Publications

Authors:

Sità, Chiara; Mortari, Luigina

Title:

Rethinking “the family” in foster care in Italy: The perspective of children in care and of foster parents’ children.

Year:

2023

Type of item:

Articolo in Rivista

Tipologia ANVUR:

Articolo su rivista

Language:

Inglese

Format:

Elettronico

Referee:

Sì

Name of journal:

GLOBAL STUDIES OF CHILDHOOD

ISSN of journal:

2043-6106

Page numbers:

1-14

Keyword:

children’s voices, family belongings, foster care

Short description of contents:

In Italy, family fostering is in most cases a voluntary service where foster parents are nonprofessional helpers. About half of the foster parents are couples with children of their own, which makes fostering a “family enterprise.” Within growing attention to children’s voices in research, the paper focuses on children living foster care (as children in care and as foster parents’ children) and the ways they engage in constructing their family landscape. So far, the point of view of the two groups has been considered separately. Although their life trajectories are highly specific, a cross-cutting perspective on family involving the two groups of children can offer new insights on their experiences of family construction and belonging. Starting from a conceptual framework that sees kinship and family as emerging from practices where family actors—including children—are actively engaged, the article presents the main results of interview research involving 69 children and youth who currently live in foster families in Italy, as children in care and as biological children of the foster parents. The results highlight the intense work children do in constructing and naming family ties, in displaying their family in social contexts, and in learning about themselves, the family, and their multiple belongings throughout foster care.

Web page:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20436106221099037
https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85131118759&origin=resultslist&sort=plf-f&featureToggles=FEATURE_NEW_DOC_DETAILS_EXPORT:1

Product ID:

127262

Handle IRIS:

11562/1067683

Last Modified:

January 26, 2025

Bibliographic citation:

Sità, Chiara; Mortari, Luigina, Rethinking “the family” in foster care in Italy: The perspective of children in care and of foster parents’ children. «GLOBAL STUDIES OF CHILDHOOD» , 2023 , pp. 1-14

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