Piloting the Mockingbird Family™ in Australia: Experiences of foster carers and agency workers

Abstract

Given that the number of children and young people needing care keeps rising and fewer people are becoming foster carers, efforts to support carers and workers in foster caring are essential. This paper considers the experiences of carers and foster care agency workers involved in Australia's piloting of the Mockingbird Family. With a view understanding experience, data were collected via focus groups with carers and agency workers (n = 20) involved in piloting, implementation and evaluation. Deductive analysis applied the theory of experience to generate understanding of experience, as both intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions to capture strengths in the Mockingbird Family's foster caring networks. These dimensions of experience included collective passions of carers and workers; experiential change over time; collective experiences as a moving force; and experiences as transformational. Understanding of experience associated with the perceived strengths of the Mockingbird Family, including strategies to promote strong professional relationships between carers and workers, is an important element in strengthening environments of children and young people in care. Safe and stable environments are crucial for wellbeing.

Exploring social networks in foster caring: The mockingbird family in Australia

“…The focus of this study is on social networks associated with the Mockingbird Family, a collective model of foster care that has been translated into practice in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands (Grossman & McKenna, 2007;McLaren et al, 2023). The Mockingbird Family embodies the idea of collective parenting and community involvement, akin to the concept of a "village".…”

“…The Mockingbird Family model builds formal and informal social support through social networks within constellations to create a supportive care environment for children and young people (Patmisari et al, 2024), while also supporting the foster carers. The first Australian constellations were formed during the first year of COVID-19, and their monthly constellation catch-ups went online which provided opportunities for overcoming isolation associated with caring, managing the challenges of home schooling and lockdowns (McLaren et al, 2023).…”

Reconsidering Recognition in the Lives of Children and Young People in Care: Insights from the Mockingbird Family in South Australia

“…Additionally, Honneth's theory addresses solidarity and belonging. The engaging and building capacity of the wider support network (foster carers, social workers, agency workers, family of origin) in therapeutic endeavors lays the foundations for the formation of self and the internalization of societal norms, concomitantly explored in our recent studies on the wellbeing of foster and kinship carers and agency workers (McLaren et al 2023a(McLaren et al , 2023b(McLaren et al , 2024). Honneth's critique of psychoanalytic theories, particularly his shift from Freud's focus on drive theory to the importance of interpersonal relationships, highlights recognition as being a crucial human need beyond therapeutic confines (Honneth 2014).…”