Transitions and endings

Children in the care system can face particular difficulties when dealing with change, including the transitions and endings of placements, due to their histories of unstable home life, neglect and changes of carer. Transitions and endings will also affect the child’s carers, for instance, foster carers who are emotionally attached to a child they have looked after for several years, or those who are preparing a child to move on to adoption, or adopters involved in a disruption.

For both children and carers, it is essential to manage transitions well and prevent them from turning into destructive endings. This course aims to help carers help traumatised children and themselves to face change and loss in a managed and constructive way. This can give carers an insight into why these times can be difficult for children and carers, help carers to manage their own feelings of loss and grief, and give them the knowledge to successfully help their child.

Who is this book for?

This course is designed to be carried out by fostering workers, for foster carers.

What you will find in this book

This course consists of three interlinked modules – Resilience and transitions; Moving on: promoting successful transitions and constructive endings; and Growing through grief: managing unplanned transitions and endings.

Subjects covered include:

• Resilience and transitions
• Moving on: how to promote successful transitions
• How endings can be made constructive for a child
• How to manage unplanned transitions
• The impact of disruption.

The accompanying CD-ROM contains PowerPoint slide presentations and handouts, designed to accompany the two modules.

Author

Kate Cairns is a social worker and social work teacher. With her partner, Brian, and their three birth children, she provided permanence for a group of 12 looked after children, all of whom are now adult. She is the author of the bestselling Attachment, Trauma and Resilience.

Eileen Fursland is a professional freelance writer. She has written a number of books and feature stories for magazines.