Foster care: A good relationship

Fifteen-year-old Stuart is in foster care. As well as being aggressiveand violent, he finds it hard to trust his carers. He's scared when theydiscipline him and expects them to give up on him. His foster carers saythey never will, but they do find his behaviour difficult to cope with.They admit they have felt like ending the placement many times, butwhile they refuse to do so because of the relationship they'vedeveloped, they do need help with managing Stuart's behaviour.

The Trust for the Study of Adolescence is in the final stage of a BigLottery-Funded project, Reducing Risks for Teenagers in Foster Care,which should help teenagers like Stuart and his carers. The three-yearproject, which is due to finish next July, aims to bring about long-termimprovements in the quality of life for 13- to 16-year-olds in care. Itspurpose is to explore how foster families monitor and superviseteenagers, manage difficult or risky behaviour, and strike a balancebetween protecting young people and enabling them to take the risks thatare part of teenage development.