Voices from the field: Exploring social workers’ experiences in supporting grandfamilies

Abstract

This article explores the experiences of social workers in kinship foster care, particularly those supporting grandparents in the Czech Republic. Despite their pivotal role, the challenges they face remain underexplored in social work scholarship. Drawing on twenty-four in-depth interviews, the study uncovers the complexities of their work, highlighting how they balance legal obligations with personal relationships and emotional support. The text illustrates how social workers perceive their role, from building trust with grandparents and addressing daily challenges to seeking recognition for their work and a sense of self-accomplishment. It also sheds light on the often invisible efforts that extend beyond legal duties, revealing deeper goals. The text shows that their work is driven by the need to destigmatize and normalize family arrangements that do not conform to sociocultural norms, helping grandfamilies adapt to their new circumstances and navigate social expectations.

Introduction

Social workers play a crucial role in the foster care system, offering essential support to foster families. However, their experiences remain underexplored. While researchers seek insights from social workers, the focus tends to be on the foster families, leaving a limited understanding of what it means to be a foster care social worker. Despite some notable exceptions (Schofield et al. 2011; Vetfuti, Goliath, and Perumal 2019; Tovaryšová and Řezáč 2022; Dunkerley et al. 2023), their perspective is largely unexplored.

This article examines social workers’ experiences in kinship foster care. We focus specifically on social workers who work with grandparents within social service organizations in the Czech Republic. By examining the challenges these social workers encounter, this study sheds light on the complexities of their roles, their interactions with foster families, and the ways they navigate the demands of kinship foster care. Through this exploration, we contribute to a deeper understanding of the crucial experiences of social workers in this specialized area of foster care.

We conducted twenty-four interviews with social workers from accompanying organizations with which foster families are legally required to collaborate. Our in-depth interviews were guided by the following research questions: How do social workers perceive their role in kinship foster care, and what meanings do they attach to their work? What challenges do they face in this context? Answering these questions addresses a gap in social work scholarship and gives voice to key actors in the foster care system.

Context: substitute family care in the Czech Republic

Long-term foster care, alongside adoption, temporary foster care, guardianship, and custodianship, forms a key pillar of substitute family care for children unable to be raised by their biological parents. Provided within a family setting, it aims to allow children to grow up in an environment close to their own family (MPSV 2025a). Familiar cultural contexts help mitigate behavioural risks (Conway and Hutson 2007). Courts prioritize relatives as caregivers unless this contradicts the child’s best interests (Act No. 89/2012 Coll. 2012). Foster care typically ends upon adulthood or in full legal capacity.

The foster care system further distinguishes between mediated and non-mediated care. In both cases, the court makes the final decision regarding the child’s placement. However, in the case of mediated foster care, non-relative prospective foster parents must first submit an application for a child to be placed in their care and commit to completing specific training. After undergoing a professional assessment, they are included in the registry of the regional authority for foster care mediation. Once a suitable foster parent is identified for a child, the placement proposal is submitted to the court for approval. In contrast, non-mediated caregivers (relatives or otherwise close people) may apply directly to the court without prior training or professional assessment. However, the court considers the opinion of the Authority for Social and Legal Protection of Children when making its decision (Act No. 359/1999 Coll. 1999; MPSV 2019). In the Czech Republic, kinship care accounts for more than two-thirds of all foster care cases (Tovaryšová and Řezáč 2022), while over 72percent of kinship foster carers are grandparents, most commonly grandmothers aged sixty or older, typically caring for grandchildren aged six to fifteen (Lipová, Krbcová, and Tomanová 2019).

Every foster family, whether in mediated or non-mediated care, is legally required to sign a foster care agreement with the municipal authority with extended powers, a local or regional authority, or an authorized organization (referred to as an accompanying organization) (Act No. 359/1999 Coll. 1999) and use its services. These services involve collaboration with an assigned ‘key’ social worker, who supports the family throughout the care arrangement. The social worker assists with agreement-related matters, ensures foster parents meet the mandatory 24 h of annual training, connects them with specialized support services, arranges respite care, facilitates contact between the child and their biological parents, conducts home visits, and provides professional assistance (Act No. 359/1999 Coll. 1999).

