When Family Becomes the Job: Fostering Practice in Denmark

This article by Christian Christrup Kjeldsen and Marianne Bruhn Kjeldsen discusses the provision of foster care in Denmark and considers the results of recent domestic studies of foster carers as well as current debates and changes concerning the substitute care of children. It suggests that Denmark's emphasis on preventative services and the low use of adoption influence the characteristics of children who enter the care system because the separation from their families of children who are at risk of harm is delayed. It is also the case that despite Denmark's reputation as a welfare-oriented state, the fostering system displays many tensions and difficulties similar to those reported in the UK and US. Some of these problems can be attributed to the role afforded to foster carers, especially the requirement not to get too attached to the children, and the division of responsibility between professionals and carers. As a result, it is argued that some children in need of long-term emotional care miss out and their placements disrupt unnecessarily.

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A Comparison of Foster Care Reentry After Adoption in Two Large U.S. States

Research on Social Work Practice ◽

10.1177/1049731518783857 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 153-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Nancy Rolock ◽

Kevin R. White ◽

Kerrie Ocasio ◽

Lixia Zhang ◽

Michael J. MacKenzie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Foster Care ◽

Administrative Data ◽

Survival Models ◽

Adoptive Families ◽

Long Term Stability ◽

Provision Of Services ◽

Services And Supports ◽

Age Of Majority

Purpose: This study examines foster care reentry after adoption, in Illinois and New Jersey. The provision of services and supports to adoptive families have garnered recent attention due to concern about the long-term stability of adoptive homes. Method: This study used administrative data to examine the pre-adoption characteristics associated with post-adoption foster care reentry. Children were tracked longitudinally, using administrative data, for five to fifteen years (depending on their date of adoption), or the age of majority. Results: Results indicated that most (95%) children did not reenter foster care after adoption. Findings from survival models suggested key covariates that may help to identify children most at risk for post-adoption reentry: child race, age at adoption, number of placement moves in foster care, and time spent in foster care prior to adoption. Conclusion: Study findings may help identify families most at-risk for post-adoption difficulties in order to develop preventative adoption service.

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Protocol for the economic evaluation of a complex intervention to improve the mental health of maltreated infants and children in foster care in the UK (The BeST? services trial)

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020066 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. e020066 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Manuela Deidda ◽

Kathleen Anne Boyd ◽

Helen Minnis ◽

Julia Donaldson ◽

Kevin Brown ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

Health Economic ◽

Economic Evaluation ◽

Foster Care ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Health Research ◽

Public Health Research ◽

The Uk

IntroductionChildren who have experienced abuse and neglect are at increased risk of mental and physical health problems throughout life. This places an enormous burden on individuals, families and society in terms of health services, education, social care and judiciary sectors. Evidence suggests that early intervention can mitigate the negative consequences of child maltreatment, exerting long-term positive effects on the health of maltreated children entering foster care. However, evidence on cost-effectiveness of such complex interventions is limited. This protocol describes the first economic evaluation of its kind in the UK.Methods and analysisAn economic evaluation alongside the Best Services Trial (BeST?) has been prospectively designed to identify, measure and value key resource and outcome impacts arising from the New Orleans intervention model (NIM) (an infant mental health service) compared with case management (CM) (enhanced social work services as usual). A within-trial economic evaluation and long-term model from a National Health Service/Personal Social Service and a broader societal perspective will be undertaken alongside the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)–Public Health Research Unit (PHRU)-funded randomised multicentre BeST?. BeST? aims to evaluate NIM compared with CM for maltreated children entering foster care in a UK context. Collection of Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the recent mapping of PedsQL to EuroQol-5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) will facilitate the estimation of quality-adjusted life years specific to the infant population for a cost–utility analysis. Other effectiveness outcomes will be incorporated into a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-consequences analysis (CCA). A long-term economic model and multiple economic evaluation frameworks will provide decision-makers with a comprehensive, multiperspective guide regarding cost-effectiveness of NIM. The long-term population health economic model will be developed to synthesise trial data with routine linked data and key government sector parameters informed by literature. Methods guidance for population health economic evaluation will be adopted (lifetime horizon, 1.5% discount rate for costs and benefits, CCA framework, multisector perspective).Ethics and disseminationEthics approval was obtained by the West of Scotland Ethics Committee. Results of the main trial and economic evaluation will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal as well as published in the peer-reviewed NIHR journals library (Public Health Research Programme).Trial registration numberNCT02653716; Pre-results.

