Family Foster Care: A Protective Alternative for Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Foster care of children and adolescents who have had their rightsviolated is being discussed both in the scientific literature and inagencies involved in the development of public policies. Suchdiscussions, which aim to define some guidelines to guarantee the rightto family and community inclusion, expose a field under change. Thispaper focuses on foster care in the Brazilian context and presents itas one of the possible alternatives for children and adolescents inrisk situations. The (mis)leading influences of some theoreticalperspectives that deal with affective bonds in foster care are alsodiscussed. It is argued that a new foster culture requires changes inthe conceptions of infancy and youth, in the meanings of affectionatebonds, and in welfare policies for children and adolescents.