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Balancing the high personal costs and rewards in providing foster care: Experiences of non-related foster carers in Australia

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  • Haysom, Zoe
  • Shlonsky, Aron
  • Hamilton, Bridget

Abstract

Foster care is the preferred care option in nations such as Australia for children who cannot safely reside with their parents or within their family or community networks. Concerningly, all Western jurisdictions face chronic foster carer shortages and challenges in providing stable placements.

Suggested Citation

  • Haysom, Zoe & Shlonsky, Aron & Hamilton, Bridget, 2025. "Balancing the high personal costs and rewards in providing foster care: Experiences of non-related foster carers in Australia," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:170:y:2025:i:c:s0190740925000519
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108168
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. De Maeyer, Skrallan & Vanderfaeillie, Johan & Vanschoonlandt, Femke & Robberechts, Marijke & Van Holen, Frank, 2014. "Motivation for foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 143-149.
    2. Cleary, Sarah E. & Barnett, Erin R. & Huckins, Jeremy F. & Butcher, Rebecca L. & Jankowski, Mary K., 2018. "A comparison of foster and adoptive parent satisfaction and commitment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 205-210.
    3. McKeough, A & Bear, K & Jones, C & Thompson, D & Kelly, PJ & Campbell, LE, 2017. "Foster carer stress and satisfaction: An investigation of organisational, psychological and placement factors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 10-19.
    4. Sattler, Kierra M.P. & Herd, Toria & Font, Sarah A., 2023. "Foster care, kinship care, and the transition to adulthood: Do child welfare system processes explain differences in outcomes?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    5. Jill R. McTavish & Christine McKee & Masako Tanaka & Harriet L. MacMillan, 2022. "Child Welfare Reform: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-24, October.
    6. Benjamin Saunders & Julius Sim & Tom Kingstone & Shula Baker & Jackie Waterfield & Bernadette Bartlam & Heather Burroughs & Clare Jinks, 2018. "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1893-1907, July.
    7. Ruiz-Romero, Kevin J. & Salas, María D. & Fernández-Baena, Francisco Javier & González-Pasarín, Lucía, 2022. "Is contact with birth parents beneficial to children in non-kinship foster care? A scoping review of the evidence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    8. De Wilde, Lieselot & Devlieghere, Jochen & Vandenbroeck, Michel & Vanobbergen, Bruno, 2019. "Foster parents between voluntarism and professionalisation: Unpacking the backpack," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 290-296.
    9. Whitt-Woosley, Adrienne & Sprang, Ginny & Eslinger, Jessica, 2020. "Exploration of factors associated with secondary traumatic stress in foster parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Williams, Kimberly A. & Lewis, Ericka M. & Feely, Megan, 2023. "Stay just a little bit longer: A scoping review of foster parent engagement in the U.S," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    11. Ahn, Haksoon & DePanfilis, Diane & Frick, Kevin & Barth, Richard P., 2018. "Estimating minimum adequate foster care costs for children in the United States," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 55-67.
    12. Blakey, Joan M. & Leathers, Sonya J. & Lawler, Michelle & Washington, Tyreasa & Natschke, Chiralaine & Strand, Tonya & Walton, Quenette, 2012. "A review of how states are addressing placement stability," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 369-378.
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