Resumo

LOPEZ, Mônica; DELGADO, Paulo; CARVALHO, João M. S.  e  DEL VALLE, Jorge F.. Characteristics and Development of Foster Care in Two Countries with a Strong Tradition of Residential Care: Spain and Portugal. Univ. Psychol. [online]. 2014, vol.13, n.3, pp.865-880. ISSN 1657-9267.  https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.UPSY13-3.cdaf.

Fostering processes that occur in each country depend on historical and cultural factors that give rise to large international differences. Despite the fact that international comparisons offer a way of exchanging experiences, allowing mutual learning and transfer of good practice, we often encounter major barriers for its completion due to limited access to data on child protection practice, among other factors. Given these limitations, this article provides a comparative study conducted in Spain and Portugal. The aim is the evaluation of family foster care interventions in two countries where research in the field of child protection has traditionally been neglected. The profile of foster children, families of origin and foster families, as well as the features of the fostering processes were studied in a sample of 357 cases in Spain and 289 in Portugal. The comparison revealed significant differences related to the older age of Spanish foster children at the beginning of the foster placement. The profile of foster carers revealed older age, low educational level and frequent situations of multiple placements in Portugal. The comparative study has identified areas that require further attention in both countries, such as the generational shift of foster carers in Portugal or the need to speed up the decision-making processes for entry into a family foster placement in Spain. This article intends to be an encouragement for data collection and comparison in other Latin American countries.

Palavras-chave : child and family welfare; comparative research; family foster care; out-of-home care.

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