Dimensions of foster and residential care practice

In reporting a comparative study of foster and residential care practices, this paper examines four aspects of care: the management of recurrent (mainly daily) social events; children's community contacts; the provision of physical amenities; and the controls and sanctions employed by foster parents and staff vis a vis children. Care practice in foster homes was generally found to be significantly more child-oriented than in Children's Homes on each dimension of care. Very little overlap was observed between the results obtained for the foster homes and Children's Homes. Thus, differences between the two forms of provision were more or less uniform.