How Does Foster Care Work?

Robbie Gilligan is Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin and associate director of the Children's Research Centre. He has written extensively on child care and foster care.

• Part 1. Introduction. Foreword. James K. Whittaker, University of Washington, USA. Introduction: Reviewing International Evidence to Inform Foster Care Policy and Practice. Elizabeth Fernandez, University of New South Wales, Australia and Richard P. Barth, University of Maryland, USA. 1. International Perspectives on Foster Care. June Thoburn, University of East Anglia, UK. Part 2. Placement Movements and Destinations. 2. Five Year Developmental Outcomes for Young Children Remaining in Foster Care, Returned Home or Adopted. Richard P. Barth and Christopher Lloyd, University of Arkansas, USA. 3. The Placement Stability in Foster Care. Fred Wulczyn and Lijun Chen, University of Chicago, USA. 4. Foster Care in the Netherlands: Correlates of Placement Breakdown and Successful Placement. Johan Piet Strijker, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. 5. Profile and Scope of Foster Care in Spain. Jorge Fernandez del Valle and Mónica López, University of Oviedo, Spain. 6. Reunification in Australia: Insights from South Australia and New South Wales. Elizabeth Fernandez and Paul Delfabbro, University of Adelaide, Australia Part 3. The Foster Care Experience: A Life Course Perspective. 7. Very Young Children in Care in England: Issues for Foster Care. Harriet Ward and Emily R. Munro, Loughborough University, UK 8. Fostering Adolescents in England: What Contributes to Success? Elaine Farmer, University of Bristol, UK. 9. Rates of Mental, Emotional, and Behavioural Disorders Among Alumni of Family Foster Care in the United States: The Casey National Alumni Study. Peter J. Pecora, Catherine Roller White, Lee Ann Murdock, Kirk O'Brien, Casey Family Programs, USA, Ronald C. Kessler, Nancy Sampson and Irving Hwang Harvard Medical School, USA. Part 4. Psychological Outcomes and Correlates of Outcomes. 10. What Makes for Effective Foster Care: Some Issues. Ian Sinclair, University of York, UK. 11. Long-term Outcomes of Foster Care: Lessons from Swedish National Cohort Studies. Bo Vinnerljung, University of Stockholm, Sweden, Eva Franzén, Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Sweden, Anders Hjern, National Board of Health and Welfare, Sweden and Frank Lindblad, Uppsala University, Sweden. 12. Foster Care in Denmark: Comparing Kinship and Non-Kinship Forms of Care. Lajla Knudsen, Tim Egelund and Anne-Dorthe Hestbæck, SFI, The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Denmark. 13. Selected Educational Outcomes for Young People Aged 17–19 Years in Long Term Foster Care in Ireland. Fiona Daly, Irish Association of Young People in Care, Ireland and Robbie Gilligan, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. 14. Can Tutoring by Foster Parents Improve Foster Children's Basic Academic Skills? A Canadian Randomized Field Trial. Robert J. Flynn, Marie-Pierre Paquet and Robyn Marquis, University of Ottawa, Canada. 15. Wellbeing in Foster Care: An Australian Longitudinal Study of Outcomes. Elizabeth Fernandez. Commentary by Robert Flynn. Conclusion. Richard P. Barth and Elizabeth Fernandez. List of Contributors. Index.

The authors conclude with the hope that the findings which are reflected in this volume have the potential to bring a greater understanding of the complex interplay of those factors that nurture or impede the well-being of children in care. They anticipate that it would impact positively on care planning, the provision of services, the development of policy and future research. We know that foster care works. This book may very well make it work better.