How Does Foster Care Work?: International Evidence on Outcomes (Child Welfare Outcomes) - Hardcover

The authors conclude with the hope that the findings which are reflected in this volume have the potential to bring a greater understanding of the complex interplay of those factors that nurture or impede the well-being of children in care. They anticipate that it would impact positively on care planning, the provision of services, the development of policy and future research. We know that foster care works. This book may very well make it work better. Author: Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work

This is a must-read for any social worker who desire greater understanding of the theoretical principles and empirical evidence that undergird foster care today in a number of developed countries... We know that foster care works. This book may very well make it work better. Author: Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work

Each study scrupulously teases out the different variables affecting outcomes. The volume ends with a synthesis of research findings giving direction for policy, practice and research... My personal preference is for those studies that powerfully convey the experience of children, such as chapters by Fernandez on Growing up in Care and by Ward and Munro on Very Young Children in Care in England. The latter highlights the instability that was a feature for many infants, with 45 per cent having four or more placements. The consequences of placement disruption and instability on relationships, emotional and behavioural health, and education are a theme in a number of chapters. This mirrors recent findings in Hannon et al. . 2010 and gives even greater weight to the authors' call for measures to improve placement stability. Pecora et al. in their chapter on Rates of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders among Alumni of Family Foster Care in the United States make comprehensive recommendations for policy and practice to improve the mental and emotional health of young people in care, which I warmly commend. Various authors comment on both the positive and negative aspects of contact, with Farmer arguing persuasively In her chapter on Fostering Adolescents in England for differential approaches to contact decisions, to support grandparent contact and promote children's links with extended family members. The volume clearly demonstrates the value of studying fostering cross-nationally and will be of interest to policy makers, commissioners of care services, practitioners and researchers. Author: Wiley Online Library, Child Abuse Review

Foster care practice needs both an international perspective and an evidence base to allow us to learn and develop. This book supports both of these objectives. Author: Children & Young People Now

Elizabeth Fernandez is Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her current research involves as eight-year longitudinal study of fostering outcomes for looked-after children. Richard P. Barth is Dean and Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland, USA. He has directed more than 40 studies, and most recently served as Co-Principal Investigator of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, the first national study of child welfare services in the USA.