Books, booklets & multimedia

Delivering Foster Care

	Price: £10.00	BAAF, December 1999 ISBN 978-1-873868-80-5

"It makes excellent recommendations for the future of the service."
Gerri McAndrew, Executive Director, NFCA

Based on a study prompted by the perceived inadequate supply of carers and issues of recruitment and retention, this book discusses comprehensively the changing nature of fostering from the perspective of foster carers and local authority fostering services.

The authors set out to examine the characteristics, motives and social circumstances of active and former foster carers; seek explanations concerning their retention and loss; describe the experience of fostering, including contact issues between parents and children; and evaluate post-placement support and general experiences of the fostering service.

The book also identifies the policies, structures and organisation of local authorities with respect to fostering, including their fostering needs, recruitment approaches, the preparation, assessment and training of carers, post-placement support to children and carers, the assessment of children and the matching processes followed, as well as the financial arrangements and monitoring mechanisms in place.

For those planning or reviewing their fostering services, this key study points to many areas for improvement. It also offers specific recommendations for all involved in the process of how the service can move forwards. Throughout, foster carers contribute tellingly to the discussion.