Decision in Child Care by R. A. Parker

Author:R. A. Parker [Parker, R. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Social Work
ISBN: 9781000437904
Google: WDJCEAAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 57868022
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-11-07T03:01:30+00:00

4

Description of Results: The Foster Home

I

Other Children in the Foster Home

It was found that the rate of success was highest (75 per cent) where there were no other children at all in the foster home and lowest (29 per cent) where there were four or more. However, it is an over-simplification to talk of other children in the foster home without distinguishing their different status. In fact they can be clearly divided into three groups: the children who were offspring of the foster parents; siblings of the child placed; and other non-related foster children.1

The number of the foster parents’ own children living in the foster home is given in table 19. The result is significant and shows a considerable difference between placements where there were no Own children’ and those where there were. The most successful placements were made in foster homes where the foster parents either had no children of their own or had none at home under the age of eighteen.

Table 19

The number of foster parents’ children living at home Success Failure

No. % No. %

None 56 65 30 35

One 34 44 44 56

Two 14 42 19 58

Three or more 4 33 8 67

108 52 101 48

(P is less than 0·01; d.f. = 1; table divided none/some)

If instead of looking at the number of ‘own children’ at home at the time of the placement, the ages of these children are considered, some very significant results are obtained. There is a particularly low rate of success where there is any child of the foster parents under five. The rate improves steadily as the ages of the ‘own’ children at home increase, but at no age does it become nearly so high as when there is no child at all. A table showing the number of ‘own children’ under five is presented below.

1 Throughout this chapter ‘child’ means anyone under the age of eighteen. Other’ children in the foster home means children in the same household, forming part of the foster family unit. There was only one case in which a child could not be placed into one or other of these categories—this occurred when the foster mother had charge of a grandson. He was treated as an ‘own’ child. ‘Own children’ included those adopted.

Table 20

The number offoster parents children under five Success Failure

No. % No. %

None 96 59 68 41

One 11 27 28 73

Two 1 5

108 52 101 48

(P is less than 0·001; d.f. = 1)

An even more significant result was obtained when the age relationship between the foster child and the foster parents’ own children was examined. The presence of a son or daughter of the foster parents whose age was within five years of the foster child’s was clearly a prejudicial factor in the placement situation. Where there were two or more such Own’ children the rate of failure was higher still. The marked difference between the failure of placements where there were ‘own’ children within five years of the foster child and the success of those where there were not is clearly shown in table 21.

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