General

Matching a foster child with a suitable foster family is essential for a successful family placement and implies complex decision-making processes. However, matching remains an understudied topic in foster care research.

This research project aims to analyze the ecologies of matching decisions in foster care by means of examining variables of the case, the organization, the context and the decision maker. The central question of the project is: “Which factors influence the matching decision-making process in non-kinship family foster care?”

The project contains several work packages, aimed at understanding the complex decision-making process in matching foster children with foster families. By interviewing the matchers of different foster care agencies and analyzing the case files, the variables they use in the matching decision will be examined, as well as factors that influence those decisions. By providing an insight into these various factors, this study will help to make the matching decision more transparent. This will help to expand the scientific and practical knowledge on decision-making and matching in foster care. This study can guide further research on foster care matching and aid foster care policy.

Researchers

• Kirti Zeijlmans
  Tel: 050 363 6494
  k.zeijlmans@rug.nl
• Mónica López López
  m.lopez.lopez@rug.nl
• Hans Grietens
  h.grietens@rug.nl

This project started in March 2014 and is financed via the Rosalind Franklin Fellowship.