ABSTRACT
Placing children in foster care is an important and often used measure within the area of child welfare. In Sweden, 14,000 children were looked after in public care as of 1 November 200 1 . Seventy-five per cent of these children, 1 0,500, were placed in foster homes (Socialstyrelsen, 2002). Fostering has a great impact on all the members of families who foster. It affects the life of the husband and wife, and it affects the life of their children. Through research on foster care we have gained knowledge about the impact of fostering on the lives of foster carers (Kalvesten, 1974; Vinterhed, 1985; Wahlander, 1990; Bebbington and Miles, 1990; Havik, 1996; Triseliotis et al. , 2000; Hojer, 2001). However, the situation of children of foster carers is more seldom the focus of the work of researchers, and when it is, their situation is often mirrored through the eyes of adults. From research results, one can see that foster carers most often think that their children have benefited from their family being engaged in fostering. In some cases there were discrepancies between statements of adults and young people and children, foster carers were to some extent more positive than their children (Kaplan, 1988; Part, 1993; Poland och Groze, 1993; Twigg, 1994; Pugh, 1996; Talbot, 1997; Familjeplejen i Danmark, 1998; Hojer, 2001).
