"I couldn't understand why anyone would let someone like me into their house": Foster care for young people who have sexually abused

Looking after young people who are unable to live within their own families is a complex and demanding task. Complexities increase when those young people are identified as having sexually abused and are thought therefore to present risks of sexual harm to others. This small scale study by a child protection practitioner draws on accounts of placements from both foster carers and young people to explore these complexities. The study identifies significant challenges facing young people and carers within placements though confirms that foster care can and does provide some young people who have sexually abused with experiences of childhoods which are secure, healthy and enjoyable – rich and valuable in themselves and which may prove to be stable foundations for the rest of their lives. It also suggests that carers and young people understand the role undertaken by carers differently. A conceptual framework describing this role and encompassing these differences is developed from an analysis of data that suggests how carers seek to protect young people and others by either enabling or constraining young people to achieve developmental tasks. This conceptualisation is compared with established models of foster care. While recognised as being both broad in nature and provisional, its potential application and utility within practice is considered