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The Salience of Islam to Muslim Heritage Children’s Experiences of Identity, Family, and Well-Being in Foster Care

Religions ◽

10.3390/rel12060381 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 381

Author(s):

Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor ◽

Alison Halford ◽

Mphatso Boti Phiri

Keyword(s):

Foster Care ◽

Social Workers ◽

Case Studies ◽

Well Being ◽

Human Beings ◽

Life Outcomes ◽

Sense Of Security ◽

Muslim Culture ◽

Care System

All children need permanent and secure homes in which they can explore their identities and evolve as human beings, citizens, and family members, and within which can they have a sense of security, continuity, stability, and belonging. There are approximately 4500 children of Muslim heritage in the care system in England and Wales, and this number is increasing. Using case studies that emerged from qualitative fieldwork, this article examines the role and impact of religion on children’s journeys through the care system, particularly in foster care. This article concludes that irrespective of the level of engagement Muslim heritage children in the care system have with their religious heritage, Islam has an enduring impact on how they perceive their identities. As a result, there is a pressing need for social workers and foster carers who care for these children to gain greater insights into Islam and Muslim culture. Such insights and understandings will help children settle faster and form stronger bonds of attachment with their foster carers, and in the long term, this will enhance life outcomes for these children.

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A European Survey of the Number and Characteristics of Children Less than Three Years Old in Residential Care at Risk of Harm

Adoption & Fostering ◽

10.1177/030857590502900405 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 23-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Kevin Browne

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Foster Care ◽

Young Children ◽

Residential Care ◽

Normal Brain ◽

Medical Problems ◽

Attachment Disorder ◽

Family Foster Care ◽

Emergency Measure

Research evidence increasingly suggests that young children in residential care without parents are at risk of harm in terms of attachment disorder, developmental delay and normal brain development. This damage caused by early privation of parenting has been shown to have long-term consequences. Kevin Browne and colleagues* report on a survey of 33 European countries that was conducted to identify the number and characteristics of children aged less than three years placed in residential care without their parents for more than three months during the year ending 31 December 2003. Ministries of Health in Europe were asked for official data. For the 31 countries who responded it was estimated that 23,099 children (11.2 per 10,000) aged less than three years were living in institutions. There was great variation between countries for the proportion of young children in institutions and family foster care. Although residential care was shown to cost on average three times as much as foster care, 33 per cent of countries had more young children in institutions than fostered. Those countries with lower GDP and health expenditure had larger proportions of young children in institutions associated mainly with abandonment, disability and medical problems. Only four per cent of children were biological orphans with deceased parents. It is recommended that no child less than three years should be placed in residential care without a parent. Even when high-quality institutions are used as an emergency measure, research has suggested that a child should be moved into family foster care as soon as possible.

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Christian Spirituality and the Well-being Agenda.

Journal of Youth and Theology ◽

10.1163/24055093-90000024 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 45-60

Author(s):

Nash Pimlott

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Young People ◽

Social Problems ◽

Well Being ◽

Christian Spirituality ◽

Spiritual Dimension ◽

The Uk

This article discusses demonization and toxicity as illustrative of the life of young people in the UK. It offers definitions of well-being and the role of spirituality within this. We propose that unless the underlying well-being of young people is taken seriously, improved upon and re-imagined, then the challenges some young people encounter will develop into long-term problems well into adulthood. Furthermore, those young people who have relatively few challenges and problems will be at risk of being contaminated by the assault upon their well-being resulting in damage to them that will manifest itself in personal, communal and social problems. We argue that without the spiritual dimension, however, constructs, policy and approaches to well-being are lacking.

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Families who recurrently lose children into care: How can professionals support mothers?

Journal of Health Visiting ◽

10.12968/johv.2020.8.1.18 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 18-22

Author(s):

Belinda Hannah ◽

Louise Condon

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Subsequent Pregnancy ◽

Number Of Children ◽

English Speaking ◽

The Uk ◽

Care System

The number of children entering the care system in English-speaking countries is increasing, with almost one in four women who have lost a child to care returning to court with a subsequent pregnancy. Currently, there is no statutory obligation in the UK to support women whose children have been taken into care or to prevent recurrent losses. Understanding which women are most at risk of losing their children and the possible reasons behind these losses is the first step to preventing them recurring. This article identifies the steps that can be taken to support women at risk of recurrently losing children to care.

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Foster Children and Deviance Risks After Emancipation

Global Perspectives on People, Process, and Practice in Criminal Justice ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-6646-6.ch013 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 214-225

Author(s):

Gianna M. Strube

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Foster Care ◽

Foster Children ◽

Deviant Behavior ◽

Legal Protection ◽

Aging Out ◽

Research Methodologies ◽

Foster Care System ◽

The Subject ◽

Care System

The subject of this chapter is how foster children may become at risk of displaying deviant behavior after emancipation from care. The chapter argues that there is a special need to provide for young people's legal protection and care after emancipation. The chapter then highlights the issues surrounding of foster children being abused and neglected, aging out of the system, and the programs offered as they overcome certain measures during their adolescent years. This research advocates for foster children in this category and outlines how their deviant behavior is perceived and defined and asks if this perception is just a stereotype. The research methodologies included interviews from those involved in the foster care system, in addition to literature and research from professional foster agencies.

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