Foster parents are expected to primarily sign a foster care agreement with the local authority for social and legal child protection. However, with the consent of their local authority given according to their place of residence, they may choose other subjects to sign the agreements with (MPSV 2025b), whereby disagreement is exceptional, for example, where there would be a conflict of interest. Therefore, the organizations accompanying foster families, whose representatives we spoke to during our research, play a key role in the Czech Republic's foster care system. These are most often non-profit organizations, less often contributory organizations established by regions or municipalities.

Background

For grandfamilies, social workers help grandparents manage the demands of caregiving and address the challenges they may encounter. Social worker involvement shapes family dynamics, influences relationships between children and grandparents (Dolbin-MacNab, Smith, and Hayslip 2022), and shapes the perception of the biological parent (Wissö et al. 2022) and the grandparent (Souralová, Koshi, and Beránková 2025). Additionally, social workers report on the life situations of grandfamilies in various studies.

Research has emphasized the various challenges faced by grandparents. Many challenges arise directly from the sudden formation of grandfamilies and the resulting upcoming lifestyle changes (Baldock 2007; Davis et al. 2020). The challenges mentioned in the literature are usually related to physical and mental health (Baldock 2007; Dolbin-MacNab, Smith, and Hayslip 2022; Kaylor-Tapscott and Sullivan 2024), economic difficulties, and financial hardship (Baldock, 2007; Williams, 2011; Davis et al., 2020; Dolbin-MacNab, Smith, and Hayslip 2022; Kaylor-Tapscott and Sullivan, 2024). Role conflict is also a common issue, as grandparents must navigate the complexities of becoming full-time caregivers while managing their own personal and social identities (Backhouse and Graham 2012; Taylor et al. 2016; Zuchowski et al. 2019).

The formation of a grandfamily is often triggered by a traumatic event or crisis that results in a child’s parents being unable to care for their children, leading to the caregiving role being taken on by grandparents. Grandparents often did not anticipate that at this stage of life, they would once again become the primary caregivers responsible for a young child, and that combination of factors could lead to feelings of deprivation, disruption, and pain (Langosch 2012). Feelings of resentment toward their own child may intensify as a result of assuming this unexpected role (Kelley and Whitley 2003). Strong, Bean, and Feinauer (2010: 46) noted that ‘in some instances, as grandparents are gaining a grandchild, they may be losing their own child’ through death, addiction, or child abuse. This loss is frequently accompanied by intense grief (Pinson-Millburn 1996).

When reflecting on their professional experiences working with grandfamilies, social workers recognize both the benefits and challenges associated with kinship foster care. The systematic review of Winokur et al. (2014) concludes that ‘Children in kinship care experience better outcomes in regard to behaviour problems, adaptive behaviours, psychiatric disorders, well-being, placement stability (placement settings, number of placements, and placement disruption), guardianship, and institutional abuse than do children in foster care’ (Winokur et al. 2014: 20). Children thus remain within a familiar environment, with caregivers they have known since childhood, facilitating the transition to foster care and helping maintain family ties (Peters 2005; Tovaryšová and Řezáč 2022). Moreover, placement stability provides a consistent and long-lasting environment that supports the child’s well-being (Albert, Iaci, and Catlin 2004; Farmer 2010; Koh 2010; Winokur et al. 2014). Farmer (2010), in this context, focused her view on persistence shown by kin-carers as their key contribution, where the ‘Kin carers preserve in looking after children with high levels of difficulty beyond the point at which non-kin carers would request a move’ (Farmer 2010: 442).

However, these benefits are overshadowed by the challenges discussed in research on grandfamilies (Brisebois 2013: 304). Social workers report that kinship foster families, especially grandfamilies, are more demanding to supervise than non-kinship families due to their complex dynamics (Beeman and Boisen 1999). Strained family relationships and associated trauma complicate the caregiving process, often requiring social workers to mediate between the child, biological parents, and kinship caregivers (Peters 2005; Brisebois 2013). Such mediation can divert resources from addressing the child’s needs. Additional barriers, such as strained cooperation with caregiving grandparents or domestic violence, exacerbate these challenges (Gladstone, Brown, and Fitzgerald 2009; Holt and Birchall 2022). Peters (2005) argued that recognizing these issues can lead to more effective social work strategies. Addressing these dynamics demands significant resources and a nuanced approach to balance the interests of all parties while ensuring the child’s best interests.

