scholarly journals “In that day when we met for the frst time”: barriers and and resources of successful transition of foster-children to adulthood

Inter ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 19-37
Author(s):  
Larisa L. Shpakovskaya ◽  
Zhanna V. Chernova ◽  
Elvira Sh. Garifulina
Keyword(s):  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
Biological Family ◽  
The Family ◽  
Empirical Material

The article aims at the analysis of children’s perception of the changes in their lives due to the loss of a biological family and moving to a foster family. We analyze how children experience and subjectively perceive their foster family life experience. On the base of children biographies we build typical life trajectories, which are shaped in institutional, interpersonal and individual level. Social and political context of the foster children autobiographies are set by the reform of deinstitutionalization of child welfare system implemented in Russia in the 2010s. The methodological framework used is the new sociology of childhood, which sees childhood as a socio-historical construct, insists on studying the subjective world of children and taking them as everyday experts. As an empirical material we analyse 253 autobiographies written by foster children and sent to a diary context “Our Stories” (Elena and Gennagy Timchenko Foundation, 2015–2017). The article presents typical biographical trajectories of foster children as stages of transition to adulthood, as well as barriers that they face in this process and resources that are made available to them by the family. The general conclusion of the article is the fact that the biographical trajectories of the transition, which are accessible for foster children are complex, diverse, and individualized. Biographies are presented by their authors not only as a result of external factors, but also as a result of their own actions, as well as the efforts of their foster parents to overcome social stigmatization.

Changes in Legislation on Foster Family Care in the Arab Republic of Egypt

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamido A. Megahead
Keyword(s):  
Foster Children ◽  
Family Care ◽  
Foster Child ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Biological Family ◽  
Egyptian Child ◽  
Care System

This article reports on changes in legislation on foster family care in the Arab Republic of Egypt, specifically the replacement and/or addition of terms to the Egyptian Ministry Decree (17) 1968 and Egyptian Child Law No. 12 of 1996. The replacement of terms refers to Terms 4 and 10 in Article 87 of the Egyptian Child Law No. 12 of 1996. Term 4 addresses the numbers of biological siblings and foster children permitted in a foster family. Term 10 relates to how contact should be managed between a foster child and its biological family. The terms added are Terms D and H in Article 83 and Terms 10 and 12 in Article 87 of the Egyptian Child Law No. 12 of 1996. Terms D and H focus on the objectives of the foster family care system. Terms 10 and 12 address the process of reuniting a foster child with its biological family and the issue of retaining a foster child’s original parentage.

scholarly journals Motherhood after the age of 35 in Poland

2014 ◽  
pp. 7-28
Author(s):  
Anna Rybińska
Keyword(s):  
Transition To Adulthood ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Widespread Phenomenon ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Educational Professional

Postponing motherhood is a widespread phenomenon across developed countries, however only few studies look into very late motherhood in post-socialist countries using individual level data. In this study, I look at the context of the first childbirth in Poland in the midst of the political transformation of 1989. Employing sequence analysis I reconstructed life trajectories of women who experienced the transition to adulthood during the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s and have just completed their fertility histories. Individual data from the 2011 GGS-PL and the 2011 FAMWELL Survey were used. Comparing paths of mothers’ lives, I searched for differences in educational, professional and conjugal careers between women who gave birth before the age of 30 and after the age of 35. The results show how various life careers crisscross over the life course leading women to late motherhood.

scholarly journals Foster family: from motivation to successful parenting

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1 (130)) ◽  
pp. 162-171
Author(s):  
Alla Yaroshenko
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Domestic Sphere ◽  
Foster Families ◽  
Child Socialization ◽  
The Family ◽  
Potential Success ◽  
Psychological Features ◽  
Family State

Nowadays, the problem of protecting the rights and interests of orphaned children and children deprived of parental care is gaining relevance. The family is viewed as a leading institution for child socialization, a guarantor of his/her harmonious development and satisfaction of his/her needs; therefore, foster families as a modern form of temporary family placement for children is currently deemed to be preferential. Experts gradually start to realize the necessity of transition to the “professionalization of care” in general and parenthood in particular, when care is considered as a special type of activity that implies possession of specific skills and abilities. Such activity may go beyond the domestic sphere and take place with the involvement of the family, state, market and non-governmental associations. In view of this, the development of family forms of placement requires creation of mechanisms for the selection and training of adults who intend to take children deprived of parental care into their family. The article presents motivational complexes and values encouraging parents to start a foster family. Replacement family models have been characterized in terms of the educational function implementation being successful or unsuccessful. Successful parenthood criteria have been defined at three levels: child-parent relationships, parents' interactions, interrelation between the family and society. Social and psychological features of foster parents have been analyzed, which features have an impact on successful adaptation of the family in the situation where a child is being taken into the family. The importance of taking account of additional factors that underlie potential success of a foster family has been substantiated. It is emphasized that such gender-related aspects of foster parenthood as the husbands' involvement in doing housework and looking after children, children's gender socialization, single foster parents, instances of domestic violence in foster families, etc. still have not been extensively covered in scientific literature.

