Symposium

Who am I?

Identity Development in Children Raised Outside Their Families—Between Origins, Foster Care, and the Future

Tuesday, November 17, 2026
8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
FHNW Muttenz

Registration fee: 160 CHF / Free for foster parents

Children who grow up outside their families navigate between different worlds. They experience discontinuities marked by transitions, tensions, and ruptures. How do they manage to develop a stable sense of self? How can conflicts of loyalty be addressed sensitively? And what role do their biological parents play in the children’s inner lives?

The symposium explores how children and adolescents raised outside their biological families can understand and make sense of their own history and use it as a resource for their future. At the same time, it focuses on how foster families and professionals can specifically support and guide children through this process.

Two expert presentations by Prof. Dr. Angela Rein and Birgit Lattschar offer different perspectives on identity development. These are complemented by contributions from care leavers sharing their own experiences in foster families or residential facilities, as well as from referral professionals and social education specialists. Together, we will focus on how children and adolescents—and the people around them—can be supported so that identity development can succeed.

The symposium will be moderated by Andy Limacher (Project Forum). At the conclusion of the symposium, key findings will be summarized in a plenary session, and the proceedings will be visually represented by the artist «Thought Brush» presented.

Prof. Dr. Angela Rein

Angela Rein, professor at the FHNW School of Social Work

Diversity-Conscious Perspectives on Foster Children

In her lecture, Angela Rein, a professor at the FHNW School of Social Work, demonstrates the diverse ways in which foster children can develop and shape their identities. In doing so, she deliberately looks beyond the often-described experience of „being in between.“ The focus is on different family structures and lifestyles, as well as on how foster children can integrate various spheres of their lives, develop their own self-images, and remain capable of taking action in the process. In this way, the lecture opens up a A diversity-conscious and resource-oriented perspective on foster children.

Birgit Lattschar, M.Ed.

Birgit Lattschar, Special Education Teacher, Certified Educator, Systemic Counselor, and Supervisor (SG)

„I Have Different Parents!“ Helping children in foster care understand their history.

Birgit Lattschar, a special education teacher, certified educator, and systemic counselor and supervisor, will focus her presentation on the question of how children in foster care can be supported in understanding their own life stories. The focus is on the unique situation of being connected to both biological parents and foster parents or other caregivers. The presentation highlights the significance of birth parents for a child’s inner experience and what children need in order to make sense of their history, accept it, and integrate it as part of their own identity.

Program

Referat with Prof. Angela Rein, FHNW School of Social Work: Diversity-Conscious Perspectives on Foster Children

This presentation invites participants to explore different concepts of identity development in adolescents and to use them to develop new perspectives on foster children. In addition to the frequently emphasized experience of „being in between,“ the presentation introduces alternative identity constructs among foster children that challenge common normative assumptions—such as the idea that young people can have only one family, live in only one place, or that their lives as foster children are inevitably problematic.

Without downplaying the challenges faced by foster children, the study highlights additional ways in which children and adolescents shape their identities. The concepts presented encourage diversity-conscious perspectives and demonstrate how foster children, for example, remain capable of taking action despite multilocal lifestyles and develop self-concepts that connect their different life worlds and integrate diverse identity constructions.

Insights from the Field:

Guardianship, Residential Care, Specialized Support from ZPK

The foster children's perspective:

Conversation with Care Leavers

«Reflections on My Own Experience as a Child in Foster Care»

Living Room Discussion with Care Leavers on the Development of Their Own Identity

Presentation with Birgit Lattschar, special education teacher, certified educator, systemic counselor, and supervisor: „I Have Different Parents!“ Helping children in foster care understand their history.

Children in foster care grow up separated from their biological parents. They have foster parents or caregivers who are there for them every day, and biological parents with whom they sometimes have frequent contact and sometimes none at all. Children in foster care or in residential care do not always know why they are not growing up with their biological parents.

The presentation will explore what this situation means for a child, the role that birth parents play in the child’s inner experience, and what helps children come to terms with their history.

