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Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Anu-Riina Svenlin, Tiina Lehto-Lundén Pages: 138 - 156 Abstract: Adoption & Fostering, Volume 47, Issue 2, Page 138-156, July 2023. This article presents a synthesis of two PhD studies of Support Family Intervention (SFI) in Finland. This is a service in which volunteer families provide support and respite care to children and parents who are coping with a range of psycho-social challenges by looking after the children for one weekend a month. The aim of this article is to develop a child-centred programme theory (CCPT) of SFI that combines a meta-ethnography-based theory underpinning the use of SFI with evidence of participating children’s lived experiences. The CCPT that emerged is grounded on three elaborations of the programme theory currently informing SFI: a more nuanced description of the child as a stakeholder in the intervention, an investigation into the supportive properties of the environment and the activities provided by the support family to the child and clarification of the function of relationships as a central element of the intervention.Plain language summarySupport Family Intervention is a social work service provided to children and parents in Finland and other Nordic countries. The child receives a voluntary ‘extra’ family whom they visit on a regular basis one weekend every month. At the same time, the parents get time for recovery and rest. In this article we present the results of two doctoral theses. Our focus is on how the support family can be understood from the child’s point of view. We summarise our results in a programme theory that can be used, for example, when the social worker introduces the service to the family. For the child, the home, the support family and the surroundings provide opportunities for many activities. The most important element is the relationship(s) to which the child gets access in the support family. Citation: Adoption & Fostering PubDate: 2023-07-14T07:34:10Z DOI: 10.1177/03085759231176566 Issue No:Vol. 47, No. 2 (2023)
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Authors:Mia Gowan, Nicole Peel, Emma Elcombe, Stacy Blythe Pages: 192 - 210 Abstract: Adoption & Fostering, Volume 47, Issue 2, Page 192-210, July 2023. Practising self-care is vital for foster carers to cope with the stresses of the caring role, provide the best care possible and continue in their task. This current study contributes to emerging research on the self-care practices of foster carers in Australia and worldwide. It used an exploratory design, surveying 148 foster carers about their self-care and conducting individual, semi-structured interviews enabling nine of them to elaborate on their self-care experiences. The results indicate that while the participants sometimes engage in self-care and value it as a way of maintaining their wellbeing and increasing their caregiving capacity, they face several barriers to doing this. These include the multiple responsibilities of the foster carer role, children’s commitments, employment and finances. Facilitators of self-care include social and family support, contact with other carers and carer respite. Foster care agencies and the out-of-home care system should aim to meet the self-care needs of carers by providing increased support, resources and education.Plain language summarySelf-care is important for all individuals and vital for those providing care to children in out-of-home care who often have complex and challenging needs. This study asked 148 foster carers in Australia what they did to practise self-care. Foster carers demonstrated an understanding that self-care is important and a desire to practise regular self-care. However, they identified many barriers to engaging in self-care. This article explains why and how foster carers practise self-care, what prevents self-care from occurring and how to improve foster carers’ self-care practices. Citation: Adoption & Fostering PubDate: 2023-07-14T07:34:08Z DOI: 10.1177/03085759231178034 Issue No:Vol. 47, No. 2 (2023)
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Please help us test our new pre-print finding feature by giving the pre-print link a rating. A 5 star rating indicates the linked pre-print has the exact same content as the published article.
