Child Abuse Review Vol. 11: 255–256 (2002)

BookReviewEdited by Bernard Gallagher

Issues in Foster Care: Policy, Practice and Research editedby Greg Kelly and Robbie Gilligan, Jessica Kingsley, London,2000. 222pp. ISBN 1 85302 465 1(Pbk), £15.95.

In spite of the predominance of foster care in the looked aftersystem, there has been only a limited amount of recent research inthis area and few dedicated publications. This volume is thereforeto be welcomed. Edited by two experienced child care academicswho are in close touch with practice, the approach is generallyaccessible and the chapters cover a good range of issues.

Kelly’s chapter on outcome studies of foster care unpickssome of the complexities in this area and sets the stage forlater contributions. Gilligan’s examination of children’s viewsof fostering provides an overview of children’s key concerns,particularly their preoccupation with parents and siblings, theirneed to understand why they are in care, their concerns aboutbullying and the stigma of care and their worries about the future.This chapter should help practitioners to ensure that they findways to connect with children’s vital concerns. Gilligan has alsocontributed a chapter on promoting resilience for fostered childrenthat contains many useful practical ideas on how to develop facetsof children’s lives that are likely to act as protective factors to tipthe balance towards better outcomes for them.

It is particularly pleasing to find that two chapters are devotedto managing children’s behaviour. One gives a detailed guide to

‘Two chapters aredevoted tomanagingchildren’sbehaviour’

applied behaviour analysis and its implementation, in a form thatcould provide a basis for practice. An exciting approach is offered byHouston, who explores solution-focused brief therapy and gives anaccessible case example. This method could be used or adapted bysocial workers or family placement workers to help foster carers findpositive solutions to dealing with children’s troubled behaviours.

Nixon tackles allegations of abuse in foster care, although thisreviewer would have liked a little more attention to the abuse ofchildren by other fostered children. The chapter gives an overviewof the extent of reported abuse by carers, the impact of allegationson all the key principals and an analysis of good practice in dealingwith such allegations. A thoughtful examination of the neglectedrole of foster carers in the leaving care process is provided byPinkerton. He also proposes regular reviews of the adolescent’scapacity to cope with the challenges of the transition out of careby means of a consideration of progress along the looking afterchildren outcome dimensions.

There is an excellent final chapter by O’Brien, whose workhas made a significant contribution to our understanding of theprocesses involved in care by relatives. She outlines key areas inwhich relative and stranger care differ. These include the carers’demographic profile, the assessment process, the way in whichcarers come to the notice of social work agencies and, crucially, theposition of the agency in the network of relationships between thecarers, parents and child. This leads into a sophisticated discussionof the kind of case management required in relative care and howit differs from that used in managing traditional foster care. Sheadvocates the use of systemic thinking in dealing with the varyingnetworks of relationships between participants.

The timing of this publication means that most of the raftof post-Children Act research (summarized in Department of

Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

256 Book Review

Health, 2001) is not mentioned and so one or two chapters alreadyseem a little dated. Nonetheless, this is an important and usefulcontribution to the foster care literature and will be consulted bystudents, practitioners and academics alike.

Reference

Department of Health. 2001. The Children Act Now: Messages fromResearch. The Stationery Office: London.

Elaine FarmerSenior Research Fellow,

School for Policy Studies,University of Bristol

DOI: 10.1002/car.744

Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Child Abuse Review Vol. 11: 255–256 (2002)