Foster parent parenting characteristics that lead to increased placement stability or disruption

Abstract

Abuse and neglect are tragic realities that society must deal with effectively. Child welfare agencies have been established and given the responsibility to maintain children's safety when a court of law finds the parents to be unfit. Although child welfare agencies attempt to provide effective care, often these agencies find themselves fighting losing battles. Either foster children are too difficult to manage, or foster families are too quick to terminate their parental responsibilities because they feel overwhelmed or believe they do not have the skill to effectively interact. Despite the reasons for placement disruption, children are the losers because they are not given the opportunity to form bonds with adults, maintain school placement, or learn healthy coping skills. Empirical evidence identifies the characteristics of foster children who are likely to experience placement disruption and the flaws of the foster care system; however, it does not identify parenting variables that might affect placement. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify parenting characteristics of foster parents that are likely to increase placement stability or disruption. Foster parents of public child welfare agencies were asked to complete the Parent–Child Relationship Inventory to measure parental characteristics and the Parenting Alliance Measure to determine perceived alliance between foster parents. Results of the multiple regression revealed a significant relationship between the predictor variables, parenting support and limit setting on placement stability. These two variables explained approximately 15% of the total variance in placement stability. No significant relationship was found between the predictor variables on placement disruptions.