Foster Mothering

Foster mothering refers to the process whereby a woman who is not the biological mother of a child raises a child outside of the biological mother-child dyad. Children placed with a foster mother may be removed from biological parent/s and formally placed in the custody of a foster mother by the state authority, or alternatively, the process may be voluntary in nature. Foster mothering is normally a short-term option most frequently followed by longer-term alternatives in the form of legally binding and permanent adoption, reunification with biological parents, or placement in longer-term guardianship.

Guardianship is the norm in cases in which reunification with biological parents is not feasible, and formalized adoption is deemed unsuitable. Foster mothering differs from adoption. In legal adoptions, the child's rights to the biological parents are ceded, and vice versa, and the child instead assumes the same rights as a biological child in the newly constituted family unit. In the case of foster mothering, the child retains all previous rights to inherit from the biological parents, and the biological parents retain rights to veto decisions taken by the foster parents. In cases of state-endorsed fostering, the foster mother does not assume the status of the child's custodian. Instead, custodianship is retained by the state responsible for placing the child in foster care, and the state may at any time remove the child from the foster mother if reunification with the biological family is considered possible. With adoption being a permanent and legally binding category of childcare, any threat of removal is remote.

Studies indicate that the most common motives for women to become a foster mother include maternal desire, often a result of not being able to conceive; the will to help and provide a safe haven for children in need; and a strong identification with deprived children as a result of similar childhood experience. In these instances, the foster mother has usually experienced resilience and developed coping strategies, which she wishes to impart to children in need.

Research further suggests that factors influencing satisfaction of foster mothers and the resulting retention of foster children include feeling significantly competent to handle children placed in their care, the ongoing willingness to provide a home to [Page 423]children who need loving parents, the age of the foster mother, having no regrets about the investment in foster children, and social workers providing adequate information and displays of approval.