Social Work Practice Strategies and Professional Identity within Private Fostering: A Critical Exploration

Johanna Woodcock Ross and Charlotte Crow explore the professional identity and practice strategies of the new role of private fostering social worker. A case study approach is used to reflect on the practice required to support private fostering. The perceived role of the private fostering social worker and the practice strategies adopted are affected by confusion and stereotypes about what constitutes private fostering and which children can be considered as privately fostered. Significantly, in addition to professional practice, private fostering social work has to cope with critical attitudes and negative cultural stereotypes among professional colleagues, many of which are reinforced by social and political arguments, media and organisational scrutiny, and resulting low staff morale. The core practice strategies of the private fostering social worker involve working against oppressive labelling, communication and engagement with ‘sofasurfing’ teenagers and developing skills for working with conflict. While it is relatively easy to understand the confusion, conflict and cultural stereotyping as representing defence mechanisms to ‘taking in’ the pain and complexity of the situations of these young people and their carers, the impact upon the professional identity of the social workers involved exacerbates feelings of being maligned, isolated and undervalued.