Although there have been a number of studies carried out over the years about various characteristics of foster parents, most of them have been undertaken in the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom. Very little research has been done in Australia about foster care in general, recruiting foster parents, or about foster parents of intellectually handicapped children. This lack of Australian research raises questions as to whether findings of studies in other countries can be generalised to all foster care situations. It cannot automatically be assumed, for example, that the Australian foster parent population is the same as abroad, and yet for years workers in Australia have tended to rely on overseas statistics as a basis for decisions on foster care.
