Suchergebnisse

AbstractFollowing changes to our country's child protection legislation in 2015, adoptees in Spain have the possibility of post‐adoption contact with their birth families. This review aims to provide social workers with a resource to guide their decision‐making by evaluating both the benefits and risks associated with open adoption. Of the 26 studies reviewed, 22 reported benefits and 8 discussed risks. Overall, contact with birth families is more commonly associated with positive than with negative outcomes for the adoptee, especially when the adoptive family is capable of communicative openness. The results support current policy on open adoptions, but in line with previous research, we emphasize the need for contact arrangements to be decided on a case‐by‐case basis and to be monitored.

AbstractThis study explores whether the frequency and diversity of behaviours observed during contact visits may be used as indicators of visit quality. We observed 20 contact visits and quantified the frequency and diversity of behaviours for both parent and child, classified as positive or negative with respect to the child's well‐being. Quality of visits was classified based on a list of parent and child behaviours and two indicators (diversity and frequency), to create two observational checklists and calculate an overall quality index. This observational tool will enable identification of areas where birth parents or their child require additional support.

ObjectiveTo identify situations and behaviors occurring during contact visits that are likely to have an impact on a foster child's well‐being.BackgroundIt has been argued that contact visits between foster children and birth parents can help to maintain attachment bonds and support the child's development. However, contact continues to be a subject of controversy, and evidence of both benefits and drawbacks has been reported in the literature. Few studies have examined what actually occurs during such visits, how parents and children interact, and what role is played by those involved.MethodWe conducted an in‐depth qualitative observational analysis of the behavior of participants in contact visits (birth parent, child, and social worker), as well as of the characteristics of the venue. Participants were 20 children in nonkinship foster care and their birth parents. Information regarding the characteristics of visits was provided by the child protection services and the fostering agencies involved.ResultsThe analysis revealed a large number of positive behaviors among parents, children, and social workers, but also the need for improvement in several areas (e.g., family relationships, social/communication skills, and presents).ConclusionsThis study highlights the need to improve contact visits by developing intervention strategies targeting all those involved. Notably, the support and supervision provided by social workers was not always adequate.ImplicationsThe results of this study could be used to develop an instrument for assessing the quality of contact visits and identifying aspects that need to be improved.

This study analyzes the opinions of foster families and social workers regarding the benefits and problems associated with contact visits. Data were gathered through two focus groups, comprising social workers and foster carers, respectively. Both groups agreed that visits were useful for maintaining foster children's attachment to their birth family, for enhancing their psychological wellbeing and for helping them to understand the real situation of their birth family. Regarding difficulties, the two groups highlighted problems of coordination between social workers and foster families, as well as a lack of support and preparation for foster carers, children, and birth families.

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la situación de los acogimientos en familia ajena con visitas entre el acogido y su familia biológica en las provincias de Málaga, Granada y Jaén; y examinar la evolución de dichas visitas y posibles variables asociadas. Los participantes fueron 212 menores, 140 madres y 155 padres biológicos, y 156 familias acogedoras. El instrumento empleado fue la Ficha de recogida de datos. Los resultados muestran: a) 98.1% de los menores había sido víctima de maltrato; b) alto porcentaje de progenitores con drogadicción; c) mayor diversidad familiar de las familias acogedoras; d) 93.8% de los acogidos tenía visitas con su familia nuclear; e) el 57.6% de los casos, las visitas no mostraron ningún cambio significativo; f) una evolución positiva de las visitas se asocia a un elevado cumplimiento del régimen de visitas, una frecuencia mensual o semanal y a un grado de supervisión medio. Los resultados señalan la necesidad de mejorar la calidad de las visitas.

Summary This study aims to give voice to parents and gather their views about contact visits in foster care. Participants were 23 birth families who had contact visits with 35 children in non-kinship foster care. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted in order to explore two key aspects: the parents' opinions regarding the contact visits and the main areas they felt needed improving. The interviews were transcribed and the transcripts were examined using an inductive method by Atlas.ti. Findings The main themes to emerge concerned their general view of contact visits, the input and support from social workers, the contribution of foster families, the contact venue, and the organization of visits. In general, the birth families' comments were positive about the support and treatment received from social workers. However, they also mentioned certain aspects should be improved, such as supervision during visits. Applications The results suggest several ways to improve social work practice. Social workers should aim to involve birth families more in the process of drawing up contact arrangements and offering birth families adequate preparation prior to visits. Child protection agencies also have a role to play in relation to improving the facilities in which visits are held, as well as their overall organization, such as, the venue should provide a space that enables everyday family relationships to take place, and in the absence of this, attempts should be made to organize visits outside the official meeting place.

Contact between a foster child and birth parents play an important role in relation to the foster child's wellbeing. The main aim of this study is to give voice to social workers and foster families about contact visits. This research is part of a project financed by the regional government of Andalusia (Spain) (SEJ-7106) regarding contact visits in foster care. Two focus groups were organized, one with 8 social workers from four foster care agencies and another with 8 foster carers (4 were recruited through the Association of Foster Families in Andalusia and 4 through fostering agencies). Access to foster care agencies and foster families was obtained through the official Andalusian Child Protective Services (SPM). The focal groups were audio-recorded. Transcripts (of the two focus groups gave rise to primary documents for the hermeneutic unit under study. All this information was exported from an Excel database to the ATLAS.ti v7.0 software. The transcripts were examined using an inductive method of open coding in order to identify themes among participants' responses. Results show that both groups agreed on the utility of visits to maintain the children's attachment to their birth family, to bring a greater sense of continuity to the children's life story, to enhance the psychological wellbeing of the foster children and to know the real situation of their birth family. In relation to the difficulties remarked in the course of the visits, one of the issues mentioned by both groups refers to a lack in the coordination among the social workers, the SPM and the foster families involved. The other issue brings together several complaints to the SPM, such as the fact of not providing information about taking decisions regarding the future of the child; the lack of support and preparation of the foster carers, the children and the birth families about visits; as well as the shortage of social workers and economic aids provided by the SPM. The conclusions of this study highlight the need to improve contact visits by ...