International Foster Care Research Network

Welcome to the Foster Care Research Network.
The Network Homepage informs about previous and upcoming conferences, publications and the coordination of the network.

Upcoming Conferences

The next Foster Care Research Conference will take place in 2026 in Porto, Portugal.
More information coming soon!

Conference organizers and Foster Care Researchers participating in the Network Conferences were honoured to become guest editors of special issues in international journalsReimer, Daniela; Join-Lambert, Hélène (Ed.) (2022) Special issue : Professional love and diversity in foster care. Wiley. Children & Society ; 36(2). Online availableEuillet, Séverine; Reimer, Daniela; Turlais, Amélie; Knorth, Erik J, (Ed.) (2018) Continuities and discontinuities in family foster care. Antwerpen: Garant.
Online available (open access): https://ugp.rug.nl/IJCFW/issue/view/4841
Reimer, Daniela; Schäfer, Dirk; Pierlings, Judith; Wolf, Klaus (Ed.) (2016) Foster Care and Development. Special Issue in the Journal Social Work and Society, www.socwork.net Vol. 14, 02/ 2016
Online available: Link
Some programs and presentations from previous conferences can be downloaded from the former foster care research network homepage (will not be updated again) and from the Paris 2017 conference homepage:
Foster Care Research Group
The 9th International Foster Care Research Conference

Previous Conferences

1st Conference: University of Siegen, Germany, 21 - 23 June 2007
2nd Conference: Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany. Conference topic: “Elective affinities” 22 - 25 September 2008
3rd Conference: Rorschach, Switzerland, 21 – 23 September 2009
4th Conference: Groningen, Netherlands, 22 September 2010 (one day Preconference at the Groningen EUSARF Conference)
5th Conference: University of Graz, Austria, 19 – 21 September 2011
6th Conference: University of Zagreb, Croatia, 25 September 2012
7th Conference: Padova, Italy, Fondazione Zancan/ University of Padova, 09 -11 September 2013
8th Conference: University of Siegen, Germany Conference Topic: "Development", 17-18 September 2015
9th Conference: University Paris-Nanterre, Paris, France, Conference Topic: "Continuity and Disruption in Foster Care", 27-28 September 2017
10th Conference: Zurich University of Applied Science, Zurich, Switzerland, 5-6th September 2019
11th Conference: University of Barccelona, September 2022
12th Conference: Vrije Universitei Brussel, September 2024

Contact Us

Currently, the Network is coordinated by
Prof. Dr. Daniela Reimer, Zurich University of Applied Science, Switzerland
If you have questions or request on the network and/ or you want your E-mail to be added to or edited on the mailing list please contact

daniela.reimer@zhaw.ch

About the Network

The International Foster Care Research Network has been established in 2007.
Researchers from the University of Siegen, Germany, invited researchers from all over Europe to a first conference.
The exchange proved to be inspiring for those who attended the conference and it has been decided to organize foster care research conferences on a regular basis.
During the first years, annual conferences took place.
Meanwhile, the conferences take place bi-annual (usually in September).
Inbetween the Foster Care Conferences, Foster Care Researchers meet at the EUSARF Conferences.
For more information on the history of the network: Prof Dr. Roger Bullock wrote an article about it that can be shared upon request.The Foster Care Research Network does not have an official member list, all who participate in and contribute to network conferences are considered as members.The network has a coordinator and a mailing list that informs about upcoming conferences, calls for papers and conference publications.