A Personal-Ethical Reflection on the Training for Foster Parents in Austria

Abstract

In Austria, foster parents are screened and selected by local child and youth welfare services, and then they are required to complete several weeks of training. This essay is a personal reflection on this training, which I completed with my wife in early 2022. However, I am also writing this personal reflection from an ethical perspective informed by my work as an ethicist and philosopher at the university. Topics that concern me are the understanding of child and youth welfare, the parental role of foster parents, the focus of the training on practical knowledge from experience, and the relationship between experts and foster parents.