Cautious Belonging: Relationships in Long-Term Foster-Care

Abstract

Long-term foster-care represents a frame for childhood and family life with distinct features and multiple challenges. This qualitative study concerns forty-three Norwegian young persons who have stayed in their foster placement for at least four years. Relationships between them and their foster families were explored through interviews with the young persons, their foster-carers, parents and social workers. The overall picture is that the foster families provided the children with a secure environment and an experience of belonging to the family. Most young persons also had a sense of belonging to their birth families. Nearly all were likely to stay with their foster-carers beyond their eighteenth birthday and both parts anticipated future contact. However, a number of foster-carers expressed cautious expectations about the character of their future contact, due to their understanding that the nature of the relationship depended on the young persons' own choice. The study calls into question whether child welfare policy and practice fully acknowledge and make the best out of the potential of long-term foster-care for offering children lifelong support and belonging.

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