What is Missing in the Child Welfare System? Mandating Trauma Informed Training for Child Welfare Staff and Foster Parents

sidney goldberg studied at New York University and also with psychologist Albert Ellis, founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. He now works as a college counselor in New York City. The child welfare system in the United States is not living up to its name. Rather than nurturing the intellectual potential, capacity for joy, and emotional wellness of foster children, the system too often takes a narrow approach to maintaining only the children’s physical well-being. I speak from my experience as a caseworker, administrator, and creator of a unique program in child welfare. Twenty-five years of butting up against the constraints of this system have made clear to me that the problem is structural. The occasional caseworker who would seek to nurture a child’s potential interests or passions would usually be thwarted by the limited paradigm around which the system is constructed. Year after year, most caseworkers go through the motions, while heeding the entrenched and narrow mandates set forth by their agencies as the lives of children under their care stagnate. I believe another system is possible — one that starts from the foundational premise that all people are capable of building satisfying lives through the pursuit of their interests — and that is staffed by workers who treat children and their parents with deep care and respect. To create such a system, we will need to transform the entire structure and pedagogy of social work school, drawing on insights gained through a careful look at the problems with the current system.

The child welfare system is undergoing a crisis in which there are a greater number of foster children requiring temporary housing arrangements than there are foster parents available to provide housing for them. However, despite this fact, little research has been performed regarding the needs and characteristics of foster parents. To help retain these foster parents, they must believe their needs are being met by the child welfare system; otherwise, there is an increased risk of foster parents deciding not to foster in the future. The present study investigated differences between a sample of 30 foster parents of children ages 2 to 11 and a gender-matched community sample of 30 biological parents in terms of: (a) parenting strategies, (b) knowledge of behavioral parenting principles, (c) level of parenting stress, (d) perceptions of being a parent, (e) potential for child abuse, (f) parental psychopathology, and (g) ratings of child behavior. An additional study aim determined whether aspects of the parenting experience related to parenting competence or positive or negative parenting practices. Findings revealed significant demographic differences between foster and biological parents. Foster parents reported greater knowledge of behavioral parenting principles and greater foster child behavior problems than biological parents, and were less likely to use inconsistent discipline practices or corporal punishment. Group status did not relate to parenting competence or self-reported positive parenting practices, but did relate to self-reported negative parenting practices. Implications of these results may influence prevention and intervention efforts for biological and foster parents. Results also may impact future policy efforts for foster parents, which may, in turn, help improve the current child welfare crisis.

Children are entering the child care system with increasingly serious physical, behavioral, and emotional problems (Barth, Freundlich, & Brodzinsky, 2000; Crase et al., 2000; Fees et al., 1998; Zukoski, 1999). Foster parents, with high hopes and little or no specialized training, are unexpectedly confronted by children who explode with anger, set fires, lie, steal, are cruel to animals, mutilate themselves, have severe eating disorders, or act out sexually (Crase et al.; Delaney, 1997; McNamara & McNamara, 1990). Up to 40% of new foster parents drop out of the system during their first year (Rhodes, Orme, Cox, & Buehler, 2003), with some agencies losing between 30% and 50% of their foster parents every year (Christian, 2002; Crase et al.). Stanching the dropout rate, in part, will require changes in foster parent training. Parent training has been an essential feature of the foster care system since the mid-1970s (Zukoski, 1999). Today, most states require 12 to 30 hours of preservice training for licensure and six to 20 hours of in-service training annually (National Foster Parent Association, Inc., 2004). Much of the training, however, does not adequately address individual parenting needs and makes unrealistic demands on parents' time and budgets (Grimm, 2003). BENEFITS OF FOSTER PARENT TRAINING Research studies have long demonstrated the benefits of training for foster parents, children, and agencies. Early landmark studies showed that training produced key changes within the family unit, such as improved parent attitudes, parent-child interactions, and a reduction of child problem behavior (Hampson & Tavormina, 1980), and that it also increased the stability of placement and foster parent retention (Boyd & Remy, 1978; Simon & Simon, 1982). More recent studies continue to support these conclusions (see Cuddeback & Orme, 2002; Fees et al., 1998; Puddy & Jackson, 2003; Zukoski, 1999). A comprehensive review of treatment foster care by Reddy and Pfeiffer (1997) showed that specialized training led to increases in placement permanency, as well as improvements in children's social skills and psychological adjustment. According to Sanchirico and Jablonka (2000), parent training was associated with increased foster parent involvement in keeping foster children connected to their biological parents, an important indicator of the children's well-being. LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT TRAINING PROGRAMS Parent training activities today are a wide mix of programs that vary from state to state, and often from county to county (Zukoski, 1999). Some programs, such as PRIDE (Deluca & Spring, 1993), MAPP (Lillie, 1991), and PATH (Jackson & Wasserman, 1997), are nationally known and widely used, but the great majority are developed by individual agencies and use many different formats and methods (Zukoski).The quality and scope of these training programs vary widely, and their delivery depends largely on the ability and experience of individual trainers (Grimm, 2003; Puddy & Jackson, 2003). Training programs also need to be updated to reflect the changing nature of foster care. For example, recently there has been a marked rise in placements with relatives. In some states, such as California, Illinois, and New York, nearly 50% of new placements are with kin (Berrick, 1998). Nationwide, about 36% of children placed in family foster homes are placed in the homes of relatives (Cuddeback & Orme, 2002). However, programs have scarcely begun to address the unique challenges these families face (Grimm, 2003). There are also a host of very practical problems with current training programs. Foster parents frequently lack the transportation, time, or child care services to attend continuing education courses away from home (Grimm, 2003; Kerman, 2000). Parents in rural areas are further inconvenienced by having to travel greater distances to get to the training and have fewer classes from which to choose (Delaney, 2000). …

