Compassion fatigue widespread among foster carers

The needs of children traumatised through abuse, neglect and loss, combined with a lack of appropriate support from fostering agencies, means that many foster carers are suffering from compassion fatigue, according to new research. 'No-one told us it was going to be like this' is the first national study of compassion fatigue in foster carers in England and calls for greater support and understanding of the debilitating effects of caring for some of the most vulnerable children in society. The findings will be submitted to the Government's Fostering Inquiry, led by the Education Committee, which is expected to examine all evidence in January 2017. The study, conducted by the University of Bristol's Hadley Centre for Adoption and Foster Care Studies , investigated the presence and experience of compassion fatigue through measuring levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress, as well as mental well-being in a survey of 546 foster carers. The survey also looked at what elements of the foster caring role give pleasure and reward, or compassion satisfaction, which is widely seen to reduce the effects of burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Focus groups were also held with 23 foster carers to explore the impact of compassion fatigue and their support needs in greater depth. Compassion fatigue is experienced as a physical and emotional response to the stress of caring for those who have experienced trauma.