Parents with Children in Foster Care — How Do They Perceive Their Contact with Social Workers?

摘要

Parents with children in foster care represent a group of clients whose voices are seldom heard. Little is known of their experiences and how they perceive their relations with social workers. In this article, 13 parents, whose children are placed in care, give evidence of their contact with social workers. Parents who had positive experiences were invited to participate in the assessment process, and their definitions of problems and difficulties in the family were taken seriously. They were being treated respectfully and their parental competence was still acknowledged. Parents with negative experiences felt they were being punished for neglectful parenting, and thus seen as undeserving of support. Several parents also felt their reactions of grief and loss to be unrecognised. According to the parents' statements, social workers often gave more priority to the protection of children, than to the support of parents. Parents appreciated when social workers succeeded in maintaining a respectful attitude, when they listened to them and acknowledged their parental competence. In such cases social workers managed to help birth parents to have a positive role in their children's lives, even though children were placed in care.View full textDownload full textKeywordsbirth parents, foster care, social workersRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09503153.2011.557149