Children in foster care with challenging behaviour in Wales (UK): key themes and issues for practice and research

Foster care in Wales (UK) engages frequently with children thought to present with challenging behaviour. It is essential we gain a deeper understanding of their behaviour in order to inform our thinking about how we provide support to children and carers. The paper presents key findings from research into a total population of fostered children in four neighbouring local authorities in South Wales who were considered to exhibit challenging behaviour. The paper examines children’s characteristics and key processes in fostering and in doing so, outlines the very different behaviours and difficulties associated with these children as perceived by carers. The article concludes with some reflection on the term ‘challenging behaviour’ and its sufficiency to account for difficulties in foster placements