1. Caring for our Children in State Care/Looked after Children Chair Stella Owens Room: Aran www.childrensresearchnetwork.org 1

2. Supporting the birth children of foster carers: Revealing hidden voices Children's Research Network Conference 2014 Dave Williams Dublin Institute of Technology

3.  Existing Literature recognises the contribution made by birth children to the fostering task, however “the voices of biological children seem to be muffled if not absent from the literature addressing foster care” (Younes and Harp, 2007: 25).  Connection between foster care placement breakdown and the experiences of birth children of foster carers (Quinton et al., 1998; Kalland & Sinkkonnen, 2001).  Provides an evidence base for the development of future practice, policy and research development. Why is this topic important? 3

4.  (1) How do the biological children of foster carers experience the foster care process?  (2) How involved are biological children in the foster care task?  (3) How involved do biological children believe they are in decision making in matters related to fostering in their families?  (4)What are the support and training needs of the biological children of foster families? Research Questions 4

5.  Interpretivist  Qualitative Methodology  Method – Semi Structured Interviews Conduction of 15 semi-structured interviews with adult biological children of foster families aged between 18-30 Research Design &Methodology 5

6. Sub themes (A) Grief and Loss (B) Loss of Innocence and Lessons for Life (C) Intrusion on Lifestyles and Loss of Family Time Findings: Theme 1 Loss 6

7. Participants spoke of the continual cycle of separation and loss that fostering brought to their lives, as foster children moved to and from their homes. ‘The next thing is the issue of children leaving. That’s a huge issue and the adults know about the whole thing but children don’t understand children coming and going. You’re told they’re not your real sister/brother but they are, especially the long term kids. They become part of the family. I think the grief and loss for the biological child is a big thing and families just move onto the next placement, so that’s one thing that needs to be dealt with better.’ (a) Grief and Loss 7

8.  Talk to us, explain stuff to us and tell us what’s going on. Explain why you’re taking these kids back, why you’re moving kids to other houses. Then, when the kids go, let us visit them. I think this is a big thing, this kid has been your brother’.  Disenfranchised grief – Doka (1989) (a) Grief and Loss 8

9. For the majority of the interviewees, the exposure to these issues and experiences was not deemed detrimental and, in most cases, participants felt it helped shape them as individuals, making them more open minded and appreciative of the positive family life they did have. ‘I am definitely from a middle class background and through fostering I got a very different view of the world. I realised how lucky I am and how lucky some people have it. It opened my eyes to a social class I would have never seen. I think it was a beneficial education and no doubt I’m a different person because of it, and I wanted it, and I am glad I am the person I am’. (b) Loss of Innocence and Lessons for Life 9

10. Although most participants in the study identified fostering as a positive experience in their life, many identified that it did come at a cost such as loss of family time ‘Yes I was involved in a lot of babysitting. It’s not all fun and games either. Having a new child join the family, particularly a younger child.... you’re expected to pull your weight with things like that. There are some negatives, particularly for older kids, they might have to give up a bit of their time’ ALLEGATIONS AND DISCLOSURES (c) Intrusion on Lifestyles and Loss of Family Time 10

11. Sub themes (a) Lack of recognition by professionals and fostering agency - lack of acknowledgement - not consulted (b) Birth Children as Advocates and Support Figures for Foster Parents Theme 2 Experiences of Professionals and Agencies 11

12.  In most cases participants felt their needs were not on social work or fostering agency agenda, focus on foster child rights of one group of children possibly being seen as inferior to another? ‘The kids (foster children) were no problem, they were the easy bit, it was dealing with the social workers and the professionals that were the problem. We weren’t being listened to and it was just frustrating, stressful, that they (parents) just weren’t able to cope with it anymore’.  High caseloads  Presumption that birth children are okay because of family background  Professional uncertainty a) Lack of recognition by professionals 12

13. As children become older they often act as support role for foster mothers, in some cases advocating on behalf of families with professionals. Gender seems to impact on the influence of the fostering process on participants e.g females become confidants to mothers who play main role in fostering. Older children become a support to younger siblings as parents time taken up by schedule of foster child. (b) Birth Children as Advocates and Support Figures for Foster Parents 13

14.  Several participants spoke quite passionately about feeling the need to advocate for their parents in relation to matters arising with fostering professionals and agencies.  Parents reluctant to challenges professionals, birth children feel like nothing to lose.  Adoption applications. (b) Birth Children as Advocates and Support Figures for Foster Parents 14

15.  Fear for parents growing older and continuing to foster younger children. ‘At that stage (21 years old) I was thinking, Mum is getting old and I should think about training as a relative foster carer in case anything should ever happen to her.’  Sense of Responsibility continues into adulthood. (b) Birth Children as Advocates and Support Figures for Foster Parents 15

