Plans and surprises: matching children and substitute homes

Objectives When matching children and substitute homes, social workers consider a variety of issues such as the needs, rights and wishes of children and their parents, the nature and form of the substitute homes, the... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives
When matching children and substitute homes, social workers consider a variety of issues such as the needs, rights and wishes of children and their parents, the nature and form of the substitute homes, the professional and legal norms and the principles of child protection policy, and how they match. At the end, the choice of a substitute home is the result of complex judgements and decisions. Good and careful planning is seen as being the key to successful matching. ‘Making plans’, the objective of this study, is often, however, challenged by surprises.

Methods and results
Based on qualitative interview data with social workers (49), substitute carers (16) and children in care (17) in Finland, we study the planning element of matching. The analysis is twofold. First the organisational forms for matching are presented in order to demonstrate the idea of how planning is thought to be done best. The forms (the holistic model, the model of experts and the centralised model) include different understandings of good matching and the planning required. Secondly, based on the experiences of practitioners, substitute carers and children, we examine the child entering a new (substitute) home. The grass-root experiences of matching highlight that surprises are unavoidable. The types of surprise encountered in the front-line practice are then analysed.

Conclusions
It is argued that the human element of matching, should not be ignored or seen only in terms of failure. Instead, it should be seen as an integral part of matching. These implications for policy and practice will be discussed.