Methods

Study design

The research focusing on social workers working in foster care was part of a larger research project on grandfamilies in the Czech Republic, focused on intergenerational relationships, everyday care, and issues of grandparenting and grandchildhood. In the section dedicated to social workers visiting foster families, we tried to capture the context of the everyday lives of these families. We consider social workers as key actors in the foster care system who influence the shape of the daily care provided by grandparents. Many grandparents find social workers indispensable partners in becoming primary caregivers. We aimed to understand the nature of their work, its relevance to the social workers themselves, and the challenges they face.

Sample

For the purposes of our study, we approached social workers from social service organizations. The main criteria for selection were that they worked directly with families and that their sample of families included foster grandparents. This was drawn from multiple regions of the Czech Republic. We conducted twenty-four interviews with twenty-seven participants (one interview was conducted with two social workers at the same time and one with four at the same time). One participant was interviewed twice. The sample showed some gender imbalance this disproportion reflects the broader gender distribution in social work in the Czech Republic. To ensure confidentiality, we have omitted the names of the interviewees, their affiliated agencies, and the locations of these agencies.

Interviews

Our semi-structured interviews explored how social workers view their roles, the scope of their work, its contextualization within a socio-cultural and legal framework, and their relationships with families. We were also interested in the significance of this work in the lives of social workers themselves. The interviews were structured into several thematic sections addressing the following topics: how social workers influence caregiving practice, provide support to foster families, and navigate issues related to their professional responsibilities; social workers’ roles within their institutions and their involvement with foster families; and finally, self-care strategies, including the use of supervision and peer support.

Ethics

We conducted our research in accordance with the ethical guidelines set by the university (anonymous). To ensure compliance with the ethical principles, we provided each participant with both a verbal explanation of the aims of the study and the nature of the questions they would be asked and a written information consent form about the research study prior to their involvement in the research. The research consent form was made in two copies, and contact details on the research team were included in each one. The research team and participants have been provided with one copy each. Participants were clearly informed of their right to withdraw from the study. Additionally, the research team outlined the limits to confidentiality and anonymity. No ethical dilemmas or potential harm to respondents occurred during the interviews. Additionally, none of the participants ended the interview prematurely or expressed a desire to withdraw from the research. On the contrary, we often encountered positive reactions to the fact that we were interested in their personal experiences.

Analysis

The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and systematically coded by all three researchers with informed consent. We used reflective thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2022) to identify and analyse patterns of shared meaning in the data. Each researcher independently went through the transcripts and generated preliminary codes based on generated initial themes. The codes generated by each researcher’s independent work were then compared and discussed together as a team. Through ongoing discussion and reflection among the researchers, we successfully identified key themes that will be presented in this article. In the following section, we present the findings of our analysis while simultaneously engaging in a discussion with relevant research to contextualize and compare our results with existing studies. This approach allows us to highlight areas of alignment or divergence and situate our findings within the broader academic discourse. Given the significant role that existing literature played in the interpretation of our data and theme development, we reflect on how prior research informed our understanding of the findings and shaped our analysis, providing a clearer context for the results.

Social workers’ role in grandparental fostering: balancing support, relationship-building, and self-care

This article examines non-mediated grandparental foster care, where caregivers often lack training, making it challenging for social workers to navigate complex family dynamics. First, it explores care for relationships, as social workers build trust with grandparents while balancing oversight. Secondly, it addresses care for foster caregivers and children, focusing on the support needed to manage physical, emotional, and relational challenges. Thirdly, it highlights self-care for social workers, emphasizing strategies to handle demanding responsibilities while recognizing the rewards of their work.

Care for relationships between family members and social workers

The relationship between the social worker and the client is a foundational element in social work, serving as the core of the entire helping process. This personal engagement allows the social worker to establish and nurture trust with clients, enabling effective collaboration.

