Participation of Children, Birth Parents and Foster Carers in the Matching Decision. Paternalism or Partnership?

Kirti Zeijlmans,Mónica López López,Erik J. Knorth,Hans Grietens

doi:10.1002/car.2544

Abstract

Participation of children, birth parents and foster carers in matching decision‐making has the potential to improve the outcomes of a foster care placement. When practitioners choose which foster family is the best fit for a foster child, those affected by the foster care placement should be involved in decision‐making when possible. This research paper examines the influence of children, birth parents and foster carers on the matching decision from a practitioner's perspective. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 22 practitioners from 17 of the 28 foster care organisations in the Netherlands responsible for matching children with foster families. The analysis identified three themes that diminished the influence of children, birth parents and foster carers on the matching decision: assumptions, timing and feasibility. The findings emphasise that the influence of stakeholders on the matching decision is highly contextual. In the matching process, practitioners can be seen as key figures in facilitating the influence of stakeholders, yet they are also confronted with the difficulty of dealing with more than one stakeholder, who can have opposing interests, in an often compromised setting with limited choices.‘Examines the influence of children, birth parents and foster carers on the matching decision from a practitioner's perspective’Key Practitioner Messages Despite policy to stimulate the involvement of children, birth parents and foster carers in decisions, their influence on the matching decision is sometimes futile. Assumptions made by practitioners, timing in the matching process and a compromised setting diminish the stakeholders' influence on the matching decision. Practitioners are key figures in improving participatory practice to make sure that stakeholders feel understood, valued and taken seriously.

Highlights

Non-kinship foster care placements have a deep impact on children, birth parents and foster carers
The analysis identified three themes that diminished the influence of children, birth parents and foster carers on the matching decision: assumptions, timing and feasibility
Assumptions are the practitioners' beliefs that underlie their reasons for decreasing the influence of stakeholders; timing has to do with the moments of involvement in the matching process; and feasibility relates to the achievability and practicability of the stakeholders' influence due to the compromised context of the matching process

Summary

Introduction

Non-kinship foster care placements have a deep impact on children, birth parents and foster carers. Children placed in an unknown foster family. Birth parents experience a sense of loss from having diminished contact with their child and losing their parenting role (Schofield et al, 2011). All three ‘parties’ are stakeholders in the foster care process. They have an interest in the success of the placement and are affected by its objectives and outcomes

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Conclusion