16. A)Training  Most of the participants revealed that they did not receive any training in preparation for their families beginning to foster. However,  Two of the participants recalled how they had received training in preparation for this and believed that the training had been beneficial in helping them prepare for what fostering was going to be like. ‘ it definitely helped us prepare for a child coming and knowing a bit of what to expect’. Theme 3 Training and Support 16

17. ‘The one thing that was negative, and I said this to my girlfriend, was about looking back on it, was the guilt. You feel bad that you wanted some of the foster kids to go but realise how good you had it. I do feel a bit of guilt that I wanted them to go, although I shouldn’t feel guilt because I was only a kid; but that is something that was a negative’. ‘Some training would have been nice and it would have been good to talk to others whose families had fostered. They never prepare you for when kids go. Like, you have this baby that you have changed nappies for and cared for and then they’re gone in a week; but they never prepare you for that’. Training 17

18. Suggestions based on participants experiences ‘Have some place where they can come and be listened and supported so they are not just left on their own. Like, if you were the only birth child in a foster family you might have nobody to talk to. They need somebody just to listen and not judge what you are saying’. ‘I think having someone to ring or talk to would have been helpful. Yeah, I remember a girl coming to us at about 14 or 15 and she still had a bottle or soother and I didn’t understand why she still had it. My parents would have explained to some extent but I never really understood why she still had them. It probably would have been helpful if I had have been able to ask someone other than my parents’. (b) Support 18

19.  Birth children actively engaged in the construction of their own lives.  Emotional work undertaken by birth children in caring and supporting parents, birth siblings, foster children and themselves.  Birth children play a key role in the foster care process.  Birth children as strategic fostering agents.  Birth children as knowledge agents. Theory and Practice 19

20.  Importance of parents and professionals continually checking in with birth children throughout the fostering journey.  Recognition that it is the family that fosters not just foster parents ‘Sons and Daughters’ Week in the UK.  Professionals must be more proactive in recognising and consulting with birth children rather than seeing them as passive observers in the foster carer process. Recommendations (1) 20

21.  Value of developing support groups for birth children as they experience family life differently to their non- fostering peers.  Possibility of developing a telephone helpline for birth children less inclined to become involved in support groups.  Need for research exploring challenges for fostering social workers in including and supporting birth children in foster families. Recommendations (2) 21

22.  Kalland, M. and Sinkkonen, J. (2001) ‘Finnish children in foster care: evaluating the breakdown of long term placements’. Child Welfare: Journal of Policy, Practice and Program, 80(5), 513-527.  Quinton, D., Rushton, A., Dance, C.& Mayes, D. (1998) Joining New Families. Chicester: Wiley.  Younes, M.A & Harp, M. (2007)‘Addressing the Impact of Foster Care on Biological Children and Their Families’. Child Welfare,86(4), 21-40. References 22

23. Caring for our Children in State Care/Looked after Children Chair Stella Owens Room: Aran www.childrensresearchnetwork.org 23

24. A feasibility study of a wraparound intervention for children in care in Ireland Mairead Furlong & Sinead McGilloway Department of Psychology Maynooth University 3 rd Children’s Research Network Conference 2014

25.  75% of children in state care experience socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties  Foster carers often unprepared to deal with such issues  Mixed findings from stand-alone evidence-based treatments (e.g. parent programmes) in helping foster carers and foster child  Very little evidence for interventions to support biological parents of children in care Background

26.  Evidence that wraparound (WA) interventions that integrate EBTs wtih tailored services/supports may improve outcomes for foster children and carers (MacDonald & Turner, 2008)  Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care or Treatment Foster Care  Generally target adolescents within juvenile justice systems  Generally do not include biological parents Background

27.  The evaluation of a WA intervention for families involved in state care, comprising (1) the Incredible Years Dina programme for children in care (3- 12 years); and (2) the IY parenting programme for both biological and foster parents of that child. Other services were also provided as necessary  IYPP had to be amended for biological parents  Aim to assess outcomes of parent-child relationship, parenting competencies and wellbeing, and child SEBD  Pre-post analysis on battery of measures – follow up at 2 mths post intervention  Qualitative analysis of experiences of parents, foster carers and service providers using grounded theory Objective of study

28.  Intervention delivered in social work agency in Dublin area  For logistical reasons, it was not possible to deliver the full three parts of the intervention to every family triad (i.e. child, and linked biological parent and foster carer)  Recruited 15 biological parents to the IYPP, 8 foster parents, and 10 children to the Dina programme  Only one family triad received all three parts; 4 families received 2 parts  Thus data collected from biological and foster parents were analysed separately. No data collected from parents of children who attended Dina  Attendance was mean 67% of IY sessions for biological parents, 75% for foster carers and 68% for children in Dina Methods – Participants and settings

