Corey Shdaimah, PhD, Daniel Thursz Distinguished Professor of Social Justice at the School of Social Work and Jonas Rosen, MSW, have a new article published in Child Welfare that reports findings from a focus group study (N = 57) soliciting foster parent perspectives on court engagement, which were shaped by understandings of their role vis-à-vis children they foster and were often at odds with other stakeholder perspectives.
As “24/7” carers, respondents wished to share information so that foster system stakeholders could make informed decisions about children’s needs and placement. Receptivity varied; respondents developed information-sharing strategies. The authors provide recommendations for creating a receptive environment to enable foster parents to share appropriate information.
More details can be found at Shdaimah, C. & Rosen, J. (2020). ‘We’re the Eyes for these Children 24 Hours a Day’: Foster Parents’ Understanding of their Role as Foster Carers. Child Welfare, 98(1), 1-22.