scholarly journals PROFESSIONAL FOSTER FAMILY: SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPECIAL SMALL SOCIAL GROUP

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (7) ◽  
pp. 187-194
Author(s):  
A. Makhnach
Keyword(s):  
Social Group ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
The Family

The analysis of the concept of «professional foster family» has been presented. The stages of the formation of this social phenomenon in studies of orphanhood in Western and Russian psychology have been described. The сhanging the focus of study has been noted from the characteristics of an orphan child in orphanages to his upbringing in a foster family, for the family as a whole. The process of forming a problem field and conceptualization of this concept in a historical context has been analyzed. The issue of the professional description of the activities of foster parents has been considered. Attention has been payed to the paradigm shift in the study of the foster family with a deficiency to its resourcing and resilience.

scholarly journals The problem of generation in a foster family as a special small social group

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-156
Author(s):  
A.V. Makhnach
Keyword(s):  
Foster Parents ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Family System ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Foster Mother ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Inverted Structure ◽  
The Family ◽  
Child Adoption ◽  
Foster Father

The peculiarities of changes in the structure of a foster family after the child adoption, related to the restructuring of borders, rules, norms that exist in the family before adoption are discussed. The structural features of a foster family are described, which make it possible to analyze the characteristics of the family that are important for its resilience. Taking into account the generation factor, the characteristics of the family system in the dyad grandmother (grandfather) — grandson (granddaughter) and the specifics of the developmental stages of a foster family are analyzed. Intergenerational inverted structure can be quite hard, as it seems to all family members. It justifies the assumption that the intergenerational coalition can manifest itself in the gradual forming of the child’s relationship with foster parents and the latent / open conflict between the child and the foster grandmother / grandfather. The possibility of a hidden coalition between the foster mother and the child and pushing the foster father out of this coalition is shown. It is concluded that the study of family composition on the basis of kinship intergenerational relations between foster parents and foster children is not given enough attention, the topic remains poorly investigated, despite its relevance.

scholarly journals Coping with Adversity in the Lives of Children in Foster Care

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viola Tamášová ◽  
Silvia Barnová
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Biological Parents ◽  
Biological Children ◽  
The Family ◽  
Biological Parenthood

Abstract Introduction:The theoretical-empirical study is based on two particular case studies of families bringing up children from institutional care. It deals with the real needs of foster families, with the foster parents’ perception of fostering and their experiences from the time spent with children in foster care, about the children’s behaviour in adverse situations, which the foster parents must deal with in the period of the child’s adaptation to the new environment of their households. The authors accentuate the importance of communication and emotional education from the aspect of personality development of children placed into new families. These children should be prepared for moving from a known into an unknown environment. In the conclusions, the authors give several specific recommendations within the framework of semantic categories dealt with in the chapters and subchapters of the study. Methods:The study is based on a theoretical analysis of the presented issues. For the purposes of the research, the following research methods were used - Content analysis of official documents (job description of social workers in foster family care). - Case studies of two clients of the offices of Social and Legal Protection of Children and Social Curatorship in the field offices of Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in Nitra and Bratislava Self-Governing Regions carried out in 2018. - Logical operations - analysis, synthesis, comparison. - Interviews with foster carers (Family 1 and Family 2) carried out throughout the whole year 2018. - Generalization in semantic categories which, at the same time, are the titles of the chapters and subchapters bellow, and also in the conclusions and recommendations for foster care and the social practice. Results:For personal development, children need relationships with others. Maternal and paternal love, and care are the basic elements of these relationships - as confirmed in the interviews with foster parents. Alongside with biological parenthood, the so-called “psychological parenthood” has an important role to play. The role of a psychological parent can be filled by the members of own (i.e. biological) family as well as by adoptive parents, foster parents, the biological parents’ partners (stepmothers and stepfathers) and - under certain conditions - also by personnel in facilities of social care. Their psychological needs and the extent of their satisfaction determine what they will experience and how they will feel. Discussion:It is important to prepare parents to accept the fact that foster parenthood is different from biological parenthood. Prospective foster parents often come to the offices of Social and Legal Protection of Children and Social Curatorship with the opinion that not even biological parents are being prepared for their parental roles. Foster parents already having biological children argue - as it follows from the interviews carried out throughout the research - that they are experienced parents and, so, they can bring up foster children as well. They do not realize that foster children bring something new that biological children have never experienced. Biological and foster parenthood are definitely not the same. Conclusions:In the conclusions, the authors point out that children in foster care identify with their parents’ values and opinions. For children who have faced significant adversity in their lives, it is beneficial if the family environment and education are harmonious. Such good conditions can have a positive impact on the children’s entire future lives. In the process of adaptation, the whole network of relationships within the family must be re-structuralized, which requires well-prepared family members.

