Adoption & Fostering

Although an understanding of the lived experience of foster care relationships can provide valuable information to guide social work practice and policy, few such studies have been carried out. This article presents findings from a qualitative investigation exploring experiences of relationships between foster carers and the young people in their care. Eight care-experienced young people and nine foster carers participated in interviews and focus groups. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to explore their experiences. The insider’s perspective was further amplified through engaging peer researchers with experience of fostering relationships – one a young person who had been in care, the other a long-term carer. Two overarching themes were identified. Firstly, participants made sense of fostering relationships through comparisons with birth family ones, particularly in relation to the impact of care systems, continuing biological family relationships and foster care language. Secondly, previous experiences created barriers to forming positive fostering relationships, but when these were overcome the experience could be life changing. The implications of these findings for social care policy regarding foster carer support, training and matching guidelines are discussed.

Fostering agencies face increasing challenges recruiting and retaining foster carers while the number of children requiring foster placements continues to rise annually. This Northern Ireland study used qualitative methods with 11 foster carers to understand: if they had any expectation of support from family and friends in the role; and where this was available, whether it promoted their resilience in continuing as foster carers. Most foster carers in the study reported experiencing positive input from family, with a few exceptions. Carers’ adult children were considered particularly helpful, with some becoming advocates for fostering. While a number of the carers experienced good support from friends, a clear understanding of the fostering role at critical times, including during the carers’ life stages, was key to the experience of support from both family or friends. All participating foster carers were female. Implications for practice include examining opportunities for developing and facilitating the support potential of adult children, extended family and friends. These could include focused information and tailored training, together with creative user-led approaches for organisations to harness this under-utilised yet fundamental support.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the leading non-genetic cause of developmental disability in Canada. It poses many challenges at the individual, family and societal levels. This study explores adoptive parents’ experiences of having a child with FASD in their family and how these experiences impact family well-being and, specifically, parenting, family dynamics, sources of support and coping strategies. Using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adoptive parents of children with FASD. Four main themes emerged, each with several subthemes: (1) managing individuals with FASD; (2) navigating family cohesion; (3) psychological warfare; and (4) experiences of supports. Findings showed how FASD affects all aspects of family life and has a constant and cumulative effect on the family’s well-being. Hope, community and parents feeling successful in their efforts were found to have strong connections to well-being.

This qualitative retrospective recall study utilised nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews with adoptive mothers involved with an online support group often used by adoptive parents facing difficulties. The aim was to explore their transition to adoptive motherhood. The study was unusual because it covered a lengthy period, from pre-adoption and the motivation to adopt to 12 months post child placement and used Reflexive Thematic Analysis to analyse the data. Findings include the mothers’ sense of misaligned expectation, uncertainty, powerlessness, isolation, and emotional and physical fatigue. The most prominent findings centred on the high level of mental health issues reported by the mothers which included post-adoption depression, anxiety and trauma. New insights are discussed along with implications for future research and practice, along with the limitations of the study.

This article recounts the life history of a severely disabled child and the experience of his parents in dealing with a range of health, educational and social services as he moved to adulthood. It indicates features of multi-agency services that proved helpful and makes recommendations about service design and delivery. Particular attention is given to the role of respite care within a complex package of interventions.

The rise of obesity among the UK’s child population has become a serious public health issue. Looked after children (LAC) have been highlighted as a vulnerable group, with increased health needs compared to other children and young people from comparable socio-economic backgrounds. Among the risks of serious complications related to obesity in children and young adults are cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, lipid abnormalities, sleep apnoea and musculoskeletal disorders. This health note summarises findings from a recent cross-sectional study of 14 children in five residential care homes in one UK local authority.