QUALITY FOSTER CARE OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FOSTER CARE PROVIDERS IN THE AREA OF BARANYA

The aim of the research was to determine the differences between foster care providers of children and of adults related to their socio-demographic characteristics, fostering experience, readiness to foster children/adults with specific needs, informedness and education on foster care, social support in the immediate environment, needs and realized forms of compensation, satisfaction with the life in the local community, difficulties faced by foster care providers as well as satisfaction with themselves as foster care providers. The research was conducted in the area of Baranya and it included the total of 60 foster care providers for children and 21 foster care providers for adults. The research results indicate that these two groups do not differ in socio-demographic characteristics, except for the level of education (foster parents of children have a higher level of education). Among other, differences are revealed in the frequency of contacts of foster care providers and Social Care Centres as well as in general difficulties with which they are faced in providing foster care. Foster parents of children reveal significantly less difficulties in performing foster care duties from foster care providers for adults. The latter, however, show a greater level of satisfaction than foster parents. The results imply that the findings on providing foster care to children and adults, and especially to the latter, should be more widely disseminated since the research in the field of foster care for adults is scarce. These findings would be of a great importance in practical activities, especially in the enhancement of the quality of care for adults.