Relationships during foster care : Social service work with a child’s identity formation and development during foster care

The aim of this study was to examine how the social service workers reflect on their work in cases when a child is placed in foster care. Both with people who works with the child before the decision and the placement is made and the people who works with it after after the placement. The study examined how social workers worked with the aspects of relationships and contact, both between social worker and the biological parent but also between the child and the child's biological parents. This study provides a understanding of how social workers reflect on concepts such as attachment and relationships during the process of foster care, both before and after the placement is done. The investigation has a qualitative approach and contains eight semi-structured interviews with social workers who are a part of the process either before or after the placement is done. Four interviews have been conducted with social workers that are involved before the placement and four interviews have been conducted with social workers who are involved after the placement. In the thematic data analysis of the empirical interview material was coded. At first, an initial coding was done. After that a selective coding was carried out where the codes that were recurrent and significant for the study was made into the themes that made the results of the study. The results of the study show that the process of placing a child in foster care is complex. Attachment, relationships and the juridical process was aspects of this process that the participants considered important. A child's attachment was something they considered important because it was of great importance for a child's development. The relationships were something that the participants considered to be a challenge to work with. The clients need to get a new social worker after the placement which complicates the work regarding relationships. There is also a conflict of interest and a difficulty to cooperate between the parties. The juridical process is an aspect were the participants considered needed improvement. The participants considered them to have to minimal of an influence on the process. They considered that they needed more influence because the people who works in the legal system do not have the same amount of knowledge considering a child’s development that the participant have