In Italy, family fostering is in most cases a voluntary service where foster parents are non-professional helpers. About half of the foster parents are couples with children of their own, which makes fostering a “family enterprise.” Within growing attention to children’s voices in research, the paper focuses on children living foster care (as children in care and as foster parents’ children) and the ways they engage in constructing their family landscape. So far, the point of view of the two groups has been considered separately. Although their life trajectories are highly specific, a cross-cutting perspective on family involving the two groups of children can offer new insights on their experiences of family construction and belonging. Starting from a conceptual framework that sees kinship and family as emerging from practices where family actors—including children—are actively engaged, the article presents the main results of interview research involving 69 children and youth who currently live in foster families in Italy, as children in care and as biological children of the foster parents. The results highlight the intense work children do in constructing and naming family ties, in displaying their family in social contexts, and in learning about themselves, the family, and their multiple belongings throughout foster care.
PIPPI est un programme national de recherche, formation et intervention basé sur une prise en charge multi-professionnelle intensive des familles négligentes en Italie. Le but est de prévenir le placement de l’enfant à partir d’un travail articulant les facteurs de risque et de protection, fondé sur le soutien aux parents et la promotion de la résilience. PIPPI, inspiré par la bien connue résilience de Fifi Brindacier (figure littéraire créée par Astrid Lindgren), se focalise en particulier sur la négligence parentale. La construction du projet s’appuie sur un logiciel, RPMonline, qui en Italien signifie : « Évaluation, Projet et Suivi ». Le logiciel est basé sur le modèle multidimensionnel « Le Monde de l’enfant », traduction adaptée du Assessment Framework britannique. Dans cet article, nous proposons une analyse quantitative et qualitative des évaluations qui mettent en évidence les ressources familiales de 600 enfants vivant dans 453 familles négligentes ayant participé à la troisième édition d’implantation du programme en 2014-2015.
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