Matching children with prospective foster and adoptive parents: The case of South Africa

Project summary

When considering out-of-home care solutions for children that cannot live with their parents, the UN Convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC) requires ratifying states to pay due regard to the desirability of continuity in a child's upbringing and to the child's ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic background ( UNCRC, 1989, Art. 20). There are some variations as to how ratifying states have incorporated this article in their national policies, with some giving a greater priority to finding a cultural match than others (Tonheim et al., 2024).   

In South Africa, social workers are required by law to try to find foster carers with a similar background to that of the child (Children’s Act, 2005, Section 184). The child may only be placed in a foster family with a different cultural, religious and linguistic background if there is an already established bond with the child or if social workers are unable to find a suitable foster carer with a similar background. Also when considering domestic adoption the law requires that the religious and cultural background of the child, the child’s parent/s and the prospective adoptive parent/s  are taken into account as well as “reasonable preferences expressed by a parent” (Children’s Act, 2005, Section 240). It is, thus, recommended that social workers consider the cultural and community diversity of the child and prospective adoptive parent (Children’s Act, 2005, Section 231).

In this research project we will examine how social workers in South Africa consider the ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic pluralism of children and families when reflecting on how to match children with prospective foster and adoptive parents. We use the term ‘cultural continuity’ to denote the process of maintaining (and potentially resisting or reconstructing) aspects of these four aspects of the child’s background. Ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic background intersect with one another and are all viewed as crucial aspects of an individual’s identity and belonging (Eriksen, 2010). Thus, they overlap in meaning and are often used simultaneously. We therefore include all four aspects when employing the term ‘cultural continuity’. Like culture, we understand ethnicity, religion and language to be dynamic and subject to change over time (Eriksen, 2010; Wimmer, 2008; Gjerde, 2004).

In this project we ask: How is the ideal of ‘cultural continuity’ and ‘continuity in upbringing’ taken into account by social workers when matching children with prospective foster and adoptive parents ?

Method

Vignett-baserte fokusgruppediskusjoner.