deprived of their role as a parent. Some parents also described a feeling of ambivalence based on the fact that they felt a certain gratitude towards the family home despite the parent not consenting to the placement.

The diploma thesis deals with foster care and contacts with biological parents. The first chapter aims to the importance of family, family ties disorder and the CAN syndrome. The second chapter is focused on the substitute family care and its forms. The third chapter describes the foster care, what are the demands on the personality of the caring person, what the preparation looks like, which are the conditions and course of the foster care. The fourth chapter is focused on the child identity, contacts with biological parents and describes the process of assisted contacts.

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.

The purpose of this thesis was to achieve a deeper knowledge of the dilemma whichcan arise during a social welfare workers judgement of a reunion according to whatis best for the child in relation to a child’s right to their biological parents. Thisbachelor thesis was based on three research questions: What influences a socialwelfare workers judgement of a reunion according to what is best for the child, aswell as children’s right to their biological parents? How does a social welfare workerperceive its leeway during a judgement concerning reunion family reunion? How doesa social welfare worker perceive their authority to interpret according to their leeway?A qualitative study has been used to gain a deeper knowledge according to a socialwelfare workers experience. A hermeneutic approach has been used to answer thepurpose of our bachelor thesis and has contributed to a wider perspective of our study.The focus was to understand the dilemma through evaluating and interpretation. Sixsocial welfare workers participated in the following vignette survey, which werecomplemented with semi-structured questions. The participants have answeredregarding their experience concerning their leeway and authority to interpret the lawaccording to what is best for the child and their entitlement to their biological parents.This bachelor thesis research results show that social welfare workers did possessleeway which implies empowerment to interpret legislation, concepts and varioussituations. This can be seen as a prerequisite for correct decisions to be made duringdaily work. Although, it can also act as a risk since clients may receive differentconclusions depending on the social welfare worker. Furthermore, a conclusion of thethesis is that different judgements are made, even though the contributed informationwas identical. The explanation to these different assessments may relate to the socialwelfare workers leeway and authority to interpret the law, which makes investigatingchildren’s right to their parents and what is best for them even more complex.