Do Foster Parents Consider Their Foster Children Family Members?

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships and challenges within foster households in Japan by understanding the actual state when foster parents acknowledge their foster child as family by clarifying its determinant attributes. Analyzed data were of ongoing foster care cases (n=1,276) and completed foster care cases (n=725) drawn from the Survey on the Registration, Training, and Support for Foster Parents. The findings revealed that although many foster parents view their foster child as “a family member,” only a few do so after aging out. It also confirmed that the closer and stabler the parent–child relationship as that of a normal family, the more likely the child is recognized as a family member, and when the child is not placed with another caregiver, it more likely continues to be regarded as a family member. Since no independent model exists for a foster-child and foster-parent relationship, it causes conflict in foster parents when asked to foster the child as its own parents and the child to consider the foster parents as its actual parents.