29.  Both biological and foster parents of children in care were socially disadvantaged, but foster parents reported fewer mental health issues and had better financial support  Children were:  70% boys, aged 6-8 years  In ‘permanent’ placements; most had been in more than one placement  Most of the children had siblings in foster care  55% had some level of learning difficulties  Primarily in care due to parental substance abuse, but also due to physical and/or emotional abuse Methods – Participants and settings

30. Results for biological parents Key outcomes Significant improvement* Parent-child relationship Parenting Stress Index √ CPRS conflict subscale √ CPRS positive subscale x CPRS dependence subscale √ Mental wellbeing WEMWBS √ Parental competence Being a Parent scale √

31. Results for foster parents Key outcomes Significant improvement* Parent-child relationship Parenting Stress Index √ CPRS conflict subscale x CPRS positive subscale x CPRS dependence subscale √ Mental wellbeing WEMWBS x Parental competence Being a Parent scale √ Child behaviour SDQ total √ ECBI x

32.  Both foster and biological parents reported being very happy with the IY programmes in terms of impact on the parent-child relationship, parental wellbeing and child behaviour outcomes  “I think our relationship is better now through using praise and smiling more with her…She loves a compliment on her appearance or any little things I spot that I can compliment her on. She really beams at you then. I’d say our relationship is warmer now.” (Biological mother of 6-year-old child)  “The course has definitely helped my own confidence. Life is smoother now. I wish I’d known about ignoring bad behaviour earlier in my life.” (Foster carer of 7-year-old child)  “My own confidence is better and better all the time. I feel much better about myself as a parent…I liked learning about how others got on with their children, and about their lives. It made you not alone. It makes you feel lucky and it opens you up to what others go through.” (Biological father of 6-year-old child) Key findings from the interviews

33.  A small number of foster parents felt that the IYPP was not sufficiently tailored to the experiences of foster parents  “The course didn’t really go into issues about trauma in the background from how they were abused by their own parents. And the difficulties that can arise for a child from being placed in care. I’d like to see the videos showing how a foster family dealt with a child coming into the family, who had a lot of behaviour difficulties from being treated badly.” (Foster carer of 7-year-old child)  A few biological parents reported difficulties in implementing the skills during access visits. The infrequency of access sometimes meant that there was not much time for practising skills. Access visits were occasionally perceived as an unfavourable setting in which to implement skills Key lessons

34.  There were challenges in recruitment and in implementing a properly matched WA intervention due to: ( 1) the compartmentalisation of roles within the social work department; and (2) logistical issues involved in recruiting matched participants (e.g. parent may be unavailable or have already received the IYPP)  “I think a part of it was to do with this being a radical new approach for our social work department and colleagues. What it required, on reflection, was that people needed to rethink what they thought about the biological parent. Initially, the fostering workers thought that by engaging with biological parents that we were undermining their work in getting the child being placed in care…We did a lot of work in getting the message across that this programme was about developing the relationship between the child in care and their carer-givers, both foster and biological parents…It wasn’t about upsetting the status quo.” (Social worker)  Key lessons

35.  Although it was not possible to deliver the full WA intervention to all families within this study, it appears that various components of the intervention (whether delivered singly or in combination) produced largely positive outcomes for vulnerable populations  Limitations – small sample size; lack of a control group; logistically difficult to deliver all three WA elements to families  Highlights the need to provide appropriate services and supports for children in care, foster carers and biological parents Conclusion

36. Caring for our Children in State Care/Looked after Children Chair Stella Owens Room: Aran www.childrensresearchnetwork.org 36

37. Geraldine Macdonald, Sharon Millen

38.  Background  Evaluation - aims & methods  Literature review  Implementing the Models  Impact on staff  Impact on young people  Conclusion

39.  Regional child protection report (2006) - ◦ inconsistencies in RCC practice  RRRCC (2007) ◦ recommended the adoption of ‘therapeutic approaches’ to social work in residential child care

41.  Describe each approach & reason for selecting it  Determine how each approach works in practice &resources needed to make it happen  Obtain views of different stakeholders on how the approach works in practice and its effect on them  Provide early indications of whether the approaches are effective/ineffective & why  Provide evidence of organisational/contextual factors that help or hinder successful implementation of the approach  Provide evidence of what is needed to continue the approach.  Describe each approach & reason for selecting it  Determine how each approach works in practice &resources needed to make it happen  Obtain views of different stakeholders on how the approach works in practice and its effect on them  Provide early indications of whether the approaches are effective/ineffective & why  Provide evidence of organisational/contextual factors that help or hinder successful implementation of the approach  Provide evidence of what is needed to continue the approach.