Workshop for Foster Parents and Professionals

Workshops

In the afternoon, there will be hands-on workshops for foster parents and professionals, with a focus on sharing experiences and everyday practices.

Workshop 1: „Finding the Right Words“ with Birgit Lattschar

Foster parents and professionals often face the challenge of explaining complex situations in children’s lives in a way that’s appropriate for their age. How do you explain that a father is in prison and why, or that a mother has a mental illness? How do you find the right words to explain a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest? What do you tell children whose parents have cut off contact?

In this workshop, you will learn specific ways to express difficult topics, which can be written in the form of a life story, another type of text, or a picture book or illustrated story.

The workshop is organized by Birgit Lattschar, Special Education Teacher, Certified Educator, Systemic Counselor, and Supervisor (SG) carried out.

To register →

Workshop 2: «Biographical Work»—Everyday Tools with Susanna Lerch

As foster parents or professionals, accompanying children and adolescents through a part of their lives requires a respectful attitude toward the child’s background. This sometimes feels like «dancing on a volcano.» It requires us to be aware of the «stones and flowers» that lie in the backpack of a child in foster care. What does this attitude look like in practice? What are the challenges? What practical options and tools are available to help children and adolescents weave the «common thread» of their life stories? These are the questions we’ll explore in the workshop.

The workshop will be led by Susanna Lerch, Lucerne Child Care Agency and foster mother herself, accompanied.

To register →

Workshop 3: «Decisions as Generators of Life Stories» with Angela Rein

This workshop explores how children and adolescents experience decisions regarding their placement and process them within their life stories. Using interview data, we will discuss how professional perspectives and institutional decision-making processes shape their life stories, and reflect on the implications for our own practice.

The workshop is organized by Angela Rein, professor at the FHNW School of Social Work accompanied.

This workshop is primarily intended for specialized agencies

Workshop 4: «Netzwerkkind — Placement in the Social Environment" (for professionals only)

Continuity in relationships and the opportunity to help shape one’s own story support a stable sense of self. Using the «netzwerkkind» project as an example, this workshop demonstrates how participation and active involvement can help identify foster families within a child’s social network, thereby promoting identity development and a sense of belonging.

Moderators: Janine Rothenbühler and Hannah Wenzel, Sofa Foundation

For professionals only

To register →

Symposium

Who am I?

Identity Development in Children Raised Outside Their Families—Between Origins, Foster Care, and the Future

Prof. Dr. Angela Rein

Birgit Lattschar, M.Ed.

Program

Referat with Prof. Angela Rein, FHNW School of Social Work: Diversity-Conscious Perspectives on Foster Children

Insights from the Field:

The foster children's perspective:

«Reflections on My Own Experience as a Child in Foster Care»

Presentation with Birgit Lattschar, special education teacher, certified educator, systemic counselor, and supervisor: „I Have Different Parents!“ Helping children in foster care understand their history.

Workshop for Foster Parents and Professionals

Workshops

Workshop 1: „Finding the Right Words“ with Birgit Lattschar

Workshop 2: «Biographical Work»—Everyday Tools with Susanna Lerch

Workshop 3: «Decisions as Generators of Life Stories» with Angela Rein

Workshop 4: «Netzwerkkind — Placement in the Social Environment" (for professionals only)

Highlights from Past Industry Events

Registration for the Symposium

Workshop Priority

Center foster children

More info for foster families

familea

Symposium

Who am I?

Identity Development in Children Raised Outside Their Families—Between Origins, Foster Care, and the Future

Prof. Dr. Angela Rein

Birgit Lattschar, M.Ed.

Program

Workshops

Workshop 1: „Finding the Right Words“ with Birgit Lattschar

Workshop 2: «Biographical Work»—Everyday Tools with Susanna Lerch

Workshop 3: «Decisions as Generators of Life Stories» with Angela Rein

Workshop 4: «Netzwerkkind — Placement in the Social Environment" (for professionals only)

Highlights from Past Industry Events

Registration for the Symposium

Workshop Priority

Center foster children

More info for foster families

familea

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