LONG-TERM FOSTER CARE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO ADOPTION: DOES IT WORK?
“Little is known about the course of a long-term foster placement,” says project leader Mieke Spek. Time to investigate long-term foster care as an alternative to adoption. That is why the research project 'Distance in Connection' has been started.
What if you are unintentionally pregnant and cannot take care of the child? "There is still a taboo in the Netherlands about giving up a child," says Mieke, researcher at the HAN Research Group Active Factors in Youth and Parenting Aid. In recent years, more attention has been paid to so-called distance mothers, mothers who had to give their child up for adoption. Their experiences and suffering went unacknowledged for many years. But adoption isn't the only option for unintentionally pregnant women. A long-term foster placement is also a possibility. There is not much knowledge about long-term foster care in that situation and the experience of (foster) parents and children with this. Mieke: "We also want to let these women and children have their say. Give them a voice. We have little insight into how this form of foster care works, so it's time to investigate this with the research project 'Distance in Connection'."
THE REASON: RECOMMENDATION
Every year, about 60 unintentionally pregnant women consider giving up their child. Of these, a small proportion are considering long-term foster care. This was also apparent from an earlier study ' Mother in one fell swoop, and again not ' by Radboud University in collaboration with Fiom about distance for adoption between 1998 and 2007. Among the 200 distance files there were already dozens of files of women who had been placed in foster care. passed over. This research resulted in the recommendation to map out the opportunities and bottlenecks when choosing a foster family. “In practice, we notice that there is only limited knowledge about the option of foster care after an unintended pregnancy,” says Sophie Bolt, researcher at Fiom. Fiom is one of the agencies that guides women with an intention to give up for adoption. Mieke adds: “With more knowledge and insights, even better information can be provided to unintentionally pregnant women.”
MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT FOSTER CARE
How does that work out, a long-term foster placement from birth? Can you still play a role in foster care as biological parents? What is it like for a foster child to grow up like this? What is it like as a mother to see your child being raised in a certain way by someone else? The parties involved will look for the answers to these questions in order to map out the course of long-term foster care from birth. “It is important that people get enough information. After all, the choice they make has a major impact on the rest of their lives,” agrees Nancy Wijers, participation project leader at Zorgbelang Inclusive. Zorgbelang Inclusive is affiliated to carry out the research inclusively, so with the help of experts by experience. “If it turns out that people are positive about a long-term foster care placement,
Cutting the legal bond with the child, as is the case with adoption, is very rigorous.
Astrid Werdmuller
Specialist policy and research Fiom
KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH THE CHILD
“The idea is that if you want to keep in regular contact with your child, the foster placement option is more obvious. Foster parents are set up to maintain contact with biological parents," explains Astrid Werdmuller. She is a policy and research specialist at Fiom and one of the people involved in the study ' In one fell swoop a mother, and then again not'. “The option of foster care is there for a reason. Cutting the legal bond with the child, as is the case with adoption, is very rigorous. But if you, as a woman, cannot take care of the child, then you have to do something. Not having contact is far-reaching. I once spoke to a distant mother who had met her adult child for the first time. Her child had brought a photo book. It was very confronting to see pictures of the child at different ages. She had missed all that. We are curious to see how the contact goes with foster placement, it is good that this is now being investigated.”
RESEARCH 'DISTANCE IN CONNECTEDNESS'
The first step of the research is to form an expert group. This group advises on the implementation of the plan. Mieke: “We hope to also include biological parents and foster parent(s), in addition to adding professionals from, for example, foster care. Among other things, they will help us recruit respondents and think along with us about the interviews. It is a sensitive subject and that is why we want to conduct the research very carefully.”
The experience of people themselves, that comes in more, it creates more awareness.
Nancy Wijers
Project leader Participation Care Interest Inclusive
EXPERIENTIAL EXPERTISE CENTRAL
“Especially when discussing those sensitive topics, an expert by experience can help to bridge the gap between the researcher and the interviewees,” says Nancy. At the Academy of People and Society, the use of experiential knowledge and experts by experience is an important aim. By also Zorgbelang Inclusive linking it to the project group puts client participation high on the agenda. “I am very pleased with the way in which this project is being designed and that experience expertise is really given a place, namely on the basis of equality. That is very powerful about this trajectory. The experience of people themselves, that comes in more, it creates more awareness,” says Nancy. “We make sure that they can properly perform their role in that expert group. To this end, we provide them with information, guidance and coaching. Hopefully, the experience experts will even help with conducting interviews or other parts of the research.”
CLEAR INFORMATION MATERIAL
Mieke: “The research focuses on experiences: the experiences of parents, children, foster parents and professionals. To get to the bottom of those experiences, we conduct interviews with parents, children and foster parents and we follow 3 concrete situations involving renunciation in long-term foster care.” In addition, focus groups with professionals validate the findings. “After each phase, we take stock and take the input with us to the next steps. This also creates a connection between the different phases, in order to move forward with the collected information,” explains Mieke. The final result: the stories and experiences in images and clear information material. “Together we hope to gain new insights into how foster placement after an unintended pregnancy proceeds, so that we can also further improve practice in this area.”
ABOUT THE INVESTIGATION
Mieke Spek wrote the project application for the research 'Distance in Connection' together with lector Marion van Hattum of the Lectorate Active Factors in Youth and Parenting Aid (WFJO), Fiom, Zorgbelang Inclusive, Pactum and the Council for Child Protection in the program line 'unintentional pregnancy and vulnerable young parenthood' by ZonMw. The study started at the beginning of April 2021. Fiom and Zorgbelang Inclusive are affiliated as project advisors and contribute ideas based on their expertise. View the project page for more information.
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