PR2 - Focus group experience in Italy and Greece

Complementary to the first project result, the second result of the Creating Care project  consists in designing a tool for understanding foster families’ needs, perceptions and experiences. With that in mind we would like to share some of the findings of the focus groups the partners have been conducting with families and children. 

Italy

The approach:
​The first part of the project included a focus group with experts and professionals from the foster care system, during which we could listen to the point of view of those working in the field. The second focus group addressed foster families and children to investigate and learn about their experiences, difficulties and points of view. We interviewed six foster families, three in the category of intrafamilial fostering, i.e. the children were not placed with strangers but with relatives (uncles, grandparents, etc.) and three in heterofamilial foster care.

What kind of obstacles do you face after becoming a foster family?
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The biggest obstacle for the families was undoubtedly the impact of having the children home again after so many years. Some of those interviewed told us that their children are now grown up, in their 40s, and that welcoming their grandchildren in their childhood and teenage years was a real challenge. At times, they felt lost, but the support of the counselling centre and social workers enabled them to create a relationship, become attached to the children and make them grow fond of them.

What kind of obstacles do the children face in foster care?

The children had to face the obstacle of 'learning' to live in a family. Although it was the grandparents, many of the families never had much contact with the children because they were rarely allowed to see them until they became foster parents. So many of the families told us that the biggest challenge for the children was settling in. One of the obstacles that emerged from the interview is that of accepting that they are alone and need to be cared for by people other than their parents who have abandoned them.

What factors do you think are decisive in successful fostering?

All the families agree that there are no common, general factors for successful fostering, but they depend on each child's and foster family's experiences. In general, what emerged from the focus group was that taking children gently, making them understand the rules and, helping them reflect when they make mistakes, making them feel affection all the time is an effective ways to build the family relationship.

GREECE

The focus group conducted in Greece took place in the Day Care Centre "ARIADNI" facilities and it involved 9 participants, among them two psychologists and one social worker. 

What kind of obstacles do you face after becoming a foster family?

Participants responded that they had thought a lot before deciding to adopt. The successful outcome of foster placements and the prevention of the foster child's return to forms of institutional accommodation are important. The parents responded that one of the difficulties they faced was that they needed to receive adequate direction, support and counselling, which was lacking. 

One of the families with an unaccompanied minor referred to the problems with the biological parents, due to their different cultural backgrounds, may find it difficult to understand how their child could have arrived in Greece and lived in a camp, then moved to a hospitality structure and finally, ended up in the care of foster parents and different regions of the country.

What kind of obstacles do the children face in foster care?

Most of the time, these children have been deprived of protection and have experienced neglect and abuse, while their living in institutional conditions increases the difficulties they have to face. 

Moreover, unaccompanied refugees and immigrant children are a special group with increased needs and vulnerability. Their placement in foster care brings significant challenges for the parents who have to deal with them. These include the traumatic experiences of these children and the psycho-emotional difficulties they may present, their often complex legal cases and pending cases, their lack of knowledge of the Greek language, and their difficulties in integrating and adapting to Greek society.

What factors do you think are decisive in successful fostering?

All the participants answered that being ready to become a parent is the most important factor. For the ones who adopted an older child, they also mentioned that you have to be respectful of the children’s history.