Date of webinar
Start and finish time of webinar
14:00 – 15:30
The webinar will present qualitative research study conducted by Sarah Todorov, a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK, in English and Bulgarian.
Foster care is a form of family-based alternative care which has a history in Bulgaria dating as far back as the mid-1930s. As a result of the introduction of a legal framework for foster care, and the care reforms which have emerged due to the de-institutionalisation policy, the development of foster care has gained momentum in the last 20 years in particular. Foster care is defined by the Bulgarian Child Protection Act (2020) as the “…raising and educating of a child in a family environment who is placed into a family of its relatives or into a foster family.”
Statistics on the placement of children in family-based and family-type care show that children with disabilities face limited opportunities for accessing foster care. In Bulgaria, the trend exists that residential care is the preferred form of alternative care placement for children with disabilities who are separated from parental care. However, in some areas across the country, children with disabilities are being placed in foster care with successful outcomes.
A qualitative research study conducted by Sarah Todorov, a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK, looked at the existing practices of foster care for children with disabilities in Bulgaria by researching the experiences of foster parents who have cared for children with disabilities. The study asked the following questions:
- How do foster parents experience caring for children with disabilities in Bulgaria?
- How do foster parents’ experiences inform suggestions for changes to services and practices in foster care for children with disabilities in Bulgaria?
By better understanding the experiences of foster parents with ‘lived experience’ of fostering children with disabilities, the strengths of the foster care system and the challenges are brought to light. Findings from the study point towards evidence-based actions for the improvement and development of foster care for children with disabilities with regard to training and support of foster parents.
Findings from the study point towards three areas which enable a better understanding of the reality of fostering children with disabilities:
1) The personal impact that fostering has on the foster parent, which is both positive and negative;
2) The experience of navigating relationships and services related to their role;
3) The expertise and commitment to children that foster parents demonstrate.
These findings shed light on: i) the valuable contributions foster parents are making to de-institutionalisation; ii) foster parents’ training and support needs; iii) misconceptions about the role of foster parents and social workers in the practice of foster care; and iv) foster parents’ motivation to foster children with disabilities.
The findings are important for the development of practice relating to foster parents and social workers supervising foster care in Bulgaria. The experiences of participants in this study demonstrate some aspects which are unique to the experience of fostering children with disabilities, and others which are shared by many foster parents due to the nature of the role (e.g. the difficulty of separating from foster children and the resulting personal emotional impact). In addition, these findings have relevance beyond the scope of foster care and identify pertinent issues related to the prevention of separation of children with disabilities from their biological families, and to other Central and Eastern European countries developing family-based alternative care for children with disabilities.
For further information about the findings and recommendations of this study, and to take part in a discussion about the implications of these findings to policy and practice in Bulgaria, you can join the upcoming webinar hosted by The Know-how Centre for Alternative Care for Children, NBU, on Thursday 16th February 2023 from 2pm. This webinar will be available in English and Bulgarian. Link for registration: https://forms.gle/iLcR5KebKovW2kMB7
More information about the researcher and shareable materials related to the study can be found on the websites linked below.
Sarah Todorov: University of Birmingham profile; Facebook Sarah Todorov - Researcher; Twitter @SarahTodorov
Research Blog: Bulgarian Foster Care: What is it like to foster children with disabilities?
Countries this relates to
You might like..
no
0
125
The Know-how Center for Alternative Care for Children advocates for updating the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy for Deinstitutionalization of Child Care. In a letter to the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, KHC…
yes
0
16
The webinar is meant for: all professionals working in the social and educational field.
Objectives of the webinar:
According to some sources, the situation with children and young people in Bulgaria is not getting the desired and expected…
0
12
Foster and adoptive parents are an extremely diverse community of people with one thing in common: the desire to love, nurture and care for children and youth. Many parents may not realize that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in foster care and are…
0
12
Ahead of the European Day of Persons with Disabilities, Eurochild member, Maud Stiernet, explains how to include children: by involving them and checking their accessibility needs. Maud is a consultant in…
0
7
For children in foster care, kinship care or adoptive homes, life constantly brings up challanges like clinical and social ones, and complex issues.
An updated AAP clinical report describes these challanges and provides pediatricians practical…
0
56
This report sets out the findings from a small research project that explored what contributes to good matching decisions for children in foster care. The research activity took place in the summer of 2019.
The executive summary gives the…
0
3
The Covid-19 situation has made finding and maintaining stable homes for more than 400,000 foster children in the United States very difficult. The mechanism of foster care varies by state and country, but they share the same threats.
Many…
0
24
This manual has been developed by “Save the Children” in the framework of “Initiative for Child’s Health and Education - 2” project.
It is designed for school-age children and adolescents to introduce peculiarities of communication with disabled…
no
0
17
UK: According to the latest report by The Fostering Network, the UK’s fostering system is at risk to fail children and young people
Context
Foster carers provide care for nearly 70,000 children
Children and carers are faced with “a crumbling…
0
8
Professionalization of Foster Care national conference will take place on 30th September at 10 AM at the European House at Jurišićeva 1/1 in Zagreb. This conference is organised by the Forum for Child Foster Care as a part of the “Info Centre for…
0
83
Foster Care and Wellbeing of Adolescents: Research to Improve Policies and Practices project is aimed at gaining knowledge about wellbeing, from the nasal wellbeing of adolescents to family care. The project is part of a broader initiative…
0
13
In this publication, it is reported that "Bulgaria has closed the crowded, isolated institutions that once housed its disabled children, but is still a long way from providing the care they need." while Bulgaria has undertaken the process of…
no
0
85
The two leaflets are produced by Save the Children in Albania in the framework of its efforts to raise awareness and help the Albanian families into understanding Foster Care and get the appropriate information regarding the necessary steps toward…
0
2
Children with disabilities raised in institutional setting are often stigmatized as incapable. Ahead of the European Day of Persons with Disabilities conference, Cedar Foundation proves that when provided with the right…
0
37
It is now well established that early childhood adverse experiences are strongly associated with risk of developing problems in later life [1]: in terms of later health [2], social development [3], mental health and wellbeing [4], and educational…
