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The language and policy of care and parenting: Understanding the uncertainty about key players’ roles in foster care provision

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  • Hollin, Gregory
  • Larkin, Michael

Abstract

Recent debates about the care provided to looked-after children have been characterised by uncertainty about the differing roles and responsibilities of foster carers, birth parents, and social workers. To explore the assumptions underlying these uncertainties, we drew upon Foucauldian Discourse Analysis and compared the discourses used by professionals (social workers in a group discussion about foster placement breakdown) with those used by policy-makers (in the Governmental green paper ‘Care Matters’). In both cases, a discourse based upon Attachment Theory was used to explain why placements succeed and fail, and to predict the repercussions of failure. However, there was a key difference in the way that professionals and policy-makers constructed the roles of key players in foster placements. The social workers constructed the birth parents as the parental figures for children in care, constructing themselves in a non-parental role. ‘Care Matters’ largely ignores the role of birth parents, and instead constructs social workers as parental figures. Neither source viewed foster carers as parental and ‘Care Matters’ positions this group as strictly professional. We discuss the incongruence of foster placements being understood through Attachment Theory, while foster carers are understood as non-parental figures, and also the repercussions of labelling a social worker as a parent, and the professionalization of the role of the foster carer.

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  • Hollin, Gregory & Larkin, Michael, 2011. "The language and policy of care and parenting: Understanding the uncertainty about key players’ roles in foster care provision," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(11), pages 2198-2206.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:33:y:2011:i:11:p:2198-2206
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.07.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anonymous, 1951. "World Health Organization," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(3), pages 613-617, August.
    2. Bullock, Roger & Courtney, Mark E. & Parker, Roy & Sinclair, Ian & Thoburn, June, 2006. "Can the corporate state parent?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 1344-1358, November.
    3. Anonymous, 1951. "World Health Organization," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 5(2), pages 387-389, May.
    4. Unrau, Yvonne A. & Seita, John R. & Putney, Kristin S., 2008. "Former foster youth remember multiple placement moves: A journey of loss and hope," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1256-1266, November.
    5. Barber, James & Delfabbro, Paul, 2005. "Children's adjustment to long-term foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 329-340, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Denlinger, Melissa & Dorius, Cassandra, 2018. "Communication patterns between foster parents and case managers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 329-339.
    2. Brown, Jason D. & Anderson, Landy & Rodgers, Julie, 2014. "Needs of foster parent resource workers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 120-127.

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