Family adjustment and support interventions in foster care families: experiences of caregivers and social workers in the Amajuba District.

Abstract

Approximately 5.7 million children in South Africa are orphans. Many of these children are in foster care; a form of care for children in need of care and protection and without parental care. In South Africa, kinship care, also known as extended family care, is traditional feature and an essential child protection system in most African families. However, little research is available to understand foster care families' adjustment and available support. The motivation to conduct the research emerged from the researcher’s ten-year experience working with foster care families and foster children. For the purposes of this study, a descriptive research design was chosen. This design complemented the qualitative approach as it was applied throughout the study. Descriptive designs are aimed at accurately describing phenomena (Terre Blanche, Durrheim, & Painter, 2006). The researcher observed their struggles in trying to live together and juggling external influences from society and their own extended families. The study incorporated qualitative research methods to explore child and families’ adjustments and access to support interventions in foster care families that are used. Focus group and individual interviews were used to collect data from nine caregivers and three social workers at Amajuba District. The ecological framework provided a theoretical lens to explore the interaction between foster care families and different environmental systems that influence family adjustment and access and availability of support networks. Findings revealed that in contemporary times, foster care families are confronted with a range of social and family difficulties. The need for social support programmes for caregivers and foster children were reported as one of the greatest needs to support the transition and adjustment process. Research also indicated the absence of programmes designed to support foster care families. There are no formal foster care groups for caregivers and support groups for foster children. The research further pointed out that there are no pre-and post-training sessions provided to caregivers as support mechanisms to deal with challenges. There was limited contact between caregivers and social workers; they would only communicate if it is time for a review of court order. Employment and training of social workers and provisionof adequate resources will enable them to render on-going support to caregivers and foster children for positive outcomes towards their psycho-social well-being. Additional social workers will help reduce high caseloads and eradicate foster care backlog. The study intends to provide a foundation for further studies as well as adding to the existing body of knowledge in social work practice, specifically in the field of child care and protection The researcher anticipates that the study results will contribute to child protection literature and improve child protection services delivered to children in need of care and protection.