With the rise in mobile phone usage and social
networking websites, how far should young people in foster care be
monitored to thwart manipulative birth parents, asks Jo
Stephenson
Regulating contact between children in care and their birth
parents has always been a delicate balancing act, but the
proliferation of ways of communicating, including text messages and
social networking sites, has made it even more challenging.
"Mobile phones have changed the face of contact with older
children," says Professor Gillian Schofield, co-director of the
University of the East of England's Centre for Research on the
Child and Family. "It's a big challenge for foster carers, social
workers and, to an extent, children and birth parents as to how
it's not fair to say 'you can't have a Facebook profile because
you're in care'."
Research
into the experiences of birth parents, funded by the Economic and
Social Research Council and led by Schofield, found some birth
parents were using mobiles to text or call children daily.
Attempted suicide
Unregulated contact with birth parents may be unsettling for
vulnerable children but at worst can be dangerous. One foster carer
on communitycare.co.uk's discussion forum,
CareSpace, posted about a child who had attempted suicide after
being contacted by her birth mother through Facebook.
"Where a parent is manipulative or seeking contact that may harm
the stability of a placement then that's very difficult," says
Alison Paddle, spokesperson for Nagalro, the professional
association for children's guardians.
"A foster carer may have to consider whether to allow a child to
have a mobile phone or resort to inappropriate levels of monitoring
over something friends have easy access to."
Placements undermined
Some parents are using social networking sites to undermine
placements, according to social workers on CareSpace, by saying
things they would not be able to in supervised contact, such as
telling children they are "coming home soon".
However, practitioners have also found technology can aid
contact. "I have a long-term looked-after teenager who has regular
Facebook chats with his birth mum although they have had no direct
contact for many years," said one.
Children often feel they have to keep contact using messaging
services and texts secret for fear of having their internet access
or phone removed. However, foster carers also have to deal with the
fall-out from such contact. Children have traced relatives and been
upset because they have had "friend requests" refused on Facebook
or have seen photos of birth parents enjoying themselves.
"Facebook and texting can be a great way to maintain contact
because supervised, irregular visits can be so false," said one
foster carer on CareSpace. "But for most of my children who are
vulnerable and confused, it's been difficult. The perceived need to
be secretive and the lack of being able to withdraw without the
smokescreen of social workers can be a lot to take on."
Sophisticated technology
It is unclear whether concerns have translated into court
orders, although judges have been asking questions and are aware of
the possibilities of technology, say family law experts.
It's an issue that will only grow as technology evolves and
becomes ever more sophisticated, says Raina Sheridan, deputy chief
executive of the Fostering Network. She believes more research is
key, while fostering services should address the issue with foster
carers.
"There needs to be better guidance and it needs to be explicit
in the care plan so that it can be seen as something positive
rather than something that comes out of nowhere," says
Sheridan.
Although contact may be more difficult to monitor, this does not
mean social workers should give up on setting limits, adds
Schofield.
Wider issues include a growing number of cases where people who
have been adopted have traced birth parents or been found through
social networking sites. "It can be a real shock to have this
contact out of the blue," says Julia Feast, policy consultant with
the British Association of Adoption and Fostering, which is
preparing new guidance.
Offers opportunities
But technology also offers opportunities, says Natasha
Finlayson, chief executive of the Who Cares? Trust. E-mail can be a
less daunting and less intrusive form of communication between
children and birth parents than face-to-face contact. However, she
says social workers and foster carers are "way, way behind" young
people in understanding technology such as social networking.
Foster carers tend to be older and may not be as confident using
technology. Meanwhile, efforts to ensure children in care have
access to IT may leave them as the only one in a household with a
computer. Where there is a lack of confidence or knowledge, foster
carers tend to favour placing restrictions, internet access
included.
"They are very nervous of the internet so it's about filters,
blocking and supervised access and this means young people aren't
learning how to use the online world safely and to their benefit,"
Finlayson adds.
There are simple ways to protect children from unwanted or
dangerous contact, such as getting them to use a different name on
Facebook, but she says more research is needed.
The solution may be training for social workers, carers and
young people on how to get the best out of technology.
"A few leaflets or a piece of guidance is not going to be
enough," Finlayson says. "People need to know how to use new
technology in order to understand it. We'll probably end up with
some kind of training requirement for social workers who work with
young people."
HOW TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR YOU AND THE
CHILD
● Text messages are a quick and easy way to send reminders about
meetings or appointments and a form of communication that young
people relate to.
● E-mail can help social workers communicate more regularly with
children placed at a distance and help maintain contact between
children in care and birth parents.
● Vulnerable children and young people can gain help, support
and information online, including sharing experiences with others
in similar situations through web forums.
● Instant messenger services, Skype, Facebook and Twitter help
looked-after children stay in touch with siblings and maintain
links with other key people, former schools, sports clubs and their
home community.
● In the future technology will play a bigger role in "life
story work" for adopted children and may include virtual files
including digital photos and video clips.
● The internet helps keep social workers up to date with the
latest developments in practice nationally and internationally.
They can access online journals, be part of online communities and
find help and advice.
This article is published in the 5 November 2009 edition of
Community Care under the headline "The subtext to birth parent
contact"