Understanding attitudes, motivations and barriers to adoption and fostering
In autumn 2012, the Department commissioned market research to address a lack of market knowledge hampering attempts to increase the supply of prospective adopters and foster carers. The aim of the research was to gain a greater understanding of the capacity within the population for adoption and fostering and to gain greater knowledge of the attitudes, motivations and barriers to adoption and fostering among specific segments of the population.
The market research, conducted by Kindred and Work Research, involved 18 extended in-home interviews with individuals and couples and an online survey of 4948 adults based in England with a nationally representative sample.
The marketing proposal provides details of target audiences identified by the market research and the attitudes, barriers and motivations of these audiences. In addition, it makes recommendations for the messages and approaches to be used in future communications activity.
The following documents can be downloaded from this page:
- The marketing proposal
- Information about the target audiences for recruitment activity
- Information about the methodology used
- A presentation about the qualitative stage of the research
- A presentation about the quantitative stage of the research
The demographic characteristics of foster carers in the UK
In 2012 the Department commissioned the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre to carry out a literature review into the demographic characteristics of foster carers in the UK; what motivates families to foster; what barriers there are to fostering; and how this information can be used to inform strategies for recruiting and retaining foster carers.
The aim of the report was to examine existing knowledge regarding the demographic characteristics of foster carers in the UK, explore existing research on what motivates individuals and families to become foster carers and the barriers they identify and how this information can be used to inform recruitment and retention strategies. It also aimed to identify examples of good practice, and gaps in existing knowledge.
A YouTube video highlights some of the key findings.
