Today’s theme for Coram Baaf Member’s Week is ‘Staying in touch’ and this is a topic close to our hearts. Creating successful plans to stay in touch, for our young people in foster homes and their families, involves regular and scheduled communication. This looks different for all of our young people and we will personalise activities that promote communication. Usually we call this ‘family time’ and this is an area of foster parenting that often requires the most support from our team of Supervising Social Workers.
We found this article really interesting. It was published in 2023 and looks at a survey of over 9000 children in care who were asked about how they viewed their contact arrangements. “Most children wanted to see their family, including brothers and sisters, more often. They also wanted to see other people who were important to them and their pets. Many children felt they did not understand why decisions had been made and wanted to see their family in the community and not in contact centres. Children who lived with a foster carer who was also a relative more frequently had contact with their families.”
In summary – and linking to the theme of ‘Listening to the Child’ – the main conclusion discusses the importance of not just listening but also acting upon young people’s wishes and feelings around contact. It is important to move away from having a fixed view on how often and with whom contact should be made. We mustn’t forget pets! A number of other studies (linked in the above article) suggest that listening to the young person’s opinions is likely to be beneficial for their overall well-being and future outcomes.