Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Partnerships for Children and Families Project Reports and Papers 8-2003 Mothers’ Everyday Realities and Child Placement Experiences (FULL REPORT) Nancy Colleen Freymond Wilfrid Laurier University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/pcfp Part of the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, and the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Freymond, N. (2003). Mothers' everyday realities and child placement experiences (pp. 1-173, Full Report). Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University, Partnerships for Children and Families Project. This Finding a Fit: Family Realities and Service Responses Series (2003, 2007) is brought to you for free and open access by the Reports and Papers at Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Partnerships for Children and Families Project by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mothers’ Everyday Realities and Child Placement Experiences Nancy Freymond Partnerships for Children and Families Project Wilfrid Laurier University August 2003 1 Table of Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................................4 Part 1: Biological Mothers in Child Welfare Literature and in the Media.............................7 A. Socio-Environmental Context...................................................................................................10 Employment Realities and Material Deprivation.........................................................................10 Neighbourhood Conditions, Social Support, and Single Parents................................................11 B. Relational Context.......................................................................................................................13 Familial Relationships....................................................................................................................13 Relationships with Children...........................................................................................................14 Relationships with Men..................................................................................................................15 C. Psychological Functioning.........................................................................................................17 Maternal Depression and Other Forms of Mental Illness............................................................17 D. Addictions.....................................................................................................................................18 E. Discussion.....................................................................................................................................20 F. The Research Process.................................................................................................................23 Interviewing Strategies...................................................................................................................24 Analytical Methods.........................................................................................................................27 Strengths and Weaknesses..............................................................................................................29 Demography....................................................................................................................................32 Part II. Daily Living Realities.......................................................................................................34 A. Stories of Three Child Welfare Mothers.................................................................................35 Lynn’s Story: Making Middle Class Choices..............................................................................35 Tanya’ Story: Moving Toward a Better Future...........................................................................40 Wanda’s Story: The Strains of Parenting Jackie...........................................................................47 B. Analysis of Socio-Environmental and Relational Contexts..................................................52 Employment Realities.....................................................................................................................53 Neighborhood Realities..................................................................................................................57 The Realities of Social Supports: Friendships and Community Involvements.........................62 The Realities of Familial Supports................................................................................................66 Implications for Intervention..........................................................................................................70 C. The Nature of Adversity in Mother’s Lives: Facing Hurdles.............................................72 Abusive Relationships....................................................................................................................75 Addiction.........................................................................................................................................77 Maternal Depression and Other Problems with Emotional Health..............................................79 D. Crossing the Hurdles of Addiction, Violence, and Psychological Difficulties...................83 Wanting a ‘Different Road’............................................................................................................83 Forming a Positive Relationship....................................................................................................86 Changing Surroundings..................................................................................................................87 Conquering Hurdles and Acknowledging Triumphs....................................................................90 Implications.....................................................................................................................................92 Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................94 Part III: The Impact of Out-of-Home Placement on Biological Mothers..............................97 A: The Stories of Three Child Welfare Mothers Continue......................................................97 Lynn: No More Choices: When Foster Care becomes the Last Resort.....................................97 2 Tanya: Apprehended at Birth: The Involuntary Placement of her Newborn Daughter.......105 Wanda: Placing Jackie in Foster Care: A Mother’s Sadness and Relief................................114 B: Mothers Experience of Placement Services.........................................................................122 Patterns of Placement Experience...............................................................................................122 Escalating Difficulties.................................................................................................................124 Investigation.................................................................................................................................128 Mother’s Response......................................................................................................................135 Ongoing Involvement..................................................................................................................136 Resolution.....................................................................................................................................145 Conclusions..................................................................................................................................148 Part IV: Conclusions....................................................................................................................150 The Challenge of Congruence.....................................................................................................150 Towards Positive Child and Family Welfare.............................................................................153 References.......................................................................................................................................159 3 Introduction The primary mandate of child welfare services is to protect children from harm in their immediate living environments. In Canada, the risk of child maltreatment is generally understood as resulting from deficient parenting. When the risk of child maltreatment is present, children may be removed from their parent’s care and placed with a foster family or in a group care setting. The physical removal of a child from family and from familiar surroundings is a profound intervention. It is the most intrusive child welfare intervention and has a number of serious implications for children and for their families. Child welfare research on placement tends to center on the particular form that it takes or on its adequacy as a substitute for parental care (Whittaker & Maluccio, 2002). Only recently have professionals become concerned with the thoughts and ideas of those who experience service involvements (Fine, Palmer, & Coady, 2001). In Canada, there is a growing body of literature that focuses