The stories of women who provide long-term foster care in Australia

  • Stacy L. Blythe

Western Sydney University thesis: Doctoral thesis

Abstract

The Australian child protection system is responsible for promoting the health and well-being of children. However, despite early involvement to support and maintain vulnerable families, a significant number of children are unable to remain with their biological families and are placed into foster care. These children are known to experience an increased incidence of health related issues compared to the general population and are thus likely to have frequent contact with the health care system. As the day-to-day care providers for these children, foster carers are an essential component of the child protection system. Despite their importance, literature investigating the experiences of foster carers is scarce. This paucity of literature provides limited guidance to health and social service professionals in understanding the experiences, challenges and needs of this important group. To address this gap, this study sought to explore women's experiences of providing long-term foster care in Australia. Twenty women participated in interviews that were conducting using a storytelling design informed by feminist principles. Data were collected using face-to-face, telephone and online interviews. Verbatim transcripts were subject to thematic analysis using a feminist narrative technique. Three main themes emerged from the data. A number of sub-themes were also identified. In the first theme; Mothering revealed the women reveal that they identify themselves as mothers, not foster carers, when caring for a child on a long-term basis. They justify this on the depth of their commitment to and emotional investment in the children. The second theme; Seeking recognition: Stigma and misconceptions explains how the women's maternal identity was challenged and negated by the widely held belief that only the woman who gives birth is the "true" mother. As a result, the women felt stigmatised. The third theme; Mothering in the system, illuminates the women's attempt to resolve the discontinuity between their perceived maternal identity and their social and legal limitations as foster carers. The findings of this study have revealed women providing long-term foster care are a vulnerable population. The data has provided insight into the women's perception of self and the detrimental impact of having that perception challenged or unrecognised by others. Further, this research has revealed women providing foster care experience social isolation, to varying degrees, particularly when unable to develop friendships with other long-term foster carers. The findings of this study suggest current policy and practice which privileges biological identity over socially constructed filial ties should be reviewed. Further, greater insight has emerged into the difficulties long-term foster carers experience negotiating their role in foster children's lives. Factors which can mitigate the experience of stigma, such as the development of friendships with other long-term foster carers, have been identified. The findings of this study are useful for the retention and recruitment of foster carers.
Date of Award2012
Original languageEnglish

Keywords

  • foster home care
  • foster mothers
  • foster children
  • child welfare
  • motherhood
  • Australia

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