Foster parent perceptions of placement needs for children with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

A random sample of 63 foster parents from a central Canadian province was asked “What do you need for a successful placement for a child who has a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder?”. The responses to this question were edited for clarity and sorted into piles of like statements by foster parents. Two types of statistical analysis were applied to the sorting of the statements to describe the relationship between statements and their groupings. The major concepts were identified according to the contents of the cluster, and a map was constructed to provide a graphic representation of the conceptualization process. Foster parents described the need for social support, material support, a structured home environment, professionals, other foster parents, understanding of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, the right kind of personality, and organization skills. Discrepancies between the existing literature and study results were described, and suggestions for future research were made.