Andy Pithouse and Alyson Rees use original research to identify key ingredients needed to help create successful foster placements and help prevent placement breakdown.

Studying the lives and activities of 10 foster families who provide lasting and effective care, the authors explore the families' everyday worlds. They look at the negotiations, activities, settings, meanings, rituals and relationships which help to create their successful placements. The authors identify the main components which, according to the carers and the children, contribute to acceptance, belonging and stability in the family. The book examines the emotional and practical work involved in caring, and explores how it is received and reciprocated by fostered young people.

With important insights into child and carer perspectives on fostering, this book is a source of invaluable information for foster carers, children's service professionals, and trainees and care staff who may be engaged with children who are looked after.

Foreword by: Freda Lewis