Child Welfare: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice

13. Experiences of Foster Carers’ Children An Overview of the Research

13 Experiences of Foster Carers’ Children An Overview of the Research Tracy Swan Robert Twigg Although research about foster carers’ children has existed for 37 years, a systematic body of research only began to emerge after 1993. This chapter is based on research findings from thirteen studies and two projects conducted between 1993 and 2007 that, taken together, capture the voices of approximately 1,230 foster carers’ children. The words of the young people are used to illustrate experiences and themes found in the majority of these studies. Their voices present the richly woven tapestry of the lives of carers’children, many of whom continue to be “unknown soldiers of foster care” (Twigg, 1994) in many foster care organizations. Policy and practice implications of the findings will be considered within the context of the current Canadian foster care field. The Child Welfare Context Foster family care did not become the preferred form of care for children in need until the 1950s (McKenzie, 1993). Based on the premise that family life can make an integral contribution to a child’s healthy growth and development, foster family care currently includes kinship care, regular foster care, and all forms of treatment foster family care, each designed to address the challenges faced by specific populations of children and youth (Crosson-Tower, 2006; Downs, Moore, McFadden, Michaud, & Costin, 2004; Steinhauer, 1991). British researchers reported that in 1997 approximately 60% of children placed in outof -home care facilities resided in foster care (Wilson, Sinclair, & Gibbs, 2000; Gibbs & Wildfire, 2007). Published data confirming the percentage of Canadian 201 children in foster care is more difficult to obtain. Farris-Manning and Zandstra (2003) estimate that between 2000 and 2002, there were 76,000 Canadian children in care.Employing 1998–99 provincial and territorial statistics which excluded data from Ontario, Quebec, Nunavut, and the Yukon, they also indicate that the percentage of children in different forms of family-based care (foster care,adoption , and kinship care) ranged from 59% to 93%, with an average percentage of 88% or 6,707 children.Because it is generally assumed that two-thirds of the total population of the children in care are placed with foster families, it is estimated that the number of children in foster care during the 2000–2 period was approximately 50,616, and constituted the greatest percentage of children in familybased care.This number is likely higher now,as Twigg (2009) reports a significant rise in the number of children in foster care since 2005. Over the years the foster care system,foster caregivers,and the children placed in foster family care have undergone considerable scrutiny (Cautley, 1980; Fanshel ,Finch,& Grundy,1990; Kufeldt,Armstrong,& Dorosh,1995).This scrutiny was primarily driven by concerns about foster care drift and the treatment children receive in foster care. In the last decade, an increased emphasis on inclusive foster care (Kufeldt,1995; Palmer,1996,1992) and the developing focus on attachment theory (Bowlby, 1971; Steinhauer, 1991) contributed to a reshaping of foster care.Until very recently,carers’own children have not received the same level of attention (Nuske, 2006; Twigg & Swan, 2007; Watson & Jones, 2002). While the contributions foster families make to the well-being of foster children is recognized, the demand for viable foster homes continues to outstrip the capacity of agencies to recruit and retain them. Factors such as inadequate financial compensation, limited support and training, poor communication with agency representatives, and the challenges of children entering care not only contribute to persistent difficulties with recruitment and retention, but also place serious demands on all foster family members, including the caregivers’ children (Sinclair, Gibbs & Wilson, 2004; Twigg, 2009). Additionally, concern about their own children is the reason many foster caregivers give for leaving fostering, and that newly recruited foster caregivers give for not pursuing it. It is also the most frequently cited reason for requesting a foster child’s replacement (Twigg & Swan, 2007). For these reasons, the continued failure to meaningfully acknowledge the needs of caregivers’ children is perplexing. Research on Caregivers’Children The first research directly involving carers’children was published in 1972 (Ellis, 1972). Subsequent research on caregivers’children was conducted sporadically, SWAN AND TWIGG 202 and at different intervals a gap of a decade existed between studies. Consequently , a more comprehensive picture of the world of caregivers’ children has been slow to emerge. In an effort to address this gap, the chapter will present the findings of 13 research...