Authors:Jonah Gosling, Jack Purrington Abstract: Adoption & Fostering, Ahead of Print. This service evaluation explored foster carers’ experiences of remotely accessing the children in care consultation model during the Covid-19 pandemic. The service evaluation utilised the Kirkpatrick evaluation model to collect data at four levels (reaction, learning, behaviour and results) and employed a mixed methodology. Participants were foster carers who had accessed remote consultations between June 2020 and June 2021. Thirteen participants completed questionnaires and eight consented to follow-up interviews. Questionnaires were analysed descriptively, and interviews were analysed thematically. Questionnaires demonstrated that most participants felt listened to, felt they could talk about what mattered to them and felt the consultations were the right length. However, some participants were unsure whether the pace and delivery were suitable for them. The thematic analysis highlighted four themes: (1) Reassurance and support: the consultations provided foster carers with reassurance and support that underpinned their current actions and aided their working relationships with other professionals; (2) Approach and understanding: the sessions provided foster carers with both specific and general approaches to challenges and enhanced their understanding; (3) Online consultation approval/disapproval: foster carers had mixed views regarding the remote delivery, but most valued this; (4) Behaviour change: following consultation, most foster carers experienced a change in behaviour within the household. Recommendations are discussed.Plain language summaryIt is recognised that foster carers play a unique role for children in care and that the nature of this role often requires specialised support. One format of specialised support for foster carers is the children in care consultation model. The consultation model allows for the exploration of the difficulties being experienced by the child in care and the needs of the foster carers supporting them. During the Covid-19 pandemic several services began administering these consultations remotely via videoconferencing communication platforms. This shift towards digital ways of working has also continued post-pandemic and many services continue to engage in remotely delivered practices. However, foster carers’ experiences of accessing these consultations remotely have not yet been investigated. Therefore, this evaluation aimed to explore foster carers’ experiences of remotely accessing the children in care consultation model. Participants were foster carers who accessed remote consultations between June 2020 and July 2021. Thirteen foster carers completed a questionnaire with eight of these volunteering to be interviewed. The questionnaire data revealed that foster carers predominantly felt listened to, felt that they could talk about what mattered to them and felt the consultations were an appropriate length. Most foster carers felt that the consultations covered enough material, were accessible and that they would recommend them to others. However, some foster carers were unsure whether the pace and delivery were suitable for them. The interview data produced four main themes: (1) Reassurance and support; (2) Carer approaches and understanding; (3) Online consultation approval/disapproval; and (4) Behaviour change. Overall, these responses were consistent with the interpretation that remote consultations appear to be predominantly feasible and acceptable to foster carers. Implications are discussed. Citation: Adoption & Fostering PubDate: 2023-06-19T08:49:04Z DOI: 10.1177/03085759231178315
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Authors:Claire Elizabeth Palmer, Amanda Coffey, Alyson Rees Abstract: Adoption & Fostering, Ahead of Print. This article explores the motivations and decision-making processes of parents who adopt older children from the UK care system. It draws on interview data from parents from 14 adoptive families to consider what influenced their decision to adopt an older child. Data were analysed thematically, and the analysis was theoretically informed by the concept of adoption as a ‘marketplace’. The study shows how prospective adoptive parents can be influenced in their decision-making by the information they have been given or perceive about the state of the adoption marketplace and indicates that making choices and decisions around the characteristics of future children is often an uncomfortable aspect of the process. The participants cited moral reasoning and notions of fate as key factors influencing their decisions. The article concludes by making recommendations for practice.Plain language summaryIn this research, parents from 14 families who adopted older children (children aged four and over when they moved into their adoptive home), were asked about why they made the decision to adopt an older child. This is important, as older children are often more difficult to find adoptive homes for than younger children. We found that the messages given in adoption preparation courses and by social workers influenced parents’ thoughts around the child or children that they went on to adopt. Parents in the study highlighted that making choices and citing preferences around the characteristics of their future child or children was an uncomfortable part of the adoption process. Several parents saw adopting an older child as a way to provide a permanent home for a child that might not otherwise have this chance. Many spoke of the strong sense of connection they felt to their new child, even before they had met them. Ways to improve practice are noted. Citation: Adoption & Fostering PubDate: 2023-06-15T08:50:33Z DOI: 10.1177/03085759231174906
