A content evaluation of assessment frameworks used for screening prospective foster parents in the North West Province

Abstract

Within the South African context, literature indicated a severe lack in the utilisation of standardised assessment frameworks in the screening and assessment of prospective foster parents. This is greatly due to the inconsistent usage of non-standardised documents and practitioners relying on accumulated practice wisdom and personal experience. The aim of the research study was to identify possible assessment frameworks for future development and standardisation for prospective foster parents within Dr. Kenneth Kaunda and Dr. Ruth Mompati districts in the North-West Province. A quantitative research approach was followed, where social workers from designated welfare organisations had to evaluate specific assessment frameworks presented to them. A workshop was also held with the purpose of training the respondents on what the content of assessment frameworks should look like. A self-developed, paper-based survey questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale for rating purposes were utilised. Results from the questionnaires were captured on an Excel sheet and analysed through IBM SPSS Statistics. Prior to the aforementioned, respondents were requested to send the assessment frameworks they utilise within their respective organisations to the researcher for sifting purposes, where the researcher chose five assessment frameworks to be included for evaluation by the respondents. Section A represents the introduction to the research study where the following aspects are discussed: the research problem, research questions, contribution of the study, research question aim and objectives, research methodology and ethical matters pertaining to the research study. Section B represents a literature review which entails a brief account of foster care in the South African context. It also includes the role of foster care screening, assessment frameworks, as well as what the content of assessment frameworks should represent, and ends off with an example of a good assessment framework. Section C represents the research article that forms the purpose of the dissertation. Section D represents the final conclusion, and the limitations and recommendations of the research study. Section E includes agenda that were relevant to the research study.