Exploring the multi-dimensionality of permanence and stability: Emotions, experiences and temporality in young people’s discourses about long-term foster care in Ireland

This paper focuses on qualitative findings on how young people in long-term foster care in Ireland interpret permanence and stability. We focus principally on subjective and relational permanence, emphasising the significance of these concepts for social work, while extending some conceptual approaches to permanence. Importantly, findings from this study highlight conceptual gaps in how permanence and stability are conceptualised in research and we outline an approach which more fully embraces the multi-dimensionality of young people’s life experiences and emotions. Recent studies underline that permanence encompasses several elements (e.g. ecological, legal). However, this paper extends current research in illustrating how Irish young people in foster care experience permanence and stability every day, and how these experiences embrace discursive, emotional and temporal dimensions.

Commentary: Understanding Research, Policy, and Practice Issues in Adoption Instability

Our commentary highlights the authors’ conceptual and empirical contributions for understanding the incidence and dynamics of varying types of adoption breakdowns and their impact on adopted youth and their families. Important distinctions are made between legal, residential, and psychological/relational permanence for children. To date, most research has focused on factors supporting or undermining legal and residential permanence but has largely ignored children’s sense of psychological or relational permanence. Recommendations for future research and implications of findings for policy and practice are discussed.

The Extent of Stability and Relational Permanence Achieved for Young Children in Care in Northern Ireland

Placement stability is sought for children who enter care and need a place to call home. This is deemed to be necessary for the formation and continuation of secure and loving relationships with parents and carers. However, the term placement stability does not capture the quality of the placement or the subjective experience of the young person. In contrast, the term relational permanence denotes an enduring and supportive relationship between a young person and a caring adult. Research studies have tended to focus on placement stability, or legal and physical permanence, and overlook relational permanence. Within the current study, we found high levels of long-term placement stability for the study population, 354 young people who were under five and in care in Northern Ireland on the 31st March 2000. Placements for those who were adopted, on Residence Order, and rehabilitated with birth parents were more likely to be stable than those in long-term foster care and kinship foster care. However, early interview data with 30 young people and/or their parents/carers revealed high levels of relational permanence, irrespective of placement type, and that placement disruption did not necessarily mean a breakdown in the relationship. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Findings from an evaluation of Family Finding: Experiences of Family Finders and older youth

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to assess the experiences of child welfare workers trained in Family Finding and to assess the experiences of the youth who participated in Family Finding. Findings from this study suggest the efficacy of Family Finding in establishing relational permanence for youth. Findings from qualitative analyses indicate that Family Finders modified the actual steps of the model. Both youth-recommended and Family Finders-recommended Family Finding services begin when children and youth enter child welfare. However, quantitative findings suggest there is not any significant difference in Family Finding outcomes for younger and older youth.

Classifying Relational Permanence among Young Adults who Exited Foster Care through Legal Permanence as Adolescents

The achievement of legal permanence is not only a primary goal of U.S. child welfare policy but is also presumed to translate into relational permanence. This study examines whether state-sanctioned permanence translates into relational permanence among foster care alumni. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of 31 young adults who exited care as adolescents through adoption, guardianship, or relative placement to gain insights into how they make meaning of their relationships with caretakers over time. Constructivist grounded theory was used to develop a conceptual classification scheme of relational permanence that resulted in four types of young adult–caretaker relationships: enduring, ambivalent, spurned, and severed. Findings underscore the unintended consequences of solely focusing on legal permanence as an outcome, and implications for promoting relational permanence before and after foster care are discussed.