Abstract
Foster care is a challenging enterprise for all those involved in its delivery, be they birth parent, foster child, foster family member or the social worker upon whose direction the placement is made. As demands on foster care become more and more complex the burden on the system to create placements within which a ‘looked after’ child can flourish is increasingly difficult. This becomes more apparent as the bounds of foster care are pushed far beyond its original scope without attendant research into placement outcomes to support carers and social workers in their practice. High profile cases such as the ‘Baby P’ case in the UK and the Roscommon case in Ireland, intensify the pressure on practitioners to recognize early when a child needs out-of-home care and to ensure that the alternative care provided will meet the child’s needs for therapeutic placement which supports either long-term care or family reunion. This is coupled with the lack of appropriate care settings within which to place children that can cope with such demands, and has resulted in a system that is globally under siege because of a growing lack of resources and investment in child welfare services.
Against this backdrop, when many of those involved in the system are wondering if foster care works a book entitled How Does Foster Care Work? is to be welcomed. It includes a gallery of experienced commentators and researchers well known to both foster carers and social workers internationally. The book is rooted in primary research and presents empirical evidence of international outcome studies which service providers can draw on to inform how they may offer functioning placements to children in need of foster care within their own jurisdiction. At the macro level the book deals with both policy and practice and also considers the relevant legislative underpinnings of each study whilst bringing to centre stage the impact all of this has on the life chances of fostered children.
The book is divided into four parts dealing with different stages of the life course of foster care. Its fifteen chapters, plus introduction by James Whittaker and conclusion by the editors, present a comprehensive read that, while academic in its approach, provides an interesting overview of current research across a number of countries ranging from the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark as well as the English speaking countries. The subjects extend from the broader issues of the profile of foster care in Spain (del Valle and López, Chapter 5) to the practical issue dealt with in a Canadian study, as to whether tutoring by foster parents can improve foster children’s academic skills (Flynn, Paquet and Marquis, Chapter 14). The book also deals with issues including how the concept of foster care is interpreted and delivered in different countries and whether or not we view it as a ‘first response’ or ‘last resort’.
As well as examining emerging trends in foster care the book underscores the work of earlier researchers, such as Rowe and Lambert (1973), in the introduction whilst making the point that the profile of children needing out-of-home care has altered and research must keep up-to-date with changes. In Chapter 9, Pecora et al., in a US-based study of mental, emotional and behavioural disorders, provide insights into the key underlying factors that have contributed to the shifting profile of children currently entering the care system, whilst the following chapter 10, by Sinclair, examines what amounts to ‘effective’ foster care from a UK perspective.
The book examines a range of issues explored through empirical research by well-known authors such as Gilligan, Strijker and Thoburn. It is a book written by social scientists for social scientists and as such may perhaps be open to criticism in that the academic tone may be off-putting for busy practitioners. This is also a timely book dealing with both the macro and micro dimensions of foster care policy and practice. In this context, it should be on required reading lists for social work students: it is also likely to be a very useful reference point for foster carers, social workers and programme managers.