Foster carers look after two-thirds of the children cared for by English local authorities at any one time. The recruitment and retention of these carers is one of these authorities’ central concerns. Against this background, Foster Carers examines the joys, sadnesses and strains of fostering, the support carers want and need, and the reasons why they continue or cease fostering.
Drawing on questionnaire responses from a thousand foster carers across seven different local authorities, the authors highlight the importance of providing support that:
* is adapted to the carers’ families
* contains the basic elements of reasonable payment, relevant training and reliable social work support
* responds sensitively to serious crises and treats carers as part of a team
* meets the specific needs of carers such as carers’ groups and relief breaks.
Foster Carers forms one part of the largest recent study into foster care in the UK. It is an invaluable resource for policy makers and practitioners, as well as local authorities formulating policies for the support and training needed by foster carers, and is essential reading for social work professionals, academics and foster carers themselves.
Tabella dei contenuti
Acknowledgements. 1. Background and introduction. 2. Who are the carers? 3. Kinds of fostering. 4. Strains and satisfactions. 5. Who finds it easiest to foster? 6. Stressful `events’ for foster carers. 7. Informal and formal support. 8. Continuing and ceasing to foster. 9. Explaining outcomes: putting the variables together. 10. Conclusion. Appendix 1: Sample representativeness. Appendix 2: Census pro-forma. Appendix 3: Kinship carers. References. Subject Index. Author Index.
Circa l’autore
Ian Gibbs is a research consultant at the SWRDU at the University of York. His main area of research is looked after children, particularly those in residential care and foster care.
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