Using interviews with over sixty fostered adolescents, their social workers and foster carers, Fostering Adolescents builds up a picture of the challenges faced by both carers and the young people themselves, from planning and preparation for a placement to the impact of foster carer strain. It highlights overlooked factors affecting fostering placements, such as the significance of peer relationships and the role of foster carers' children, and considers which supports and services are vital in maintaining placements.Based on the findings of research commissioned by the Department of Health, this book will be essential reading for both social work policy makers and practitioners. Drawing on the first extended study to examine which factors contribute to positive outcomes for adolescent fostering, the authors address the specific parenting skills and training requirements needed by carers, and look at how to help those young people who are hardest to foster.A rich source of recommendations for social workers, policy makers and carers, this book will be invaluable for anyone involved in the fields of child welfare and child protection.