In our interviews, differences between professional foster parents and kinship caregivers were highlighted. Professional foster parents often receive preparatory training and have contact with social service organizations before caring for a child. They tend to rely on social workers for support and agree with them on solutions, as seen in the following excerpt.

Social Worker 1: Long-term foster parents are more aligned with us. We care, they care, and there isn’t the same biological connection as with kinship caregivers. We find it easier to agree on many issues, as they know that the state has entrusted them with children facing significant limitations.

Kinship caregivers, on the other hand, frequently approach social workers with distrust, perceiving them as intruders without the right to interfere in their family matters. Research by Gladstone, Brown, and Fitzgerald (2009) indicated that such perceptions negatively affect help-seeking behaviours. For these and other reasons, Beeman and Boisen (1999) argue that kinship caregivers are often more challenging to supervise, a view that aligns with what our interviewees reported.

In the accounts of our interviewees, the distrust that kinship foster grandparents feel towards organizations, particularly social workers, stems from several factors. Grandparents may view themselves as fully competent in raising their grandchild, having already raised their own children. This sense of experience leads them to believe they do not need outside advice. This is often compounded by a significant age gap between the grandparent and the family’s social worker, where older caregivers may perceive younger, childless social workers as lacking the life experience necessary to provide competent advice. Additionally, language barriers can impede trust, especially if the social worker does not adapt their communication style to the family’s needs.

The social workers in our research reported that they distance themselves from this regulatory role, attributing it to child protection services. Instead, as illustrated in the following excerpts, they emphasized their supportive roles, describing themselves as intermediaries, guides, confidants, and partners accompanying foster grandparents through the foster care system.

Social Worker 16: I really like the word “accompaniment,” the idea that we walk alongside the foster parents. We serve as a railing, providing them with support and assistance, and perhaps the railing has another significance in that we try to keep the foster parents on a certain path in their journey through life.

Consistent with findings by Dunkerley et al. (2023), the interviewed social workers emphasized the need for relationship-based and trust-based collaboration with kinship foster parents. Initial interactions are approached cautiously, with social workers carefully entering the family’s environment to understand the dynamics, the child’s role, and how the family functions. Before a close relationship has been established, the social worker must offer their services while respecting the foster grandparents’ autonomy (for similar findings, see Fulcher and McGladdery 2011), as displayed by Social Worker 11:

I build relationships by visiting and chatting informally. Our approach is not to pressure foster grandparents into anything. We simply offer options and respect their decisions.

Even once trust is established, the social worker’s responsibility to maintain and nurture the relationship persists. The trust between social workers and kinship foster parents is fragile. Our interviewees implicitly acknowledged their awareness of this fragility, emphasizing qualities like kindness, patience, openness, and honesty in maintaining these relationships.

Once a stable, trust-based relationship is established, social workers can effectively guide foster grandparents through the complexities of the foster care system, helping them understand their rights and responsibilities and facilitating legal, medical, or psychological support. The social worker also becomes a motivator, guiding foster grandparents toward fulfilling their legal obligation of 24 h of annual training. Since most foster grandparents show a dismissive attitude towards the training (as also reported by Tovaryšová and Řezáč 2022), social workers try to find an easy yet valuable option, usually offering support groups and individualized training through discussion over printed and video materials.

Care for foster carers and children

In this section, we conceptualize care as support provided by accompanying both grandparents and grandchildren. This process focuses on three areas: first, improving relationships within the grandfamily, where social workers facilitate healthy internal dynamics; secondly, supporting the relationship between the grandfamily and the biological parent, highlighting its significance in the family dynamic; and thirdly, beyond the grandfamily, addressing the grandfamily’s interactions with external environments.

Within the grandfamily

The most critical aspect of social work interventions within grandfamilies is reshaping and strengthening the relationships between grandparents and grandchildren by addressing three key issues: (1) grandparent trauma, (2) child trauma, and (3) cross-generational bridging.

