ABSTRACT
IT is inevitable that an exploratory investigation should give rise to many questions and answer only a few. We began with a single problem: why do some children fail in foster homes when others succeed? Perhaps the most important lesson which we have learned is that the apparently simple process of placement is in reality a complex one, not only for the child, but for the foster parents also. It involves the building up of a whole structure of relationships and attitudes, some of which are like those to be found in an ordinary family, but others essentially different. Success in placement does not simply depend upon the ability of the child to withstand the strains and anxieties of being plunged into a new environment; it depends also upon whether he, and the foster parents too, can sustain an affectionate relationship within which all three can find satisfaction of fundamental needs.
