How foster carers experience agency support for birth family contact

Collings, Susan; Wright, Amy Conley; Spencer, Margaret; Luu, Betty

doi:10.1111/cfs.12656

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Earlier research by the authors indicates that parents have negative views of agency‐supervised contact, whereas carers may prefer it if they seek a buffer between themselves and parents (Collings et al, 2020). Some have argued that supervised contact can compound “system induced‐trauma” (Hinton, 2018) and undermine parent and carer efforts to work collaboratively (Ross et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adults will often need professional help to negotiate boundaries, manage difficult feelings, and find ways to communicate with empathy and respect (Wright & Collings, 2020). Over time, agency involvement in contact for children in long‐term foster and kinship care in Australia tends to diminish, and guardians or adoptive parents are required to commit to take on responsibility for ongoing contact between children and family members (Collings et al, 2020). Given that professional involvement is likely to be time limited in Australia and that kinship and foster carers are being actively encouraged to consider guardianship and adoption, respectively, it is critical to understand what personal traits predispose carers and birth parents to build such an alliance so these attributes can be enhanced through intentional and targeted casework strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“You are mum and then they are mum”: Negotiating roles, relationships, and contact in out‐of‐home care

Collings

Wright

2022

Family Relations

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Objective Birth family contact can be undermined by relationship difficulties between adults from children's two families, especially in relation to role ambiguity for mother figures. Research to understand relationships between birth mothers and female caregivers across all placement types is needed. Background In Australia, children in long‐term care, guardianship, and open adoption have direct contact with members of their birth families. The extent to which maternal figures work together is critical to children's ability to enjoy ongoing birth family connections, particularly First Nations children, who are overrepresented in out‐of‐home care. Method Qualitative methods were used to understand the personal attributes that influence relationships between five dyads of birth mothers and their child's female caregivers in New South Wales. Four were foster or kinship carers, two had adoptions underway, and one was a legal guardian. Three birth mothers identified as Aboriginal, and no caregivers did so. Analysis mapped birth mothers' acceptance and carers' communicative openness and interpreted influences of interpersonal skills, contact, and power dynamics on relationship quality. Results Positive and natural interactions between children’ mother figures can exist irrespective of legal arrangement when both are able to demonstrate emotional competence and learn relationship‐building skills and overcome power imbalances. Conclusion The complexity of managing relationships in the context of permanent child removal is influenced by how well children's two mother figures renegotiate their roles. Implications Families need support to discuss the goals and purpose of contact and identify relational resources and challenges. Professionals could use visit coaching to support children's two families in navigating contact.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“You are mum and then they are mum”: Negotiating roles, relationships, and contact in out‐of‐home care

Collings

Wright

2022

Family Relations

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“…In Australia, child protection authorities usually make decisions about contact with little direction from the Courts and have no binding obligations to consult children, birth parents or family support providers about contact arrangements. A notable exception is NSW, which in 2017 was the first Australian State or Territory to introduce open adoption from OOHC into the Child Protection Legislation, as in this jurisdiction ongoing family contact is ‘heavily weighted by judges considering adoption from Out‐of‐Home care’ (Collings et al, 2020, p. 84). Though, as Collings et al (2020, p. 85) also note, carers are expected to ‘manage contact arrangements independently’, and, often, this is a cause of concern for carers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A notable exception is NSW, which in 2017 was the first Australian State or Territory to introduce open adoption from OOHC into the Child Protection Legislation, as in this jurisdiction ongoing family contact is ‘heavily weighted by judges considering adoption from Out‐of‐Home care’ (Collings et al, 2020, p. 84). Though, as Collings et al (2020, p. 85) also note, carers are expected to ‘manage contact arrangements independently’, and, often, this is a cause of concern for carers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looked after children's right to contact with birth parents: An Australian study

Healy

Walsh

Venables

et al. 2022

Child & Family Social Work

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In Australia, there are more than 46 000 children in out-of-home care (OOHC). Most of these children have been in OOHC for more than 2 years. Similarly, there are more than 407 000 children in the United States and over 80 800 in England who are 'looked after' with approximately one third of these children being in OOHC for more than 2 years. This paper concerns 'looked after' children's rights to contact with their birth parents. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) requires child protection systems to recognize the rights of children to maintain contact with their families except where this is not in the child's 'best interests'. In this paper, we report on a qualitative study conducted in Australia exploring legal and family support practitioners' perceptions of barriers to contact between children in OOHC and their birth parents. The thematic analysis identified four themes: These were as follows: a focus on systems driven responses; lack of cultural recognition and responsiveness; carers' disconnection from birth parents; and parents' exclusion. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding and recognizing children's right to contact with birth parents. K E Y W O R D S'best interests', 'birth parents', 'family contact', 'human rights', 'looked after children', 'out of home care'

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“…Of note is that foster parents are often at risk for stress related to their unique role vis a vis children and parents of origin. Yet agency training can help them to manage their stress and facilitate more effective visits, for example, by providing guidance on different ways of setting up visits, helping children remain engaged, working with parents of origin who are disengaged, coping with challenging feelings toward parents, and managing children’s disappointment when visits are postponed or parents do not show up for visits (Nesmith et al, 2017; Collings et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID-19 on child welfare-involved families: Implications for parent–child reunification and child welfare professionals

Goldberg

Brodzinsky

Singer

et al. 2021

Developmental Child Welfare

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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children and parents involved in the child welfare system and the professionals working with these families. Using survey data collected August–September of 2020, this mixed-methods study examined the perspectives of 196 child welfare-involved professionals (77 attorneys, 99 caseworkers, and 20 therapists) in the United States about the impact of COVID-19 on parents of origin, children, foster parents, and child welfare professionals. Particular attention was paid to the implications of COVID-19 and associated challenges for parent–child contact and reunification. With respect to professional stresses, more than half of participants worried about their own personal safety and health amidst COVID-19, and more than three-quarters expressed concerns about the safety and well-being of child welfare-involved families. Participants, especially attorneys, expressed concerns about parent–child contact and disruptions to reunification. In-person parent–child visits had all but ceased during the early part of the pandemic, and participants identified barriers to effective virtual visits, including lack of foster parent oversight, technology issues, and children’s developmental stage and/or lack of engagement. Attorneys were especially critical of the cessation of in-person visits and viewed this as a serious threat to child-parent bonds and reunification. Participants, especially child welfare workers, voiced concerns about children’s mental health and educational outcomes amidst the pandemic. Findings have implications for attorneys, child welfare workers, and other practitioners who directly and indirectly interface with child welfare-involved families.

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How foster carers experience agency support for birth family contact

Cited by 13 publications

References 15 publications

“You are mum and then they are mum”: Negotiating roles, relationships, and contact in out‐of‐home care

“You are mum and then they are mum”: Negotiating roles, relationships, and contact in out‐of‐home care

Looked after children's right to contact with birth parents: An Australian study

The impact of COVID-19 on child welfare-involved families: Implications for parent–child reunification and child welfare professionals

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