ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with how the caregiving network might operate as a secure base for the adolescent and with some of the difficulties that commonly arise. It focuses particularly on a crucial social work role if this network is to function effectively in the best interests of the adolescent. The chapter discusses ways in which social workers may enable members of the foster family and others within the caregiving network to work together with the adolescent and with each other. It also discusses situations where attitudes and feelings are covert, and are sometimes not fully recognised by foster parents themselves. In practice, social workers move between subsystems of the caregiving network and sometimes operate on the interface between them, encompassing a wide range of tasks undertaken in relation to a young person being looked after by the local authority, quite apart from the direct work with the young person concerned.
