Developmental research on practical models and manuals for foster parent support specialists

Abstract

In addition to being a researcher, Dr Keiji Noguchi is a foster parent and so understands the importance of a support model to prevent disruption of foster children placement. Noguchi, Faculty of Education, Fukuyama City University, Japan, is leading a project focused on developmental research on practical models and manuals for foster parent support specialists. This builds on previous research from Osaka Prefecture University and seeks to show how best to support foster parents and prevent disruption. To achieve this goal, Noguchi is developing practical models and manuals to support foster parents. A key focus is on the role of specialists who are assigned to Residential Care Institutions for Children (RCIC). Noguchi believes these Institutions and foster parents both play an important role in the success of foster parenting but it is important to find an effective means to better understand the current situation regarding the support that foster parents receive from institutions, decipher what works and what doesn’t and develop recommendations in line with this. The most important aspect of this work is ensuring that the needs of foster children are realised and fulfilled and so their input is invaluable. Foster parents also need to be considered as if the needs of foster parents are being met it is more likely that the needs of foster children are, in turn, being met. As such, Noguchi and the team are conducting an interview survey on foster parent support for foster parents and professionals in RCIC that support foster parent care and have collected valuable data that has enabled them to create a manual for foster parent care support called the Foster Parent Programme.