Adoption & Fostering

This article by Derek Kirton and Cliff Thomas draws from a local evaluation of a multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) programme in England, focusing particularly on issues of implementation. These include experiences of working with the Oregon Social Learning model on which MTFC is based, its theory, philosophy and practices. The article also considers the translation of this model into a UK context and the associated questions of adaptation and fidelity. The challenges of multidisciplinary teamwork and interagency collaboration within MTFC are explored, along with the latter's place within wider child welfare provision. Particular challenges highlighted are those of transitions into and from MTFC and the role of children's social workers. Albeit from a small-scale study and with inevitable variation in outcomes, it was found that MTFC achieved significant gains for a number of young people with complex needs and often troubled histories. This, in turn, raises questions about how far its theory and practice could or should be extended within foster care provision.

Looked after children continue to perform poorly at school compared to their peers and care leavers are at increased risk of unemployment and poverty. Although there is a growing body of research on their education and recent studies have identified the factors associated with successful educational outcomes, less attention has been paid to whether, and if so how, the majority of children finishing Key Stage 4¹ with disappointing qualifications may be supported to make up any educational deficit beyond compulsory school-leaving age (currently 16 in the UK). Care leavers can exhibit remarkable resilience and leaving care may be an opportunity for positive change. Jennifer Driscoll reports on a small pilot study which explored young people's own accounts and explanations in relation to their educational experiences and attainment, together with their attitudes to and engagement with education, particularly with regard to their aspirations and motivation to persevere with it. The challenges for schools in providing support to young people who are notoriously self-reliant and resistant to accepting help are considered in the context of current tensions in educational policy.

Paul Adams and Sarah Bevan report on research looking at ‘mother and baby’ fostering in three fostering agencies within the North West London Fostering Consortium. The study takes a qualitative approach, using semi-structured face-to-face interviews with eight mother and baby foster carers and analysing the data using a thematic approach. This is supplemented with a brief questionnaire completed by the three participating local authority fostering services. The findings reveal that at times the demand for mother and baby fostering is high, and in the majority of cases agencies seek to identify carers to meet specific needs as they arise, rather than assessing general mother and baby foster carers in advance. From the carers' perspective, factors that contribute to successful placements include clarity about their roles, good social work practice in planning and supporting the placement, and mothers who are positive about being there. Additionally, foster carers need to be able to recognise and manage the distinct needs of both the mother and the baby, and they suggest that educational provision and post-placement support are crucial. Mother and baby carers in particular note the importance to them of peer support networks.

Jael Hill describes the work of a specialist wraparound service for looked after children who present significant risks to themselves and others and/or are vulnerable to being harmed. She explores the nature of risk as a process which acquires form and meaning in working contexts and proposes that there can be significant costs to young people when risk-averse responses dominate, and that children are likely to benefit from services which expect, tolerate, understand and skilfully work with risks. The article describes approaches to working directly with young people, discusses ways of supporting workers to accept and cope with risky behaviours and looks at safely holding the emotions that drive some professionals and agencies hoping to eliminate risky behaviours.

The relationship between foster children and carers' own offspring has been investigated in many studies within foster care. However, while general patterns and outcomes have been established, the explanations underlying this relationship are more likely to be found in the common themes of smaller studies based on psychological theories published in academic and professional journals. This review by Hayley Thompson and Susan McPherson examines 14 published articles describing 12 different research studies, all exploring the experience of living with foster siblings, as described by the birth children of foster carers. These 12 studies include primarily qualitative evidence, although four also use forced choice and open response questionnaires. Taken together, the studies reviewed reflect the experiences of 1,102 children, aged between three and 32 years. They discuss the positive gains of fostering, the experience of loss, the conflict experienced, the transitions made and ways in which children manage the foster sibling relationship. These findings are discussed in relation to psychological theories, and proposals for future research and clinical practice are outlined. Conclusions are also drawn about the contribution of small-scale studies published in journals in disseminating research findings about fostered children.

Despite the wealth of literature on foster care, limited attention has been given to investigating the subjective, everyday experiences of the carers themselves. Lauren Pickin, Vivienne Brunsden and Rowena Hill report on research into the emotional experiences of foster carers using the photovoice method as reconfigured for psychological research (Brunsden and Goatcher, 2007). The resultant visual and verbal data were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (Smith and Osborn, 2003). Five super-ordinate themes emerged: ‘Angry frustration’, ‘Promoting security and well-being’, ‘An ambiguous life’, ‘The impact of the children’ and ‘Coping?’. The research provides a greater understanding of the emotional needs of foster carers and has practical implications in terms of provision for their support.