Foster care from the perspective of foster parents

The topic of this diploma thesis is foster care and the way it is viewed by foster parents. Foster care is an activity meant to provide care and appropriate rearing to children who are temporarily unable to reside with their biological family. A foster parent is a person who accepts the child into his or her home and takes it upon his- or herself to care for the child in an appropriate way. Within the theoretical part, I outline the different family types as well as the basic responsibilities of a family. The foster family type is described in more detail. I continue with the motives for foster care, its purpose and the role played by the social work centre in the implementation of such care. I focus on the regulations that provide the legal framework for this type of coexistence and outline the tasks and duties of the foster parent. The empirical part consists of a qualitative study in the form of interviews conducted with three foster mothers. I have focused on their experiences and presented their own views, as well as their opinions on how to improve foster care. The results show that foster mothers and their partners decide for foster care out of a desire to help the child. A considerable challenge lies in cooperating with the child’s biological family and arranging contacts between children and their parents. The foster mothers collaborate well with the social work centre, receiving all the necessary assistance. The shortcomings of the foster care system are the legislation, which is still inadequate, and that there isn't enough support provided to the biological family. The foremost desire and intent of the foster mothers is to prepare the children for an independent and functional life