“We felt completely left to ourselves.” Foster parents' views on placement disruption

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons for unintended placement disruptions in foster care. Based on a semistructured survey, the paper presents the views of 132 Norwegian foster parents who have experienced placement disruption between 2013 and 2015. Foster parents rated several relevant causes of placement disruption: the child's behaviour, the need for care, concern for the well-being of their biological children, and lack of support from the Child Welfare Service (CWS).Although the child's behaviour was the cause most frequently reported in the quantitative data, CWS-related factors such as poor collaboration, not being valued and listened to, insufficient support and follow-up, and a mismatch between the child's needs and the foster carers' capacity were reported most frequently in the qualitative data. Placement disruption appears to be caused by the sum and interaction of several coexisting causes. It may not be the child's behaviour per se but rather the combination of challenging behaviour, concern for one's biological children, and insufficient support from CWS that lead to disruption. Good collaboration with the CWS in the form of respect, recognition, support, and follow-up appears to be of the utmost importance in reducing the risk of placement disruption. KEYWORDS biological children, child welfare, externalizing behaviour, follow-up and support, foster care, placement disruption | BACKGROUNDThe Norwegian CWS is embedded in a welfare state model that provides numerous universal welfare services to its citizens. Within this welfare state model, the CWS is responsible for services to particularly vulnerable children and their families. The Norwegian child welfare system is both a child-focused and a family service system

Internalizing Symptom Profiles Among Youth in Foster Care: A Comparison Study

“…Prior exposure to maltreatment may be a leading factor in why youth in foster care are at a higher risk of belonging to the high symptom profile. Moreover, features within the foster care system itself may unintentionally contribute to a further increase in mental health problems in general, including internalizing problems-for instance, the consequences of a match or mismatch between the characteristics, needs, and capacities of the youth and the foster parents may affect a "failed" or "successful" placement (77,78). The experience of foster parents, with follow-up and support from the childprotective services is identified to be essential in reducing the risk of placement disruption (78).…”

“…Moreover, features within the foster care system itself may unintentionally contribute to a further increase in mental health problems in general, including internalizing problems-for instance, the consequences of a match or mismatch between the characteristics, needs, and capacities of the youth and the foster parents may affect a "failed" or "successful" placement (77,78). The experience of foster parents, with follow-up and support from the childprotective services is identified to be essential in reducing the risk of placement disruption (78). Other systemic biases may therefore be placement instability and a high turnover among case workers, which can contribute to feelings of loneliness and a low or insecure sense of belonging.…”

Foster parents' experiences of using child mental health and welfare services in Norway: Associations with youth, placement, and service characteristics

“…Therefore, we cannot infer youths' perceptions from their foster parents' responses. However, foster parents' experiences are important in their own right as foster parents are also users of youth and family services and depend on sufficient service support to provide nurturing and stable homes for youths in their care (Benesh & Cui, 2017; Tonheim & Iversen, 2018). Furthermore, as this is a cross‐sectional study, we cannot determine cause and effect, only associations.…”

“…As foster parents are crucial agents for enabling positive change in foster children (Fernandez, 2007; Minnis & Del Priori, 2001), it is important to gain knowledge about their service experiences. Moreover, their ability to provide supportive care is affected by their interactions with service providers (Benesh & Cui, 2017; Geiger, Piel, & Julien‐Chinn, 2017), and a lack of support from child welfare services (CWS) and health services seems to increase the risk of placement breakdowns (Khoo & Skoog, 2014; Rhodes, Orme, & Buehler, 2001; Tonheim & Iversen, 2018).…”

Foster father identity: A theoretical framework

“…Foster fathers who have biological or adopted children in the home or who are now adults and no longer live within the foster home also will have a different fostering experience than those with no biological or adopted children. Tonheim and Iversen (2019) found that the presence of biological or adopted children often influence placement decisions such as the ages and genders of the children placed in the home or the decisions to continue or discontinue a placement when behavioral issues arise.…”