Dual parent-professional role: The tensions associated with family-work for Foster Carers

Literature on work-family roles and boundaries are commonly examined as two different spheres, with family distinct from work. Foster care, however, combines the role of family and work. Foster care is founded on the principle of finding a home for a child that is loving and lasting, which provides the foundation for a good life and helps children excel in education and work and have good overall mental and physical health. Foster carer is a ‘professional’ role in which foster carers are encouraged to perform a ‘parent’ role by creating a supportive ‘family’ environment to facilitate attachment and belonging in children. Although this ‘parent’ role has endured, the demographic changes in children entering foster care have resulted in a shift from a ‘parental’ to a ‘professional’ role among foster carers in the United Kingdom. This paper provides an analysis of the accounts of foster carers and social care professionals to explore the experiences of therapeutic support in managing this dual role. In-depth interviews were conducted with foster carers and social care professionals (N = 21) to investigate the experiences of foster carers in England. This paper adds to the literature in terms of understanding the dual role of foster carers by combining Turner’s (1979) Social Identity Theory with Demerouti et al.’s (2001) Job Demands-Resources model. This paper investigates the role of therapeutic support in helping foster carers balance dual roles to create secure and stable placements for children. It makes recommendations regarding the development of cohesive approaches to supporting foster carers.