寄養家庭之不當對待：寄養社工之處理經驗

寄養服務為政府機關為了協助不適宜留在原生家庭或無其他適當照顧資源之兒童少年，甚至是預防兒童少年在家內發生不當對待事件，所提供的替代性服務，寄養家庭則是提供上開福利輸送的重要角色，是直接替代父母的照顧角色。雖然寄養家庭名為保護，有時候卻有可能對寄養兒少有不當對待的狀況，其中以不當管教事件為最常見的狀況。本研究探究寄養兒童及少年在寄養安置期間，受到寄養家庭不當管教的情形、原因，寄養家庭經過調查流程到結束後的反應，寄養社工的處理經驗、感受及轉變，並且在不當管教事件過程及結束之後的因應措施。本研究以曾處理過寄養家庭對寄養兒少有不當管教事件之寄養社工為研究對象，採用質性研究方法中的深度訪談法進行，共訪談7位受訪者。研究結果發現： 1.寄養家庭發生不當管教事件的原因，通常只有非單一因素，常是多種情境下所造成，其中來自寄養家庭、寄養兒少的狀況，也有來自照顧情境的改變，甚至是制度面的問題(例如：難安置的寄養兒少找不到其他安置處所)。 2.寄養社工在處理寄養家庭不當管教事件時，除了原本的角色外，因應不當管教事件而衍生出其他角色或是工作內容，也面臨角色上的兩難。 3.在不當管教因應措施中，首要著重在對於寄養家庭及寄養兒少狀況評估，以增加彼此的媒合適配性，再者則是關注寄養家庭是否有過大的照顧壓力，以提供減輕照顧壓力等相關協助，並增加寄養家庭相關輔導及管教上的教育訓練，甚至定期透過評估工具來測量寄養家庭照顧壓力，以進行更精準的評估及提供更適切的服務。根據以上的結論，本研究建議應針對提供寄養社工在處理寄養家庭管教不當事件協助及相關知能、建立標準處理流程及原則等相關建議，期待藉由寄養社工處理經驗，提供寄養服務工作之參考，促使寄養兒少在安置期間能受到適切照顧，寄養家庭順利提供寄養服務。

關鍵字

寄養家庭；不當對待；寄養社工；不當管教

並列摘要

Foster care services, on behalf of the government, provide what can be called substitutive services, as they assist children and adolescents living with families they were born into that no longer offer suitable environments for minors or lack resources necessary for minors to enjoy proper care. These services also prevent children and adolescents from suffering from maltreatment that could occur in their houses. Foster families actually provide social welfare by directly replacing the care role that previously belonged to the biological parents. Although the term foster family implies protection, sometimes foster children will suffer from maltreatment, with improper discipline-related incidents being the most common. This study explores the circumstances and causes for foster care children and adolescents placed in foster care homes who have received improper discipline from their foster families. This study also features the responses of foster families that have been investigated from the beginning to the end of these investigations; the experiences, feelings, and transformations of foster care social workers who have handled improper discipline cases; and the way(s) improper discipline should be responded to during and after the event. This study’s subjects are foster care social workers who have handled cases where foster families have given improper discipline to foster care children. Using the qualitative research method of in-depth interviewing, this study has seven interviewees. The research results and findings are as follows: 1.The cause of improper discipline occurring in a foster family typically involves more than one factor, as usually it is a result of multiple situations, which include the foster family and the foster care children as well as changes in the care environment and even system-related problems (such as a difficult to place foster care child who is unable to find another placement location). 2.When foster care social workers are handling cases where foster families have given improper discipline, in addition to their original role, responding to these improper discipline cases often results in them taking on an additional role(s) or having more work to do, causing a dilemma concerning how they should carry out their own role. 3.When response measures that deal with improper discipline are in progress, most importance is placed on evaluating the situations of the foster family and the foster care child(ren), as this helps both sides be able to be matched up in situations they can readily adapt to. The second most important facet is focusing attention on whether or not a foster family is burdened with too much pressure in regards to providing care, because assistance can be provided that will alleviate some of this pressure. Furthermore, increase the amount of counseling and discipline-related education and training for foster families, and regularly use evaluation tools that assess the pressure foster families have in regards to providing care, which can be accomplished by carrying out more accurate evaluations and providing services that better meet the needs of families and children. Based on the conclusions written above, this study recommends that assistance and relevant knowledge and skills should be provided to foster care social workers when they are handling cases of improper discipline occurring in foster families, and standard procedures and principles for handling these cases should be established as well. This writer hopes that the experiences of foster care social workers can be used as a reference by those working in foster care services, which will help better ensure that foster care children placed in homes are able to receive appropriate care and that foster families are able to provide foster care services without difficulty.