When addressing the grandparents’ trauma, social workers provide essential emotional support and access to psychological resources, recognizing that grandparents’ ability to care for their grandchildren is limited by their own trauma (Strong, Bean, and Feinauer 2010) and that their mental health challenges and emotions such as guilt, shame, anxiety, and rage can complicate their caregiving roles (Hayslip and Kaminski 2005). Prioritizing their psychological well-being is crucial to creating a stable grandfamily environment. Social workers guide grandparents through an interconnected healing process, focusing on three simultaneous key steps: (1) reconciling the perceived failure of their own child; (2) adapting to the new caregiving role; and (3) integrating this role into their personal biography.

The first step in the healing process involves helping grandparents reconcile the perceived failure of their own child.  Strong, Bean, and Feinauer (2010: 46) noted, ‘As grandparents take on caregiving, they frequently do so at times of high stress and crisis or traumatic events’. This highlights that grandfamilies often form under traumatic circumstances, where grandparents assume caregiving due to their child’s inability or unwillingness to fulfil the role. Consequently, grandparents must confront their child’s failure, grappling with complex emotions such as disappointment and anger, asking, ‘Is it my fault that this happened?’ Social workers note that grandparents struggle with feelings of guilt and societal judgment over their child’s failure, as reflected in Social Worker 4’s observation:

They have a big challenge to accept what has happened. Some will say it, some won’t say it, but they ask themselves, “Where did we go wrong?” If they feel they can afford it, they will say it. But a lot of them feel condemned by society. Society thinks they can’t raise their kid, and because of that, they have to raise their grandkids

The primary objective is to assist grandparents in reframing the situation and to help them move beyond guilt and regret, which can interfere with their ability to provide effective care. More critically, social workers seek to reframe these negative emotions into an opportunity for grandparents to address past challenges and contribute to the well-being and future of their grandchildren. Social workers emphasize that the grandparent now cares for a child who has often experienced trauma and is in need of their support and guidance. This shift in perspective is essential, as it fosters a sense of purpose among grandparents, allowing them to focus on the present and future rather than dwelling on past disappointments.

In addition, social workers encourage grandparents to view their grandchildren independently of their parents, which include themes also discussed by other researchers. As noted by Taylor, Coall, and Karthigesu (2019), many grandparents fear their grandchildren will replicate their parents’ mistakes, leading to problematic parenting practices such as strictness and overprotection (Dolbin-MacNab and Keiley 2009), and conflating parents with children, which can interfere with a child’s development. Addressing grandparents’ trauma is crucial, as unresolved traumas can negatively impact their caregiving role and lead to ‘inappropriate parenting styles, an inability to discuss family history with the child, or a failure to understand the child’s trauma’ (Tovaryšová and Řezáč 2022: 54).

While addressing the trauma of grandparents, another task of social workers is to assist them in adapting to the new caregiving role and overcoming role conflict. This is a common challenge present also in previous studies (Backhouse and Graham 2012; Taylor et al. 2016; Zuchowski et al. 2019) as grandparents navigate the complexities of becoming full-time caregivers while managing their personal and social identities.

Social Worker 8: They are in a role conflict. They’d love to be those grandparents, just for the weekend, spoil them, and instead, they have to set limits for the kids and learn with them.

In addition to facilitating the transition to the grandparent as parent role, social workers also assist grandparents with integrating this role into their personal biography. They emphasize that, despite being the primary caregivers for the child, they are not the child’s parents.

Social Worker 11: The foster grandmother insists that the child call her “mom,” but the child knows that she is not their mother. They understand that she is their grandmother.

Such expectations can lead to identity confusion, complicating the child’s understanding of family dynamics. Social workers emphasize to grandparents the importance of understanding their role as primary caregivers, which is distinct from that of a parent, and the need for open and honest communication of this fact to the child.

Social workers address the child’s trauma by helping grandparents process the child’s history, support their identity formation, and understand their behaviour. Most of our interviewees emphasized the importance of processing the child’s history, as children seek answers to understand what has happened to them (see also Steenbakkers, van der Steen, and Grietens 2019). Without this basic understanding, children struggle to process trauma, form healthy personal identities and develop trusting future relationships.

