Foster the people : motivations and challenges of foster parents in Singapore

Abstract

Improving Singapore’s foster care system plays a critical role in the government’s goal of transforming the out-of-home care sector to provide better care for vulnerable children. Since foster parents are the first contact of delivery for the scheme, their insights are important to determine how best to improve the responsiveness of the system. This qualitative exploratory study sought to explore the perspectives of foster parents in Singapore through semi- structured face-to-face interviews, and discover the motivations behind becoming a foster parent, the satisfaction they receive, challenges they face and advice they would offer future foster parents. Drawing from 16 in-depth interviews with foster parents with at least a year of fostering experience, this study found that all foster parents are intrinsically motivated to help underprivileged children and create a positive impact on their lives. However, emotional and practical support provided by child protection agencies is also crucial to keep them going.