"This book will force a reappraisal of the potential of long-term foster care and what it may be able to offer vulnerable children. Gillian Schofield’s sensitive research reveals how the lives of many adults have been touched for good by their belonging to foster families. The lesson of this book is that long-term foster care should have a valued place in any serious strategy to serve children needing long-term care." Professor Robbie Gilligan, Director, Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College, Dublin
What does it mean to be part of a foster family? Can long-term fostering really meet a child’s needs for a “family for life”?
This book is based on the intriguing and often moving stories of 40 young adults who were fostered long-term and describes the varied pathways that children can take through foster care and into adult life. While some settled in their first placement, others took longer to reach a family where they could belong. But whatever the route, it was common for foster parents to be active grandparents and for family rituals around Christmas, graduations, and weddings to be shared into adult life and beyond.
This study raises important questions about family relationships and their meaning. Are children who remain fostered long-term “languishing” in care or are they, in fact, at home with their “real” family? What made some experiences successful and some less so? Grouping the experiences of the young people into seven different (but over-lapping) pathways, the author sets up the framework for an analysis which draws on developmental theories such as attachment and resilience.
The final section sets out implications for practice, and locates the study within current debates about fostering, adoption and planning for children. Gillian Schofield puts forward some key messages that will inform understanding of how long-term foster care as a system can be valued and supported in the future.
Contents
Part I Introduction, Background
The study: design and methodology
Part II Pathways, described by the author as:
Close and special; Testing out; Distant and self-reliant; Anxious and fearful; Breakdown and rebuilding; Rescue, relief and recovery; Hurt, angry and disappointed
Part III Conclusions and implications for practice
The significance of a secure base: a psychosocial model of long-term foster care
