Child‐Centred Foster Care

Child-Centred Foster Care: A Rights-Based Model for Practice By Annabel, Goodyer London : Jessica Kingsley , 2011 ISBN 9781849051743 , 199 pp, £18.99 (pb ) This is a book which anyone working with children and young people in foster care needs on his/her shelves. Containing so many direct quotes from young people, and summarising so much of the existing research into looked-after children’s opinions, it is an essential source for those who need to challenge practice, argue a case (either in court or with colleagues, managers, etc.) or simply want to ensure that they are delivering services that are truly ‘child-centred’. Goodyer sets out a powerful argument that much of our current practice in fostering is too heavily influenced by theoretical developmental approaches, such as attachment theory. She argues that we need to give greater attention to Butler-Sloss’s remark that ‘the child is a person, not an object of concern’ (Butler-Sloss, 2008, p. 36). Goodyer claims that we are missing many opportunities to work in partnership with children because we are pathologising their experiences — rather than listening to their actual wishes. For example, a child’s problems settling with foster carers may be put down to their inability to form healthy attachments because of early trauma, whereas, in reality, the child simply does not like the carers, or is too worried about their own family to settle in a new situation. ‘What is required is a practice model that draws on understanding of children and young people as having an entitlement to human rights, in particular the rights to a private, stable family life’, Goodyer insists (p. 37). She evidences her claims carefully and methodically, quoting extensively from studies that have sought the views of children who are care-experienced. Goodyer also carried out her own direct research into foster children’s opinions. None of the views she unearths is particularly surprising, but in their repetitiveness and familiarity, they reinforce the messages so many children and young people are trying to put across — namely that their concerns are not listened to or taken seriously enough. What Goodyer also highlights is the conflict between fostering as a public service, governed by so many regulations and standards — and a child’s right to a private life. This is a very powerful argument and is supported again and again by young people’s comments about their lack of trust of foster carers and social workers. How, Goodyer asks, can we expect children to feel secure in placements, where they can be moved at such short notice? Or to feel comfortable about talking to adults when their confidences are so readily made public? And while Goodyer does not offer any easy answers to these dilemmas, she does suggest that a greater awareness of these issues can help improve current practice. If I have any criticism of this book, it is that I would have liked Goodyer to be bolder in her suggestions about how the system can be improved. She does mention a number of individual good practice schemes in the closing sections (although, sadly, some of these have now come to an end) and she also recommends some general approaches — such as advocacy, therapeutic interventions, play therapy, etc., which can help improve our communication with young people. She also dedicates the whole of chapter 10 to participation and gives some helpful checklists for workers to measure their practices against. However, I would have liked to see more space and emphasis given to her recommendations about changing the way we recruit foster carers, as this is perhaps the most innovative and thought-provoking part of the book. Drawing closely from the research, Goodyer argues that the criteria for selecting carers are weighed too much towards theories of what children need, rather than focusing on what children really want — which is ‘stable, consistent, caring parental relationships and the sense of belonging that are enjoyed by most children in the general UK population’ (pp. 182–3). She does stick her neck out a little to argue that ‘while it is laudable to try to recruit the best possible carers’ (p. 179), there is no evidence that, for example, carers who smoke or live in over-crowded conditions are any less capable of providing the ‘normalcy’ that matters so much to children. However, as a reader, I would have welcomed more of a rallying cry for an overhaul of current recruitment practices and more practical suggestions about how we can achieve change. However, Goodyer’s carefully evidenced and credible approach will probably be most effective in creating change in the places where it is most needed — in those areas where paternalistic, adult-focused fostering services still prevail

Active listening · Argument (complex analysis · Child abuse · Child protection · Foster care · General partnership · Negotiation · Object (grammar · Poison control · Political science · Psychotherapist · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Child Welfare and Adoption · Children's Rights and Participation · Family Support in Illness · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology

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