Caring for Children From the Same Culture: Challenges for Foster Parents

Abstract

Foster parents licensed in a central Canadian province were contacted by telephone and invited to participate in a survey that included the question “What are the challenges of fostering a child with the same values, beliefs, and traditions as you?” Participants sorted all responses to the question into concepts that were analyzed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis in accordance with the concept mapping method. The final concept map included five clusters that were labeled rebuild confidence, different expectations, resistance, restore connections, and acceptance. Results were compared to the literature. Similarities and differences are presented.

KEYWORDS:

• challenges
• Canada
• foster parents
• culture

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank Bev Wiebe of the Manitoba Foster Family Network and Brian Ridd of the Child Protection Branch, Manitoba Family Services and Housing for their support of this study. The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Melissa Campbell, Meghan Sprung, Lee Anne Jarman, and Christine Miller for their research assistance. The authors would also like to thank the many foster parents who shared their time and expertise with us.

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of this research through a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.