A trauma-informed intervention for foster caregivers in Central Massachusetts: A mixed methods pilot evaluation

Abstract

The Encompass program trains and supports foster, kinship, and pre-adoptive caregivers to recognize trauma in children, attend to foster children’s behavioral health needs, and ease the stress of caregiving. We used a caregiver survey at two time points to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of the Encompass program on foster parent (n = 17) and child (n = 25) outcomes, and conducted qualitative interviews with caretakers (n = 15). We observed significant positive changes in caretakers’ perceived knowledge about trauma, confidence in trauma-informed fostering, and use of external support care providers. Qualitative data suggest that participants found the Encompass program to be helpful and enjoyable, but that systemic issues in the child welfare system, which were beyond the scope of this program to impact, contribute to caregiver dissatisfaction and fostering difficulties. Findings suggest that Encompass has a positive impact on caregiver perceptions of knowledge about trauma and confidence in their capacity to provide trauma-informed foster care. Continued evaluation of the Encompass program using an experimental design will be informative about program impact.