42.  Phase 1 - Scoping Literature Review (Macdonald & Millen 2011)  Phase 2 – Qualitative research on experience of implementation ◦ Heads of homes (n=18) ◦ Residential child care staff (n=38) ◦ Young people (n=29)  Phase 3 - Investigation of impact ◦ Staff survey (n=116)  Phase 1 - Scoping Literature Review (Macdonald & Millen 2011)  Phase 2 – Qualitative research on experience of implementation ◦ Heads of homes (n=18) ◦ Residential child care staff (n=38) ◦ Young people (n=29)  Phase 3 - Investigation of impact ◦ Staff survey (n=116)

47.  First reactions - ◦ Apprehension ◦ Concerns ◦ Resistance  Training - ◦ Trusts took different approaches  To training staff  To who were trained

49.  Impact of training process on knowledge & skills – ◦ Most staff found process satisfactory ◦ Practical activities particularly beneficial ◦ Band 5 workers felt more equipped & less inferior ◦ Further reading essential to successfully practice model ◦ ‘Cascading training’ ineffective method for:  Training new staff  Ongoing training sessions required

52. “ I think it’s had a positive effect. It’s meant that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet it has provided us with a more formal framework......I feel that it has created a more measured, more balanced way of working with your colleagues...” (CARE). “It helps in explaining what we are doing and why we are doing.....if you are getting baffled or confused about where a kid is at or whatever to refer back to the framework helps you put it into perspective, so it gives you a good tool to work from.. it helps us to formulate better when young people are going through difficult times and understand it in a therapeutic context...” (ARC) “I like it because you sort of have to know the children better; you have to get to know them on a different level... it’s totally different, our relationships with our young people’s families are totally different. And I attribute that to MAP”. “It allows you to look behind the behaviour to see what’s causing the problem with the young people, (I) feel Sanctuary enables you to do this no matter how short a time you have to work with the child.” (Sanctuary) “I would say there are big changes already as in people are more relaxed and less rigid and there is less anxiety about we have to control everything, I definitely feel that. (Sanctuary)

53.  Not suitable for- ◦ Aggressive behaviour ◦ Short-term units – need time to build relationship ◦ Young people with behavioural/learning difficulties  E.g. ASD, ADHD ◦ Younger age groups (Social Pedagogy) ◦ Older age groups (CARE)

54. Positives: ◦ Staff more relaxed - better relationships ◦ Improved atmosphere ◦ Decrease in sanctions ◦ Planned admissions ◦ More overnight stays with family Negatives: ◦ Community meetings (Sanctuary Model) ◦ Young people treated differently within home

55. “They helped me with my past and they help me with all my plans for the future” ARC “They are friendly and they just come in and they don’t have that, I don’t know the way to put it, stuck up social workers if you know what I mean...You know, they are human beings - they are civil like, that way, and I wouldn’t like someone coming in and being like a robot, do you know that sort of way.” YP-11 MAP “You don’t get kept out of the groups as long for doing something wrong. We only get kept out of the group for, like, an hour - just to calm us down - then back in again” Sanctuary Like goes to school everyday and doesn’t get anything. She couldn’t even get a £10 top up for her dongle to do her course work, but yet there’s people getting phone top ups, like going out for meals and getting their nails done and that, just for going to school because they refuse to go. CARE “Staff members seem more friendly or something now, they can have a bit of craic with us now which improves the mood of the house in general...” Social Pedagogy.

56. ‘No one likes being locked up... like them windows only open a certain amount, do you know what I mean. Them doors are mahogany, you can’t kick them through. There is nothing to throw apart from a china cup. And everywhere is locked. 10 o’clock is lockdown... it’s not good like but... I love it, I don’t want to leave... I like having boundaries, like stuff you can do and stuff you can’t do. I’m going to come back. I’m going to get out soon, come back in January, get out in June, come back in January, get out in June... I love it here... I suppose yeah it’s because I feel safe here.’ YP-20 Sanctuary

57. YP’s suggestions for improvement include: ◦ All young people to be treated equally ◦ Not to have to ask staff to unlock doors ◦ More emphasis on preparation for moving out ◦ Gradual re-integration back into society (secure unit)

58. Conclusion

59. Any model, No model? - Important to provide understanding of: ◦ Maltreatment and its impacts on young people ◦ Attachment and the impact of attachment disorders ◦ Importance of self-regulation and how it develops ◦ Identity, self-esteem and competence ◦ Core components/building blocks for training

60. Therapeutic models have improved staff: ◦ Knowledge ◦ Skills ◦ Competence ◦ Confidence ◦ Morale ◦ Practice