Foster placement breakdown : what can we learn from foster carers' stories and how successful is Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care

• Main Author: Lamswood, Sarah Louise
• Other Authors: Schlösser, Annette
• Published: University of Hull 2015
• Subjects: 362.73; Clinical psychology
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.686231

This thesis portfolio comprises of three parts: a systematic literature review, an empirical study and a set of appendixes. Part one is a systematic literature review examining a specific type of therapeutic foster care, Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care. An introduction to the challenges children with complex emotional and behavioural difficulties face in the juvenile justice system and in looked after care is outlined; including a rationale for the use of MTFC. This paper provides a critical review of the current literature on MTFC within defined inclusion criteria. The main findings are presented along with recommendations for future research. Part two is an empirical study of foster-carers experiences of placement that has broken down recently. The paper introduces the difficulties facing children and carers as a result of foster placements break down. Due to the lack of research directly conducted with foster-carers a narrative approach was applied to interviews of a placement breakdown with foster carers. The paper reports the analysis of foster carers stories in order to identify potential intervention points which may assist social workers to assist foster carers who feel their placement may be at risk of breaking down. The clinical and research implications are discussed. Part three is a complete set of appendixes of parts one and two. This includes the forms provided to foster-carers by the researcher, analyses, an epistemological statement of the empirical piece and a reflective discussion of the research process.