Social workers play a crucial part in ensuring transparency regarding the child’s history. However, many grandparents may struggle with this, sometimes even providing inaccurate information about the child’s parents as an attempt to solve a difficult situation. Social workers must carefully balance advocating for the child’s well-being with navigating the complexities of the grandparents’ perspectives.

Social Worker 23: We work with them so that the subject of biological parents, even if the contact is not ongoing, is not taboo. We help those families to process the child’s family history, we guide them to work with those children as early as possible on the fact that the child just has a mommy and daddy somewhere, and we use various techniques to process that so that the child understands, within the limits of his or her capabilities and age, why he or she has to grow up outside of his or her biological family.

Our interviewees specifically instructed grandparents on weaving the themes of grandfamily formation and the roles of biological parents into the child’s narrative and they provide guidance and support to grandparents in helping children process their personal histories in a manner appropriate for their developmental stage.

Furthermore, they aid grandparents in comprehending the child’s behaviour, which is frequently influenced by past trauma. This critical aspect of the social work intervention is exemplified by the insights of Social Worker 16:

Raising children in foster care, whether kinship or mediated, is really different. Those children, because of what they’ve experienced, have different needs and different settings. They are children who have been traumatized at an early age, and those who care for them need to know that.

Social workers reported to assist grandparents in understanding children’s behavioural manifestations stemming from past trauma. This problematic behaviour, which Mitchell (2018) characterized as ‘acting out’, often results from early adverse experiences. Our interviewees stated that children’s expressions of anger and other negative behaviours frequently stem from prior trauma. By clarifying the underlying causes, social workers provide a framework for interpreting these behaviours and offer guidance on how to respond and manage them effectively.

The third key area of focus is managing generational differences that hinder mutual understanding between grandparents and grandchildren. Such generational disparities can manifest in divergent perspectives on child-rearing practices, communication styles, and behavioural expectations. In these circumstances, social workers serve as vital intermediaries or ‘generational translators’, facilitating communication and promoting understanding. The generational gap social workers help bridge is shaped by the age difference and by shifts in parenting practices (as reported also by Baldock 2007; Dolbin-MacNab, Rodgers, and Traylor 2009) As many grandparents are unfamiliar with the changes during this stage, social workers provide educational interventions to enhance their understanding of these transitions.

Between grandfamily and biological parent

In the relationship between the grandfamily and the child’s biological parent, social workers focus on two main tasks: helping grandparents and grandchildren relate to the parent and facilitating direct contact between the grandfamily and the parent. These two tasks exist in a hierarchical relationship, as evident in the following statement:

Social Worker 3: The child needs to have information and a relationship with the biological parent, though this does not always have to mean physical contact. Sometimes physical contact can be problematic and is not in the child’s best interest. But the relationship is important. One can have a relationship with a deceased person without physical contact. Grandparents need to understand this.

Social workers emphasize the importance and significance of the relationship with the biological parent over physical contact with them. Providing information about the biological parent and fostering a relationship with them are two central tasks in which social workers assist grandparents. Beyond helping grandparents guide children through their personal histories in a manner appropriate to their developmental stage, social workers play a key role in shaping the child’s perception of their biological parent, which is critical to the child’s construction of their identity.

The excerpt above also underscores that the image of the biological parent and the relationship derived from that image is more important than physical contact. This perspective was echoed by other interviewees, who mentioned situations in which contact with the biological parent might be traumatic for the child. In such instances, social workers oversee or facilitate contact between the child and the biological parent to ensure the child’s well-being. By providing this support, social workers help navigate the delicate and complex dynamics between the grandfamily and the biological parent, always prioritizing the child’s best interests in their interventions.

Beyond grandfamily

Social workers extend their support beyond grandfamilies by acting as intermediaries between families and external entities. They accompany grandparents to government offices, courts, and schools, helping secure legal and medical assistance.

Previous research has reported that many social workers note that grandparents conceal their foster caregiving roles to avoid societal stigma. Baldock (2007) and Taylor et al. (2016) highlighted this stigma, especially when the absence of the biological parent is due to issues like substance abuse. This concealment is particularly evident when communicating with institutions like schools, as noted by Social Worker 7.

