“Children Out of Place”

Reconceptualising Family: Negotiating Sexuality in a Governmental Climate of Neoliberalism

“…Consequently, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are over-represented in OOHC and there are insufficient culturally appropriate placements available for these children in the system. Damien Riggs, who has conducted comprehensive research into foster care within an Australian context , 2011aRiggs et al, , 2009, argues that the child protection system faces major challenges around the retention of registered carers and the success of placements. Foster care agencies across Australia are currently facing a scarcity of carers, and as a result of ongoing shortages in staffing and inadequate funding, Riggs (2010Riggs ( , 2011a argues that the child protection system faces major challenges around retaining registered carers and supporting successful placements.…”

Perceived barriers, drivers and enablers to becoming a foster family: An exploratory study in Portugal

“…Known barriers related with the applicants include a lack of resources (i.e., financial, available time, housing conditions; coparenting or social support) and a lack of readiness to play this parental role which involves greater commitment (Blackburn, 2016;Cosano, 2004;Goodman et al, 2016;Randle et al, 2012;Rhodes et al, 2001;Scott & Duncan, 2013). Also, some concerns are recognized as barriers, namely, the fear of not being able to effectively play the parenting role, fear of false accusations associated with fostering (e.g., becoming a foster family in order to obtain financial support), fear of false accusations of maltreatment (Minty & Bray, 2001;Plumridge & Sebba, 2016;Riggs et al, 2009), and fear of the negative impact of this experience on the foster family functioning, for instance, the impact of the foster child on their own children (Blythe et al, 2012;Buehler et al, 2003;Goodman et al, 2016;Randle et al, 2012;Rhodes et al, 2001;Scott & Duncan, 2013). Lastly, professional difficulties (e.g., job instability and overloaded schedules) have also been identified as preventing people to become a foster family (Blythe et al, 2012;Randle et al, 2012;Rhodes et al, 2001).…”

“…A lack of public knowledge about the foster care system and a lack of awareness about the role of foster parents are seen as persistent problems to recruit and retain new families (Contreras & Muñoz, 2016;Diogo & Branco, 2017;Goodman et al, 2016;Randle et al, 2012;Scott & Duncan, 2013;Sebba, 2012), even though some evidence exists about positive public opinions and support for foster families (Leber & LeCroy, 2012;Riggs & Due, 2018). In addition, foster families are subjected to high public and institutional scrutiny (Riggs et al, 2016), and there is evidence that professionals working in the system may have negative attitudes and representations about foster families (Riggs et al, 2009). It has been argued that reliable information about the foster care system (e.g., procedures, admission criteria, and the support provided to foster families) should be more visible to community samples (Contreras & Muñoz, 2016), which is ultimately expected to increase the likelihood that more people become foster families (De Maeyer et al, 2014;Randle et al, 2012;Sebba, 2012).…”

Corporate representations of the child worker: Swedish company websites offering sales opportunities to schoolchildren

“…Significant focus in this field is on issues regarding childhood innocence and sexuality. Other examples of topics dealt with are representations of children´s rights in NGO campaigns (Wells, 2008) and representations of foster care in news media (Riggs et al 2009).…”