REUNIFICATION – ‘A REALITY OR AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM?’:

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study was to reflect upon the perspectives of Swedish childcare and foster family social workers about current reunification services rendered to the biological parents of children placed in foster care. The study examined how service delivery and environmental factors could actually affect the outcome of reunifying foster children with their biological parents.

Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted over the duration of one month among four childcare social workers, rendering services to the child and their biological parents and four foster family social workers rendering services to the foster parents. These social workers where employed in 4 out of 7 foster care agencies in the Gothenburg region. An additional interview was conducted with one biological parent who’s children were previously removed and placed in foster care and after a duration of 1 ½ years were reunified back into her care. The data obtained from the interview with the biological parent were used for illustration purposes only as we could not draw any conclusions as this was an unrepresentative sample but provides insights for both the researchers and the readers. Data obtained from the interviews were analysed using qualitative interview analysis method as prescribed by Kvale (1996).

Findings from the study revealed that Swedish social workers have unbalanced views towards reunification and that there is a prevalence of difficulties experienced in the implementation of reunification service delivery in spite of ideal state policy. The study also affirmed that stable and quality contact between the child and parents while the child is placed in foster care increases the possibility of reunification. The study also confirmed that multiple factors affect the outcome of the reunification process and that the co-operation between all stakeholders is imperative in accomplishing the goal of reunification.