The Place of Fostering in Social Work

To foster children is no longer regarded as the main objective of the child care services. However, fostering is once again a matter of social work and public debate. The paper explains that more types of children are now being assessed as requiring fostering at a time when social service departments are finding it difficult to expand their number of foster homes. This greater demand for foster homes coincides with recent researches which help to clarify the nature of fostering. Accordingly, a distinction can be made between 'exclusive' and 'inclusive' fosterings. It is considered that a conflict exists between popularity of exclusive fostering and research findings which stress the value of inclusive fostering. Research is also identifying the contribution which social workers can make in the fostering field. But the desired inputs of training, low caseloads and staff stability pose problems for social work management. Finally, the research findings discussed in the paper are used to argue that the forthcoming Children Bill is not only based on false assumptions about the behaviour of natural parents but will also promote exclusive rather than inclusive fosterings. A plea is made that child welfare policy be seen in a larger context of social reform