Family and professionalism in foster families

In many countries, there is a distinction between traditional and professional foster families. This distinction is laden with tension since traditional and professional foster families are not treated as equals regarding remuneration, recognition and support. This situation raises questions about professionalization in the field of foster care. The article takes an approach that defines professionalization more broadly than the formal qualification of foster families. Using three contrasting and multi-perspective case analyses based on data from a project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation on the topic “Images of foster families and their impact on cooperation processes in foster care”, the article reconstructs the different understandings of professionalism and the mindsets behind them, as well as the effects on family life and on the way children’s needs are met. It is argued that foster families are challenged to balance familial and professional actions which are at times incompatible. This incompatibility requires an assessment, which is approached in the article with reflexive professionalism and the analysis of paradoxes.