PROFESSIONALIZATION OF FOSTER CARE
TURN THE KEY AND START THE ENGINE


Baldwin P. Reichwein




    In Volume 64 (3) of The Social Worker, Dr. Waldock set out an eloquent argument in favour of professionalizing foster care.
    I am pleased that Dr.Waldock opened the dialogue on this subject. Social workers would do well to support his thesis in the interest of children in care and child protection work generally. In sotto voce, as social workers we carry some, but not all of the responsibility for the role confusion in foster care.
    The Canadian Foster Family Association (CFFA) published national practice guidelines for foster care in 1995. The CFFA had the support of foster parent associations across Canada and of representive government officials from the provinces, territorie and federal government. Meanwhile, the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) released its supdated Standards of Excellence in Family Foster Care during 1995. Both the CFFA and CWLA support progessionalization of foster care.
    Having said that, I still have nagging doubts about grassroot support among foster parents for the concept. As Waldock (p.119) explains, "role confusion continues for too long has led to unhealthy and co-dependent behaviour between foster parents and agencies. Instead of key players recognizing each other's unique roles, strengths and ability to contribute to children's interests and wellbeing, co-dependency takes its toll.
    It is a daunting task to ameliorate the underlying causes of role confusion or role ambiguity, but I believe it can be done. Dialogue about he issue, its causes and remedies, is a good start. The needs of children coming into care are too complex to be left to untrained volunteers.



    For centuries the trades have had their guild structure. The people-helping field generally has been slower in getting its act together, but lessons can be learned form experience. Social work has a history of making incremental and steady progress towards professionalism, built on values, ethics, formal education, proactice discipline and progessional accountability. It can assist foster parent associations by sharing tricks of the trade.
    There is another reality. Several child-related fields (i.e., child welfare work, residential childcare, daycare, rehabilitaion work) are gaining professional status quicher and sooner than foster care, mostly achieved over the last two decades. They struggled and fought for formal diploma courses, undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs as well as skill-based training programs.
    Mainstream foster care unfortunately lags behind, commensurate with the demands on the "job" of fostering. As noted by Waldock (p.120), "the view of fostering as purely a 'voluntary' undertaking continues to conflict with efforts to recognize fostering as a profession." This is a worldwide phenomenon, as illustrated by the following exerpts from debates in the United Kingdom.
    The development of specialized fostering schemes in the ' 70's and ' 80's [in the U.K.] showed that carers could be recruited and retained. Payment of a fee, the provision of training and a knowledge that their status was that of colleague with social workers, kept carers in the service. (National Foster Care Association, United Kingdom, Foster Carers: Payment for Skills, 1993, p.10)
    Hansard (8 December 1993 Column 460-466, House of Commons, United Kingdom) covered the subject matter of pensions for foster carers. Heresy you say? Well, perhaps to the eye of the beholder.


    Regular foster care should not be distinct from specialist (therapeutic) foster care. Paraphrasing the literature and Waldock's sentiments, all forms of fostering constitute therapeutic care.
    Today most infants, children and youths needing family foster care have some kind of special needs; the remainder have what can only be termed extraordinary needs. These children and youths need a level of service that traditional foster care and child welfare services were not designed to address. (CWLA's Blueprint document, 1993, p.3)
    Foster care by necessity will remain the pivotal resource for out-of-home placements. As Waldock summarizes (p.126), "The progessionalization of foster care would contribute to this process of recognition, and would go a long way towards addressiong the real issue which is the quality of care." It will enhance the identity of foster parents as contributing members of society.
    Stratix Research in a 1993 survey conducted in Alberta revealed that "four out of five current [mainstream] foster parents indicate that they have cared for foster children with sever developmental, physical, mental, emotional, and/or behavourial problems." (p.2)
    The same survey showed that, "38.8% of males and 41.2% of female heads of households [i.e. foster families] have college education ro better, the balance had high school or less" (p.34). The adult education system would have no problem at all workin with this target group. Flexible education and skill-based training models can be designed or adjusted, recogniaing proctitioners' current education and skills, or to inculcate or upgrade knowledge and skills where warranted.


    Training of foster parents should move away from government/agency owned and operated models. Formal educational infrastructures are in place in most jurisdictions to assist foster parents. Let them enter where other citizens get their education. Associations can partner with educators and child welfare authorities. Further, the associations should progress towards governing foster care practices through certification and a discipline process, following precedents set by trades, occupations and professions.
    It might take a paradigm shift in thinking to effect needed change. The pressure has to come from the grass roots and their own body politic.
    The fiscal argument that we cannot afford the cost of professionalinzing foster care is invalid and shortsighted. Society cannot afford not to allow it. We presently pay a high price in negative costs for low quality services, unhappy foster parents, poor retention, endless investigations, studies and commissions. An even larger hidden cost is borne by credible practitioners who subsidize public services in their quasi-volunteer roles.
    There is a great deal of knowledge and experience amongst seasoned practitioners, as Waldock illustrates. Foster parent associations are consumer organizations; they can and should flex their collective muscle and empower their members.
    Foster Parents, please lead the way. Kickstart your engines!

Baldwin P. Reichwein, Dip.SW, (Maritime School of Social Work, 1969) is an active member of AASW. He has a career background in case work, delivery, policy and program develpment of child welfare services. He manages the Huntington's Desease Resource Centre for Northern Alberta in Edmonton on behalf of the Huntington Society of Canada. 
     He conducted participatory research during 1994/95 for the Canadian Foster Family Association's national guidelines project, which encompassed examination of North American and offshore literature, provincial and territorial foster care legislation, policies and practices, in dialogue with foster parent leaders and program specialists.

Back To Articles