A silent children's rights movement : an exploration of resilience in former foster children

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alyssa L. Bish
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Childhood Experiences

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Foster care is becoming a more prevalent diverse family form and serves a critical role in our society. Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners need to know more about how communication facilitates resilient behaviors in former foster youth. Guided by the Theory of Resilience and Relational Load (TRRL) (Afifi, Merrill, and Davis, 2016), the current study utilized structural equation modeling to illuminate the role of communication in cultivating resilience for children who have entered the foster care system. Survey results revealed former foster children (N = 120) developed communal orientation through continuous relational maintenance behaviors with their foster parents. Former foster children also felt safer in the foster family when they had been in the home for an extended period of time. Results also showcased how trauma effects relationship development within the foster family unit. Children who have adverse childhood experiences need communication strategies to help foster resilience. To that end, I provided theoretical contributions and extension, specifically an expansion of TRRL to include a trauma lens as well as a greater understanding of how foster children and foster parents used their relationship to foster resilience. I also offer future directions for studying resilience as it relates to the current literature and Public Policy with suggestions for practical implications and an agenda for future research.

scholarly journals Parents and school in the process of education of foster children – the division of responsibility from the perspective of parents. A research report

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Urszula Bartnikowska ◽  
Katarzyna Ćwirynkało
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Research Report ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Biological Family ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Shared Commitment

Introduction: Children in a foster family have a difficult life situation. This is a challenge for both foster parents and teachers. Cooperation based on shared commitment and understanding gives the child a chance to gain positive life experiences. The acquired knowledge and skills can be a resource that will allow the child to change the (often negative) pattern of life of the biological family they come from. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was understanding how foster parents perceive their cooperation with the school their children attend. Method: The authors applied the interpretive paradigm, the phenomenography method in the study. To collect the data, focus interviews were conducted in three groups of foster parents. In total, 21 parents took part in the study. Results: Foster parents notice the division of responsibility in the process of educating children brought up in their families. Their role is to select an institution, start cooperation, help the child learn and accompany rehabilitation, inform the school staff about the specificity of the child’s functioning, and be the advocate for the child. The role of the staff side, according to parents, is to implement the recommendations of specialists, cooperate with parents, set adequate requirements for the child, and present a friendly attitude towards the child and the foster family. Conclusions: Based on the research results, guidelines for the good cooperation of foster parents with the school were formulated. It is important for teachers to understand the specific situation of not only the child (their life experiences, developmental disorders), but also the foster parent, as well as appreciate their commitment to the child. It would be important to create a support system.

scholarly journals Foster Parents’ Readiness for the Implementation of Foster Family Pedagogy

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-39
Author(s):  
Maritana Gorina ◽  
Oksana Ivanova ◽  
Marite Kravale-Paulina
Keyword(s):  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Foster Family ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Evolutionary Ontology ◽  
Family Pedagogy

Abstract It can be observed that changing attitude towards the environment and fellow human beings manifests itself as a socially unsustainable relationship, which in different ways and at different levels manifests itself in social exclusion. Social exclusion is increasingly emerging as a phenomenon that is complex in nature and its solutions must be sought in the wicked problem approach, which is characteristic of complex problems and has significant ontological roots. At present, ontology should consider the much more complicated problem of what types of being are formed by both the natural and the cultural evolutionary processes. It can be argued that evolutionary ontology attempts to create a new image of the world and of humans – a new non-anthropocentric cosmology, i.e., a consistently philosophical culturological cosmology that takes into account reality in its real structure as a conflict between the spontaneous activity of nature and the socio-cultural activity of humans (Šmajs, 2008, p. 96). The reasons for social exclusion can be different, and its specific manifestations are various, and the same can be said about the phenomenon of social inclusion, which is the expression of the quality of other relationships and attitudes. Externally observable signs of social exclusion are more closely related to the concept of families at risk. A social risk family can be defined as a family that experiences difficult problems and has limited opportunities to provide favorable living conditions for the comprehensive development of all family members. More and more often it is associated with unsustainable cultural or non-cultural contexts, mainly related to non-ecological culture prosperity in the consumer society. It can be noted that this context in its current form (which includes manufacturing, consumption, material culture, and technology, and both the social, intellectual, and material life of humans) is quite anti-natural oriented in its principle. Unfortunately, the aggressive anti-natural sociocultural strategy permeated also the field of human upbringing and education (Šmajs, 2008, p. 194). At the beginning of the 21st century, it has emerged as the Anthropocene era in a broader sense, in which the geological characterization of the era is complemented by the characterization of the sustainability of public relations in a broader holistic perspective. The aim of the article is to consider a number of real cases in a broader perspective from the point of view of foster family pedagogy, identify the choice of foster care approaches and evaluate the results obtained. From the perspective of foster family pedagogy, foster parents and foster children are participants in the lifelong learning process, where the mutual influence and interaction of foster parents and foster children are studied. The authors evaluated real situations from the perspective of foster family pedagogy and children’s involvement in the family structure. The article also examines the influence of the foster family and its readiness to overcome the effects of Anthropocene unsustainability.

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