On the issue of professional foster parents position

This article deals with discussing the phenomenon of parent professionalism in the sphere of family placement. It contains a review of domestic and international literature on the topic of psychological social differences and special characteristics of families depending on the form of family placement. The urgency of the need in professionalizing of host families abroad as well as in Russia is being analyzed, several decades of dynamics of identity and motivation changes to in the community of host families are being described. The article also outlines the problem of discrepancies in the legal form of family placement and psychological mindset of parents as well as inconsistency in demands raised by the society towards professional parents. Based on the analysis of international literature and domestic experience the authors set forward criteria and characteristics of professional host family compared with families with adopting tendency in their parenting style. The perspective of differentiation of the ways to support host families depending on professionalization level and developing social support for such families, empowerment of the host families community in fulfilling new functions (fostering children with special needs, choosing a family for a child, temporary accommodation of children).