{"title":"‘It Isn't the Child Wearing Us Out, It's the System’: Navigating Support Systems When Struggling as Foster Parents in Norway","authors":"Anette S. Solvi, Marit Råbu, Idun Røseth","doi":"10.1111/cfs.13225","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Foster parents encounter significant and diverse obstacles in receiving support when caring for children affected by relational trauma and mental illness. These issues extend to their interactions with welfare systems, mental health professionals and personal networks. This study is aimed at understanding foster parents' needs in navigating the support systems and finding a balance in their responsibilities. To address this, we conducted interviews with 22 foster parents caring for children receiving mental health treatment in a specialized outpatient clinic in Norway. We present the findings as a general meaning structure comprising four interconnected constituents: (1) the challenge of being an ‘employee’ and a parent, (2) encounters marked by inadequate information, (3) wanting a closer relationship with the child welfare services and (4) feeling a need for confidential conversations and support. This study underscores foster parents' struggle with systems that fail to provide adequate child information and holistic support, highlighting a pressing need for context-aware and tailored systemic improvements.</p>","PeriodicalId":10025,"journal":{"name":"Child & Family Social Work","volume":"30 4","pages":"871-881"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cfs.13225","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Child & Family Social Work","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cfs.13225","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"FAMILY STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Foster parents encounter significant and diverse obstacles in receiving support when caring for children affected by relational trauma and mental illness. These issues extend to their interactions with welfare systems, mental health professionals and personal networks. This study is aimed at understanding foster parents' needs in navigating the support systems and finding a balance in their responsibilities. To address this, we conducted interviews with 22 foster parents caring for children receiving mental health treatment in a specialized outpatient clinic in Norway. We present the findings as a general meaning structure comprising four interconnected constituents: (1) the challenge of being an ‘employee’ and a parent, (2) encounters marked by inadequate information, (3) wanting a closer relationship with the child welfare services and (4) feeling a need for confidential conversations and support. This study underscores foster parents' struggle with systems that fail to provide adequate child information and holistic support, highlighting a pressing need for context-aware and tailored systemic improvements.
期刊介绍:
Child and Family Social Work provides a forum where researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and managers in the field of child and family social work exchange knowledge, increase understanding and develop notions of good practice. In its promotion of research and practice, which is both disciplined and articulate, the Journal is dedicated to advancing the wellbeing and welfare of children and their families throughout the world. Child and Family Social Work publishes original and distinguished contributions on matters of research, theory, policy and practice in the field of social work with children and their families. The Journal gives international definition to the discipline and practice of child and family social work.