Paper
Issues in kinship care: assessment and support in Dutch kinship foster care
- issue: Issue 3 / 2009
- authors: Anneke J.G. Vinke
- keywords: assessment issues
- views: 4193
- downloaded: 0
- download pdf (63 Kb)
abstract
Introduction
In certain regions in the Netherlands a very high percentage of foster care is kinship care. The general finding both in research as well in practice is that a child should be raised within its own cultural and ethnic system, but in assessing and supporting kinship care arrangements many issues arise. These issues have both psychological components as well as normative and cultural ones. In this project we present the findings of a training and development project where a framework for assessment as well as some skills and tools used in supporting kinship carers were developed and used in practice.
Background
When a child needs to be taken into foster care, kinship care is the preferred choice. Not only by the parents, but also by the child and family. In Dutch foster care, we often find ourselves in a situation that the family has already 'solved' the first crisis by taking the child in. However, authorities have at that point not yet been able to assess needs, strengths and capacities of the child and the new foster family. Permanency is paramount, so it is important to help the family and try to have the kinship placement succeed - within the boundaries of safeguarding the child's needs and welfare. This starting point provides a challenge to all professionals working this field.
The framework and tools presented here were designed to keep a child-led perspective throughout procedures and support as well as to help professionals in providing adequate and high quality services.
Purpose and key findings
Dutch kinship care is common, but not well documented. Each action in kinship care needs to start from the needs of the child and although this notion is shared, a theoretical framework taking this into account is lacking. Theory can also provide foster care workers with tools to do their daily jobs. Firstly there are general assessment issues to be taken into account: how do you assess the needs of the child and match them to the kinship care arrangement proposed? How to make a proper risk assessment? How to provide adequate counselling and interventions in the new family as well as in the biological family in order to really meet the child's needs and to avoid yet another new placement?
These issues were addressed in a development and training project at one of the larger foster care facilities in the Netherlands, where currently for some professional workers up to 80% of their caseload consists of kinship care arrangements. For assessment the Department of Health, Assessment Framework for kinship care, as described by Calder and Talbot (2006) was introduced. This framework was linked to a foster care specific overview of developmental and parenting tasks and a theoretical based concept of good enough parenting (Vinke 2006).
Risk assessment is addressed by using methods like Signs of Safety (Turnell and Edwards 1999), ORBA (Ten Berge and Vinke 2006) and Dalgleish (1997). Tools introduced were the signs of safety planner, risk and protective factor checklists, assessment of the worker's decision threshold and various report forms. All were introduced in a training curriculum of four days. A total of 45 foster care workers, divided over three groups, participated in the training. After the training the method was used for three months and in an evaluation meeting the framework was once more discussed. All participants agreed upon the usefulness of the framework, the tools and evaluated the training positively. Some suggestions for minor adjustments were made.
Recommendations
A follow up training and continuing evaluation is necessary. These should focus on when to decide parenting is not good enough (the bottom line), cultural sensitivity, as well as on careful and systematic scientific monitoring of practice and providing theoretical based tools. In the workshop these themes will be subject to further discussion.
Key references
Berge, I.J. ten and Vinke, A. (2006) Methodiek en hulpmiddelen ORBA, Onderzoek Risicotaxatie Besluitvorming AMK's (Method and tools ORBA, evaluation and risk assessment child maltreatment, neglect and abuse). Utrecht/Woerden: NIZW/Adviesbureau Van Montfoort.
Calder, M.C. and Talbot, C. (2006) Assessments in kinship placements: towards a sensitive, evidence based framework. In: C. Talbot and M.C. Calder. Assessment in Kinship Care. Dorset: Russell House Publishing.
Dalgleish, L.I. (1997) Risk assessment and decision making in child protection. Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland, Department of Psychology.
Turnell A. and Edwards, S. (1999) Signs of Safety. A solution and safety oriented approach to child protection casework. New York/London: W.W.Norton.
Vinke, J.G. (2006) Dilemma's in netwerkpleegzorg (Dilemmas in kinship care). Lecture/workshop, National Conference on foster care. (http://www.pleegzorg.nl/professionals/achtergrondinformatie_workshops.php)
Contact details
Adoptiepraktijk Vinke, Bilthoven (www.adoptiepraktijk.nl) and Leiden University, Dept. of Child and Family studies (www.fsw.leidenuniv.nl). Email: av@adoptiepraktijk.nl or: AVinke@fsw.leidenuniv.nl