Baukje (Bo) Miedema

Dalhousie University

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  • Mothering for the State

    The Paradox of Fostering

    By Baukje (Bo) Miedema     January 1999

    Foster care is the most important component of child welfare services in Canada. Currently, foster care services are portrayed negatively with a continuous stream of stories in the media about poor foster care services. But who are foster care givers and what happens to a family when a foster child enters their family? Baukje (Bo) Miedema’s research reveals that the most important care giver in foster care is the foster mother. Why do these women care for seriously traumatized children on a 24 hour basis without a wage? This book tells the story of twenty foster mothers and their daily activities. Their stories are surprising, troubling and heart warming.