In order to avoid labelling and stigmatizing the children, the grandparents don’t even tell the school that the children are in foster care. (…) The grandparents are trying to avoid labelling by concealing it, but at that point, they are working with their child like any other non-traumatized child. But those children in foster care are usually traumatized, early deprived children, so the work with them has to be a little more sensitive, a little different. (…) So then it doesn’t happen in the school because they don’t know, and there is a further aggravation of the problem. The stigmatization happens anyway because the child is labelled as troubled, ill-mannered, educationally challenged, and so on.

Ironically, this tabooization within school exacerbates problems, leading to the very stigmatization grandparents seek to avoid. Instead of understanding the child’s unique circumstances, teachers may misinterpret behaviours and label them as ‘bad’ or ‘slow’ without recognizing the trauma behind these actions.

Social workers encourage grandparents to engage in transparent communication. In many cases, social workers themselves liaise directly with schools, helping teachers understand the child’s behaviour within the context of their traumatic background. However, transparent communication from grandparents does not always guarantee success. Peters (2005) noted that many social workers have observed public school personnel perceiving foster children as ‘disposable’ or ‘throw-away’ kids, a form of stigmatization that severely damages the child’s sense of self-worth, adding yet another external burden that the child must ‘fight off’ (Peters 2005: 601). In our study, in such instances of institutional stigmatization, social workers advocate for the child’s best interests and accompany grandparents to meetings with school administrators to ensure that the child’s needs are properly addressed.

Self-care: navigating meaningful work, burnout, and supervision

Social workers describe their experiences with foster families as a long-term process that influences both the rewards and frustrations they encounter. They emphasize the fulfilment of witnessing progress within the families they support, contributing to their overall satisfaction. On the other hand, highly emotional situations, lack of cooperation, and the long timelines required for meaningful progress can lead to stress and burnout (Mosala and Wilson 2024). The lack of timely feedback from families further complicates this work, as Social Worker 22 explains:

One major challenge is the lack of immediate feedback from foster grandparents. We need to know we’re making a difference, but often, we only hear appreciation after a long time—sometimes a year or more. This delayed recognition can make our work feel less fulfilling.

This highlights a broader issue in social work: the emotional toll of delayed acknowledgement, which can exacerbate feelings of professional inadequacy and burnout. Mixed reactions from foster grandparents further complicate the experience, adding to the emotional complexity of the role. To cope with these challenges, social workers develop strategies, from professional supervision to self-care routines. Self-care is also a significant part of maintaining emotional well-being. In agreement with the findings of Peters (2005), our interviewees felt strongly committed to their work, finding it deeply meaningful, which motivates them to continue despite the challenges. Social Worker 24 illustrated this sense of purpose:

This really feels meaningful to me. I can see the results, I can see the purpose of the work, and I honestly really enjoy it. I can’t say there’s a single family I don’t want to visit or feel uncomfortable helping.

The sense of fulfilment derived from witnessing progress and making a tangible difference drives many social workers. Even in the face of frustration and burnout, the ability to support families and see results reinforces their sense of purpose and professional satisfaction. For some, this work aligns closely with their personal values and goals, making the challenges worthwhile. Social Worker 13 underscored the admiration she held for foster grandparents, acknowledging the immense difficulty of their role and the lack of adequate support:

They all deserve tremendous support and admiration. Unfortunately, I believe that there is very little support in our country. Biological parents who do not care for their children receive support and have all the rights, while foster grandparents have the responsibilities. I would reduce their responsibilities and increase support in all forms. It really is not easy.

This statement captures the tension social workers feel between the challenges they face and their admiration for foster grandparents. In our study, as well as in research conducted by Greeling (2016), the demanding nature of social work with foster families is counterbalanced by the deep sense of purpose and fulfilment that social workers derive from their efforts.

