Family Boundaries: a Study on 'Emergency Fostering' in Reggio Emilia

The family is the primary place where relational experiences occur; the place par excellence of cognitive, social and emotional ties, but not always able to implement these dimensions. The foster is a response to the problems of the child, when its family of origin is not adequate to provide for its growth and education. Welcoming a baby is an event rich in complexity: it is therefore essential to analyze the elements that characterize it, starting from its structural problems, such as the reasons that determine this choice and the educational implications of it (Pati, 2008). Fostering a child cannot be achieved by isolated individuals or families. Teamwork is needed: it's important to consider all those involved, starting by the child’s native family, the new-family ‘inclusion policy’ and the Social Services (Grana, 2004). Crucial are the expectations and relational dynamics that are created between the actors involved and their experience, but especially the emotional bond that is built and that gives life to countless changes that affect the psychology of the family. The role of foster parents is very complex and difficult and is characterized, psychologically, from the distinctive features that place the role of new parents at the ‘family boundaries’ (Scabini, Cigoli, 2000). This research provides a nuanced picture of the foster’s complexity, using two different methodologies. One presents a collection of statistics and documents, focusing on how the "Network of families for emergency" manage to support families in need. A second part of the study concerns a qualitative research on parental experiences, to understand the dynamics of parenting through interviews, conversations and diaries by and with foster families (Demetrio, 1996; Lewis,2001). The analysis of collected materials shows some fundamental elements that characterize the foster family: availability, cohesiveness, non-judgmental attitude and above all openness to others (Cerrai et al.,2007; Torre, 2008).