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The aim of this article is to analyze the evolutions of the main types of family foster care placements in Romania between 1999-2011. The results of the study are based on the analysis of administrative statistical data of public interest generated by national public authorities, processed by the authors, and on the analysis of relevant legislative documents. The findings show a continuous decrease in the proportion of children placed in kinship care between 1999-2011, from 68.33% in 1999 to 42.04% in 2011. By contrast, in the same period of time the proportion of children placed at national level with professional foster parents has rapidly increased, from 13.45% in 1999, to 30% in 2003 and to more than 48% in 2011. The pattern of placing children in kinship foster families has been dominant between 1999-2005, but beginning with 2008 the professional foster care family has become the main priority, counting the highest caseloads. The proportion of children placed with non-relative foster parents hasn’t been a consistent and significant one during the whole period analyzed. Calculating the cumulative percentages we can observe that the dominant pattern between 2006-2011 was the simple type of family placement with kinship and non-relative foster parents. The professional foster care placement for children in need has become the main priority, but it hasn’t become the dominant pattern until present. Some implications of the findings for policy, social work practice and research are also suggested in the article.
Keywords: family foster care, types of family placement, kinship caregivers, non-relative foster-parents, professional foster care, Romania, evolution
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