Grief and foster parents: How do foster parents feel when a foster child leaves their home?

Abstract

Foster parents support the child welfare system by looking after children who need to be cared for away from home. They serve as surrogate or substitute parents until the child is reunited with his or her birth parents or an alternate permanent home is found. The experience of foster parents when a child they have cared for leaves their home is rarely recognised or discussed. This study seeks to learn more about the feelings that foster parents experience in such situations. Evaluation instruments include a quantitative scale and an open-ended question. Results from both these analyses suggest that foster parents do experience significant grief upon the loss of their children, and that this emotion takes several forms and affects the recruitment and retention of carers.