Motivation for foster care

Abstract

In 2011 in Flanders 3641 foster parents realized 6371 foster placements. Foster parents have many reasons to become a foster parent. Beside child-centered reasons, self-oriented and society-oriented reasons also play a role. This research examined the motivations of 192 Flemish non-kinship foster parents to become a foster parent. A Dutch version of ‘Reasons for fostering inventory’ was used. The checklist contains 24 items and three scales: child-centered reasons, self-oriented reasons and society-oriented reasons. Respondents were asked to indicate on a 4-pointscale if the item represented the reason why they wanted to be foster parents. Flemish foster parents' main reasons for fostering tended to be child-centered. They endorsed significantly more child-centered reasons than self-oriented and society-oriented reasons (F(2) = 399.737, p < .005). For 34.4% of foster parents the reason ‘I want to provide a good home for a child’ is the best description. Retention in foster care can't be explained by the three categories of reasons for fostering, only age was associated with retention. Only self-oriented reasons for fostering can be explained by familial characteristics, more specific by available time. In conclusion, Flemish foster parents mainly have child-centered reasons to become a foster parent.