Understanding and Working with Parents of Children in Long-Term Foster Care

For children growing up in foster care, the role of their birth parents is an important factor in the success of their long-term placements. Understanding the experiences of parents is therefore essential in order to develop effective social work practice that can also ensure the best possible outcomes for their children.

Drawing on detailed and often moving interviews with parents, the book takes a chronological approach, starting with their accounts of family life before their children were taken into care, in particular looking at the impact of drugs, alcohol and domestic violence. It goes on to explore their experiences of court and then how they seek to come to terms with their loss, sustain an identity as a parent and manage a relationship with their children through contact. Parents' views on what they find valuable and helpful in relationships with foster carers and social workers are also discussed. The book then draws on the views of social workers on the opportunities and challenges of supporting parents while also remaining child-focused. The authors set out a model of good practice, based on the lessons learnt from the experiences of these parents and social workers.

Gillian Schofield is Professor of Child and Family Social Work and Co-Director of the Centre for Research on the Child and Family at the University of East Anglia, UK. She is an experienced social worker, has led a series of funded research projects on long-term foster care and is the author of a wide range of books and articles.
Emma Ward is a Senior Research Associate in the Centre for Research on the Child and Family at the University of East Anglia. She has worked on a number of research projects on foster care.