Love and money: payment, motivation and the fostering task

Abstract

Although the payment of foster carers has attracted greater attention in recent writing and research, coverage of the issues has been limited. In this study, based on interviews with 20 female carers, the place of payment within foster care is explored in greater depth. The focus is on charting how carers perceive their task as ‘parenting’ or ‘job’, whether and how they experience payment as compensation or as an appropriate reward for their skills. Also examined are the ways in which payment may impact upon the practice of foster care, for example in decision making over the taking or ending of placements and the provision of aftercare support for care leavers. The study highlights the distinctive nature of foster care as an institution that straddles the public and private domains, and examines the resulting complexities. It concludes by suggesting that while payment issues provide important threads that run throughout foster care, their influence is ultimately limited by the latter's base within the family.

Comparing the Experiences and Withdrawal Considerations of Treatment and Regular Foster Care Parents: The Canadian Perspective

“…Thus, motivations to foster initially relate to becoming a regular foster parent. A difference was found with the current sample of TFC parents endorsing monetary gain as an external motivating factor, although it was rated lower than internal variables, which is consistent with previous research (Daniel, 2011;Kirton, 2001). More TFC compared to RFC parents had a gross income of under $20,000.…”

“…When asked what motivated them to continue, parents responded that their love of the children was paramount. This finding echoed those of Kirton (2001) who noted that despite dissatisfaction with the financial aspects of fostering, parents reported it would not impact their ultimate decision to accept or refuse a placement, and that gaining additional funds would only assist them in providing more effective care. The intrinsic value of fostering due to a love of children, along with other altruistic factors, appears to outweigh the potential financial burden or discontent.…”

“…Rhodes et al (2001) found receiving inadequate financial reimbursement was linked to a withdrawal of service. Kirton (2001) also reported that parents providing care for more challenging children tended to view their financial compensation as low compared to when they fostered less compromised children. This finding is consistent with those reported by Rhodes and colleagues (2001) that point to a shift in the motivation to provide foster care that reflects the increasing demand for dual family incomes.…”

Foster Caregiver Motivation and Infant Attachment: How do Reasons for Fostering Affect Relationships?

“…Unrelated foster caregivers are often drawn into caregiving because they want to provide nurturing they did not have as children, see the need for foster parents, or are unable to have biological children of their own (Crase et al, 2000) or wish to remain at home (Andersson, 2001). Child welfare studies of foster parents report the importance of caregiver training (Crase et al, 2000), satisfaction (Fees et al, 1998), recruitment (Cox, Buehler & Orme, 2001), payment level (Kirton, 2001), and generosity (Testa & Shook, 2002) in promoting positive outcomes for children in foster care.…”

Australian foster carers’ negotiations of intimacy with agency workers, birth families and children

“…Much debate has occurred over whether or not foster carers are on the side of love or the side of money in terms of their care provision, but recent writing on the topic has similarly acknowledged that the two are inseparable (Kirton, 2001 Zelizer's research would suggest that this maintains a false distinction between love and money, potentially to the detriment of engaging with the productive capacity of the intimacies that arise as a result of the shared care work that agency workers and foster carers engage in (a point explored in detail in the third theme reported below).…”