The role of foster carers in meeting children's developmental and identity needs in England, Portugal and Spain

The number of children who are removed from their birth families for reasons such as neglect and/or abuse and are placed in care has been increasing over the years. Foster care is the widely preferred type of placement for the majority of these children; however, differences between countries emerge when it comes to the use of foster care and how foster carers are expected to perform the role, that is, as parents, professionals or a combination of both. These differences can condition how foster carers support children's development and identity formation and, particularly promote their sense of belonging to both the foster family and birth family (i.e. multifamily membership). International comparisons can, therefore, shed light on cultural differences, best practices and areas for mutual learning, which can ultimately contribute to children's outcomes.

In my PhD thesis, I explored the role of foster carers in England and Portugal and focused on understanding the different elements of the role and how these could influence children's outcomes. For this, I conducted 19 focus groups with 99 participants between England and Portugal. Children and young adults with foster care experience, foster carers and social workers shared their perspectives on "what makes a good foster carer" and how placement success could be measured. Moreover, a total of 740 foster carers in England and 53 foster carers in Portugal filled in a survey where they reported on their fostering competencies, the quality of their relationship with children and children's difficulties. The most relevant findings that emerged from this research were that in England, some foster carers had difficulties in promoting children's sense of belonging to the foster family, while, in Portugal, the difficulties were around promoting children's sense of belonging to their birth family; and that being less successful in promoting children's multifamily membership could negatively influence their development and identity formation.

This fellowship aims to generate societal impact in England, Portugal (where I conducted my PhD research and will carry out further research) and Spain (where I will conduct a research visit and further research), by advancing the understanding of the role of foster carers, which can contribute to improving foster care provision and consequently lead to better outcomes for children in foster care. This will be achieved through planned activities that will further this academic field; specifically, I will publish two articles on the findings of my PhD thesis, develop a funding proposal and carry out research related to the PhD. In this research, I will conduct focus groups to explore how young people in foster care in England, Portugal and Spain describe their identity and perceive the contributions of foster carers to their identity development, with a focus on multifamily membership. The findings of this new piece of research and my PhD will be contextualised within the national and international literature, practice context, legal framework and policies, and tailored for dissemination next to academics, foster carers, social workers and children in foster care. Moreover, evidence relevant to national policies and strategies will be shared with key policymakers, considering their pivotal role in driving change in policy and practice. Most of these activities have been designed to build and consolidate my academic, policy, and practice networks, thereby increasing opportunities for impact and supporting my early career progression and future research aspirations.