Professor Judy Sebba, Director of the Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education, was interviewed by BBC South Today and BBC Radio Oxford about the Rees Centre report, Effective parent-and-child fostering, published 10 March 2014.
The review, by Nikki Luke and Judy Sebba, looked at evidence from 35 studies in the UK and North America and found that more specialist parent-and-child foster homes need to be provided along with more support networks for specialist foster carers and parents themselves.
The review found that young parents living in foster homes with their children often feel stigmatized. As an element of assessment is often built in to this type of fostering, they said that more was expected of them than other young parents, that they were under constant scrutiny and feared having their child taken away.
The review also revealed that fostering services have found it difficult to assess the need for parent-and-child arrangements and that far more evidence exists relating to teenagers in care who become parents than adult parents who move into foster homes with their children.
Director of the Rees Centre for Research in Fostering and Education, Professor Judy Sebba, said: “Our research shows the importance of specialist services for parents and children in fostering and how they can be better supported to safeguard the best interests of the child.”
Listen to/Download the interview here
Other links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01sn7d4; http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01sn7d8
‘Effective parent-and-child fostering’ by Nikki Luke and Judy Sebba available here.