The Impact of Bonding and Empowerment on Foster Carer Satisfaction and Retention A Comparison with a Parental Role Timothy Broady ACWA Conference 2012

Role of Foster Carers Important and Unique  Providing care for child who has been removed from the care of his/her biological family Parental Responsibilities  Provide safe, nurturing, secure family environment  Involved in planning and decision making Accountable  Sharing the care  Regular review  Ongoing training

Role of Foster Carers Ambiguous nature  Clients vs. Colleagues  Employees vs. Volunteers  Substitute parents vs. Specialised care providers Implications for satisfaction

Satisfaction of Foster Carers Bond/Attachment  Attachment relationships  Disrupting the old, developing the new  Parental responsibility  Day-to-day care  Late onset  Quality of care

Satisfaction of Foster Carers Empowerment  Initial motivation (intrinsic)  I am able  Autonomy (extrinsic)  I can  Support

Research Questions 1.How does bonding/empowerment influence satisfaction? 2.How is this similar/different between foster carers and parents?

Participants Foster Carers  N=123 (88% female)  28 – 70 years old  74% married / living with partner  82% Australian Parents  N=97 (79% female)  24 – 61 years old  93% married / living with partner  89% Australian

Bond  Child Parent Relationship Scale  How does this child respond to me? Results

Bond  Parent Child Relationship Questionnaire  How do I respond to this child?

Results Empowerment  Family Empowerment Scale  Sense of empowerment within family context

Results Empowerment  Intrinsic Empowerment  Personality variable – general sense of empowerment

Results Desire for Affirmation  Wanting positive response from child

Results Foster CarersParents Higher FESHigher PCRQ Higher Intrinsic Empowerment FemaleHigher Desire for Affirmation More of child’s life in current placement Higher income Positive parental contact Less parent interaction What predicts greater satisfaction?

Similarities/differences between foster carers/parents Impact of bond/empowerment Understanding of role (as understood by carers)  Policy expectations of carers  Training/support Timothy Broady, PhD Candidate Implications