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Authors:Sarah Lloyd Abstract: Adoption & Fostering, Ahead of Print. BUSS® (Building Underdeveloped Sensorimotor Systems) is an innovative treatment model for children who have experienced developmental trauma. It is based on an understanding that just as a baby needs responsive, attuned and empathic relationships to grow and develop psychologically, attention needs to be given to the impact of the absence of these kinds of relationships on a child’s bodily development and regulation. The premise underpinning BUSS® is that these two processes – the need for an attuned caregiver and the progression through predictable stages of motor development – are inextricably linked; one cannot happen without the other. A case study is used to illustrate this innovation in practice, its frame of reference, methods and evaluation. Improvements were seen in physical development, parent–child relationships, cognitive functioning, self-esteem and confidence in parenting capacity. Consideration is given to how this model fits alongside therapies for children who have experienced developmental trauma and their families. This early evidence suggests that BUSS® is a clinically effective and cost-effective intervention that has positive benefits on physical and psychological development for children who have been impacted by early trauma. Further research will be required to establish both the consistency of outcomes and the mechanisms underlying its efficacy, especially in relation to psychological changes.Plain Language SummaryBabies need predictable, loving care to develop physically and emotionally. They need the grown-ups in their lives to protect them from harm or stress. As newborns, babies are entirely dependent on those adult relationships for their survival – they can’t feed themselves and they don’t have control of their head or limbs. They need to be held, carried, cared for and played with to grow into their bodies, so that by the end of the first year of life, they’re able to move around and are beginning to explore their world and the people in it. Babies in frightening or stressful situations (during pregnancy and once they’re born), miss out on these crucial experiences and, as a result, the normal development of their brain and central nervous system is disrupted. This affects how children move and the sense they have of themselves and their bodies – what we call bodily regulation. Good bodily regulation is knowing where our body is without having to think about it, knowing how much pressure or force to use when we’re doing something like giving someone a hug or hanging our coat up on a peg. It’s knowing that our arms and legs will work together in a helpful way when we’re running or climbing.We’re much more used to thinking about how early adversity affects a child’s emotional or psychological wellbeing, and we haven’t paid as much attention to how this affects bodily regulation. BUSS® is designed to bridge that gap – where there has been disruption to these earliest stages of development it’s possible to go back and fill in those touch, nurture and movement experiences that have been missed. This paper explores the BUSS® model and hears from a parent about their experience of using the model with their child. Citation: Adoption & Fostering PubDate: 2023-06-15T08:44:40Z DOI: 10.1177/03085759231174902
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Authors:Julie Selwyn, Shirley Lewis Abstract: Adoption & Fostering, Ahead of Print. Research reviews of the contact arrangements for children in care have highlighted gaps in evidence. Using data from 9,316 looked after children in England and Wales aged four to 18 years, the analysis aimed to gain an understanding of children’s views of their contact arrangements. Data came from the Your Life, Your Care wellbeing surveys distributed by 42 English and Welsh local authorities between 2016 and 2020. The analysis confirmed some previous findings but challenged others. While previous UK research has emphasised that the quality of contact is more important than frequency, from the young people’s perspective frequency was equally important. Most children wanted more contact with specific individuals (and their pets) to understand why decisions had been made and wanted contact to be normalised and in the community at times to suit their and their family’s circumstances. Children in kinship placements more frequently had contact, but a quarter of the sample had no parental contact. Being in residential care, male and of an ethnic minority background were associated with dissatisfaction. Life satisfaction was not associated with whether parental contact was or was not occurring but was statistically associated with whether young people felt their contact arrangements were ‘Just right’. Recommendations for improving practice and a tool to help agencies audit their services have been developed.Plain language summaryProfessionals and the courts determine how often children and young people in care see or speak to members of their family. This study used a survey to ask over 9,000 children in care (aged between four and 18 years old) whether they were happy with their contact arrangements. Most children wanted to see their family, including brothers and sisters, more often. They also wanted to see other people who were important to them and their pets. Many children felt they did not understand why decisions had been made and wanted to see their family in the community and not in contact centres. Children who lived with a foster carer who was also a relative more frequently had contact with their families. Those who lived in residential care, were male or were from an ethnic minority background more frequently reported that they saw their families too little. However, satisfaction with contact was not linked to whether it was or was not occurring but whether children felt the frequency was ‘Just right’. For some children this meant no contact at all. Ways to improve practice are described. Citation: Adoption & Fostering PubDate: 2023-05-22T05:52:54Z DOI: 10.1177/03085759231170879
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Authors:Roger Bullock Abstract: Adoption & Fostering, Ahead of Print.
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