Discussion

This study explored the experiences and perspectives of social workers in kinship foster care, particularly those supporting grandparents in the Czech Republic. By examining the unique challenges faced by these professionals and their interactions with foster families, the research highlighted the often-overlooked role of social workers in navigating complex familial dynamics and promoting positive outcomes for children. Previous research has identified the significant emotional and financial burdens placed on grandparents, revealing how trauma and role conflict complicate their caregiving efforts (Strong, Bean, and Feinauer 2010; Brisebois 2013; Kaylor-Tapscott and Sullivan 2024). Studies have emphasized the necessity for social workers to balance the differing interests of children, biological parents, and kinship caregivers to effectively support grandfamilies (Peters 2005). This underscores the need for further exploration of social workers’ experiences (Dolbin-MacNab, Smith, and Hayslip 2022; Wissö, Melke, and Josephson 2022).

The support of grandfamilies is a foundational aspect of the work undertaken by social workers. However, beyond their direct interventions, social workers play a significant role in the destigmatization and normalization of foster care within the families they support. This contribution is a crucial yet overlooked element of their practice that permeates their entire approach. One of the central goals of social workers is to help dismantle the stigma associated with foster care, both within the grandfamily and in their interactions with the wider community. Destigmatization occurs on multiple levels.

First, within the grandfamily itself, social workers engage in delicate but essential work to help grandparents process their emotions and personal histories, particularly addressing the stigma surrounding perceived failures in their roles as parents (Hayslip and Kaminski 2005; Strong, Bean, and Feinauer 2010). This includes assisting them in overcoming negative feelings related to their child’s struggles, thereby enabling them to care for their grandchildren with greater confidence and emotional resilience. A critical part of this process involves encouraging open communication about the challenges they face. For instance, social workers help grandparents confront and move past feelings of shame associated with their child’s failures, facilitating reconciliation with their own parenting history. This support enables grandparents to discuss the complexities of their family situation and the role of the biological parent without fear of judgment.

Secondly, social workers play a crucial role in destigmatizing the relationship between grandfamilies and biological parents by guiding grandparents in constructing a balanced perception of the biological parent and facilitating appropriate contact. By helping, grandparents recognize the importance of maintaining a relationship with the biological parents, social workers promote healthy identity development for the child. Their interventions ensure that potentially harmful interactions are managed, always prioritizing the child’s well-being. In doing so, social workers foster transparency and openness, contributing to a more stable and emotionally resilient family environment.

Thirdly, social workers work to overcome the stigma that exists between the grandfamily and the surrounding community (see also Baldock 2007). This involves facilitating transparent communication between the grandfamily and key institutions, such as schools and legal entities, where the stigma associated with foster care is most acutely felt. For example, social workers frequently encourage grandparents to openly acknowledge their foster care status rather than concealing it, to prevent misunderstandings or negative labelling of the children by teachers or other community members (Peters 2005).

The actions of social workers are driven by the desire to assist grandfamilies in normalizing their family structures within the context of sociocultural ideas about family and parenting. Ultimately, the destigmatization facilitated by social workers is not merely an incidental aspect of their work but is intrinsic to the very process. Through this support, social workers help create an environment where the challenges of foster care can be openly addressed and discussed, nurturing healthier relationships within the family and alleviating the sense of isolation experienced by these caregivers.

Strengths and limitations

The qualitative approach of this study provided a valuable opportunity to understand the challenges and motivations of social workers by directly engaging them in discussions about their own work. However, the study does not incorporate the views of grandparents, children, or biological parents regarding social workers’ interventions, which could offer a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of social work. Additionally, it would be beneficial to include fieldwork—specifically, intensive observations of how social workers approach and work with families. Future research could build on the findings presented in this article and explore the diverse perspectives of all concerned actors.

Conclusion

The analysis of our empirical data revealed a narrative about the complex dynamics of social work practice, particularly emphasizing the significance of understanding social workers’ roles beyond their interactions with their target populations. The work of social workers involves more than legal requirements; it encompasses personal engagement and emotional connections with families. The relationships are characterized by ambivalence, as social workers must navigate grandparents who may initially resist collaboration. Overcoming these barriers can lead to a sense of achievement and fulfilment, although such outcomes are not guaranteed.

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the social workers who, despite their demanding roles, generously shared their insights and perspectives during the interviews. Their contributions were invaluable to this research. We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the reviewers for their thoughtful and constructive feedback, which greatly enhanced the quality of this article.

Funding

This research was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic under grant number GA23-06683S.

Conflicts of interest. None declared.

References