'n Ekologiese perspektief op pleegsorg as alternatiewe sorg vir kinders

[摘要] English: The aim of this research was to undertake a holistic exploration and description of the practice of foster care in order to develop a more scientifically based approach to service delivery. By means of the literature study and empirical investigation, which included qualitative as well as quantative methods, a comprehensive analysis were undertaken at all levels of the ecological analysis systems. Not only were specific obstacles identified that are detrimental to service delivery in the practice of service delivery, but the objective also was to come up with strengths and solutions by integrating the strengths perspective with the conceptual framework of the ecological perspective.To this end, frameworks for the assessment of the individual, family, structures and institutions, as well as socio-cultural aspects were each presented individually, where after an integrated assessment framework for holistic assessment was compiled.By means of the empirical qualitative and quantative investigations it was confirmed that the practice of foster care is overburdened with the incidence of serious social phenomena like poverty, AIDS-related deaths, dysfunctional families and inadequate parental functioning. It was confirmed that social workers are confronted with high case loads and that service delivery centres on administrative and statutory procedures, while very little comes of intervention and prevention services in particular. Further demands are made on the practice by the implementation of new children's legislation, which is aimed at prevention and early intervention programmes, before any statutory intervention en foster-care placing can be justified. Much more manpower and resources are needed and the subsidising of prevention and development programmes, as well as betterremuneration of social workers, should seriously be considered by non-governmental organisations in particular.The development of foster-care group schemes could alleviate the demands made on the practice of foster care, because monitoring and supervisory services could be implemented in group context as well as by other social services groups. Furthermore, it also lessens the demand for foster parents, of which there is a huge shortage. Proposals are made regarding better coordination at regional level regarding the recruiting, selection and training of foster parents, which can be dealt with more economically as a speciality area.A greater awareness is awarded to the role and function of other social services professions such as the social auxiliary worker and child and youth careworkers, in order to enable social workers to focus more on the professional performance of their duties. The composition of multi-disciplinary teams and the promotion of interdepartmental collaboration are also emphasised, enabling service delivery to the foster child to be spread across a wider spectrum. The little success that is achieved with services dealing with the reuniting of families also points at the lack of real rehabilitation services in the case of biological parents. Foster placing on a long-term basis mostly takes placewith relatives, which is mainly only monitored statutorily. Children placed in foster care with grandmothers and in child-headed households are also particularly vulnerable and therefore support systems in communities in particular should be applied by volunteers in order to offer placing stability and extra support to enable the child to remain within a family context for as long as possible.The outcomes of foster care are therefore dependent upon the interaction between different role players and institutions, and should be better managed and controlled. Thus policy directives and legislature, which currently have unrealistic expectations in many respects measured against the realities in practice can be realised better.The information in the research report is regarded as comprehensive and holistic with regard to the reciprocal influence of risky and protective factors in the practice of foster care. The focus is not specifically on intervention or assistance, but rather a description and exploration of the current state of the practice of foster care. Valuable information was obtained from the literature study and the qualitative and quantative empirical study, which can be regarded as reliable and valid to utilise as resource for further research, adjustments to policy and training in theory as well as in practice.

[发布机构] University of the Free State