Benefits of Cultural Matching in Foster Care

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Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 31, Issue 9, pp. 1019-1024.

Sixty-one foster parents from Manitoba were recruited to examine the benefits of cultural matching in foster care placement. The authors used telephone interviews to gather 51 unique answers to the question: “What are the benefits of fostering children who have the same values, beliefs and traditions as you?” (p.1019). Thirteen foster families were recruited to assist in analyzing the results using concept mapping. Themes extrapolated from participant responses were that cultural matching in foster care placement made it easier for parents to expand on their held values, aided in a child’s sense of security and safety due to familiarity of culture, made the adoption transition smoother, and was less stressful for the family to adapt to fostering a child. Foster parents also responded that cultural matching was beneficial for the adopted child and family relationship because of commonalities in communication and a sense of similarity.

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