The World of Foster Care

This is an international reference study which describes the role and structure of foster family care systems in 30 countries. Each chapter describes the foster system in a particular country and is written by an expert from that country. The chapters closely parallel each other in the information they provide, comprising sections on jurisdiction, history and origins, administration and organization, foster children and parents, financial support for foster parents, major problems and trends, role of the national foster parent organization, and research. This text has been endorsed by the International Foster Care Organization (IFCO) in order to provide, in one volume, an easily accessible, compact and fairly comprehensive description of foster family care as it operates in different countries. The chapters provided by the various authors have been edited in an easy to read style, bearing in mind that English will not be the first language of many who may use the book.