Foster Carers’ Perspectives about Contact in Portugal and Spain

Abstract

This study aims at comparing the nature and processes of contact between children in foster care and their birth families; the relationship between the existence and quality of contact and foster carers’ burden; and the relationship between the existence or not of contact and the existence of reunification plans. Following a quantitative approach, data have been collected in Portugal and Spain from foster carers and professionals using questionnaires and Zarit's Carer scale. The results show that the existence of contact is not related to carers’ burden or stress, but there is an association between contact and reunification plans. As a consequence, several implications to practice are presented.

Indicators of contact visit quality in non‐kinship foster care: An observational checklist

“…promoting positive parenting strategies, raising parents' awareness of the child's developmental needs). Obviously, and as highlighted in a recent study conducted in Spain and Portugal (Delgado et al, 2019), it is also important to ensure that foster families and professionals receive adequate support and training in relation to visits, given the potential repercussions that contact has for the child's well‐being and the stability of the foster placement.…”