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The study aims to examine foster parents’ experiences of foster care, focusing on the difficulties they may encounter and their experiences in the interactions and support from social services. Research shows that foster parents bear a significant responsibility for the lives and well-being of the children under their care. They often describe their parenting experiences as one characterized by powerlessness, and they perceive the support provided by social services as inadequate. Ensuring that foster parents receive the necessary support to provide stable and service care for the child is crucial for a successful placement. Considering this issue, the purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of the assignment and how foster parents experience the contact with social services. A qualitative method has been used and eight foster parents were interviewed using semi structured interviews. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and presented and analyzed using Foucault’s theory of pastoral power and previous research. The results indicate that foster parents face different types of difficulties, especially when it comes to the contact with social services and the biological network of the placed children. The contact and support received from social services appears to be crucial for succeeding as foster parents, but it occurs to often be insufficient and lacking. The result also indicates that most foster parents’ experience difficulties related to the lack of decision making as well as the interactions between the placed child and its biological parents. However, lack of support emerges as the most challenging aspect of foster care according to the foster parents in this study because it makes it even harder to manage and handle the other difficulties and dilemmas that comes with the assignment. Therefore, this study emphasizes the significance of effective and supportive social services to ensure successful experiences for foster parents. |
