Family Matters

About the Book

Foster caring is as challenging as it is rewarding. There is a school of thought that if one is interested in fostering, then one can become a foster carer. Considering the many problems that surface on a day-to-day basis in a given fostering environment, it takes much more that interest in fostering to make fostering work. ‘Family Matters’ frankly discusses what fostering entails and clearly demonstrates how Mohammed and Sharon Lahrichi have had a reasonable degree of success in their fostering work. It documents cases that tell how foster children as well as biological children interpret their lived experiences as children of the same household. It is a book that foster carers, social workers and all those who involve in care work should read. In fact, it will make an interesting read for all members of any given family. ‘Family Matters’ also advances the idea that fostering is a work of love, which should be taken seriously, but which also should be celebrated in spite of the range of emotions that foster caring is capable of evoking.

About the Author

Mohammed Lahrichi is a foster carer. He has been in the foster-care field for the past ten years. He currently works for The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (TACT) but has also worked for Parents for Children (PfC). Prior to taking up foster caring, he had been a machine operator in injection moulding, an assistant chef, and a freelance sound engineer. Mohammed is also a volunteer for many community activities and support groups for schools in Enfield, London. Sharon Lahrichi is a foster carer. As a foster carer, she works for The Adolescent and Children’s Trust (TACT) but has also worked for Parents for Children (PfC). She has been a support worker in the Borough of Enfield since 1998. She has worked for the charitable organisation Leonard Cheshire, Jays Agency and other private companies. Prior to working as a support worker, Sharon has worked as a ‘dinner lady’ (up to supervisory position), and has done some clerical work for a private company in Enfield, London. Dr Gertrude Shotte is a lecturer at Middlesex University. She became interested in foster care and foster-care issues about seven years ago when she was introduced to the Lahrichi family, including the foster children. Her preoccupation with foster-care issues led her to examine the Department for Education (DfE) material on foster caring, the fostering legislation for United Kingdom and research work on concerns in foster care. Her enduring interest in children and their education has sustained this passion.