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Understanding the multiple, meaningful, and overlapping elements of the social identity of children who are in foster care. How can foster care systems and foster carers provide quality care?

Project description

Supporting children’s social identity development in foster care

Children from marginalised backgrounds (including diverse ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and abilities) are overrepresented in foster care and often face placement instability and receive inadequate support. Foster care systems can unintentionally perpetuate structural inequalities by failing to address children’s unique needs and identities. The IDChild project, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, examines how foster care in England, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands supports children’s social identities. Focusing on the voices of young people, foster carers and social workers, the project uses an intersectional approach to compare policies and practices, identify quality care indicators and highlight systemic barriers. IDChild aims to inform policies and practices that prioritise children’s social identity development, promoting equity and justice within child welfare systems.

Objective

Children with diverse backgrounds (e.g. ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity) and characteristics (e.g. abilities) are overrepresented in foster care, and evidence shows that these groups of children tend to face additional challenges, such as being misunderstood by professionals and foster carers and experiencing more placement breakdowns. Foster care systems can be disconnected from children’s needs and realities, thus reasserting normative standards and perpetuating inequalities. Additionally, there is reduced evidence on the specific needs of diverse groups of children who are in foster care, more specifically regarding their social identity and how the different elements of social identity intersect (race, ethnicity, gender identity, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, ability, religion, socioeconomic status, and other social categories). Young people who are in foster care, social workers, and foster carers across four foster care systems, England, Portugal, Spain, and The Netherlands, will share their perspectives, contributing to a deeper understanding of the three objectives of the project: i) to analyse the social identity development of children who are in foster care in four countries through the lens of intersectionality ii) to explore and compare the foster care systems (legislation, policy, practice, and research) and the support provided to children’s social identity development in four countries and, iii) to identify quality indicators of foster carers to support children’s social identity development, in four countries. The project will contribute unique and novel insights into children's social identity development, which can advance research, enhance practice processes of quality care, inform policy, and ultimately improve children's developmental outcomes.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN
Net EU contribution
€ 271 345,20
Address
Broerstraat 5
9712CP Groningen
Netherlands
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Partners (2)