Findings from Maryland KEEP, a replication of KEEP (keeping foster and kinship parents trained and supported), a foster and kinship parent training intervention are presented. The purposes of this study were to evaluate child behavior change, changes in caregiver parenting style, and permanency and placement stability at baseline and then after the KEEP intervention. The KEEP intervention was provided to 65 foster and kinship parents providing care for children ages 4–12. Children who participated in the study were referred due to behavior problems, as reported by foster parents: they all scored in the clinical range for externalizing behavior on the child behavior checklist (CBCL). Baseline and posttest analyses assessed for child behavior and parenting style changes. Permanency data, including placement moves and exits from child welfare were examined. Overall, foster and kinship parents reported significantly fewer child behavior problems at posttest; severity levels on the CBCL decreased from baseline to posttest and scores on the Parent Daily Report decreased from 7.25 at baseline to 3.0 at posttest. Placement stability significantly increased between baseline and post KEEP intervention. The results provide support for the effectiveness of KEEP for a child welfare population with a high level of behavior problems and for the effectiveness of KEEP as a training program for foster and kinship parents.

Parent training for foster parents is mandated by federal law and supported by state statues in nearly all states; however, little is known about the efficacy of that training, and recent reviews underscore that the most widely used curricula in the child welfare system (CWS) have virtually no empirical support (Grimm, Youth Law News, April-June:3-29, 2003). On the other hand, numerous theoretically based, developmentally sensitive parent training interventions have been found to be effective in experimental clinical and prevention intervention trials (e.g., Kazdin and Wassell, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39:414-420, 2000; McMahon and Forehand, Helping the noncompliant child, Guilford Press, New York, USA, 2003; Patterson and Forgatch, Parents and adolescents: I. Living together, Castalia Publishing, Eugene, OR, USA, 1987; Webster-Stratton et al., Journal of Clinical Child Pyschology Psychiatry, 42:943-952, 2001). One of these, Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC; Chamberlain, Treating chronic juvenile offenders: Advances made through the Oregon Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care model, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, USA, 2003), has been used with foster parents of youth referred from juvenile justice. The effectiveness of a universal intervention, KEEP (Keeping Foster Parents Trained and Supported) based on MTFC (but less intensive) was tested in a universal randomized trial with 700 foster and kinship parents in the San Diego County CWS. The goal of the intervention was to reduce child problem behaviors through strengthening foster parents' skills. The trial was designed to examine effects on both child behavior and parenting practices, allowing for specific assessment of the extent to which improvements in child behavior were mediated by the parenting practices targeted in the intervention. Child behavior problems were reduced significantly more in the intervention condition than in the control condition, and specific parenting practices were found to mediate these reductions, especially for high-risk children in foster families reporting more than six behavior problems per day at baseline.

Mental health services for children and youth in the child welfare system: A focus on caregivers as gatekeepers

Involvement in the Child Welfare System Among Mothers With Serious Mental Illness

Exploration of factors associated with secondary traumatic stress in foster parents

Evaluating trauma-informed training for foster parents – A controlled pilot study of the resource parent curriculum in Sweden

Replication of the KEEP foster and kinship parent training program for youth with externalizing behaviors

This study used administrative child welfare data from California to examine the relationship of the characteristics of children and their families to whether children were placed in kinship foster care or in some other form of child welfare placement. It was found that many characteristics of children and their families--such as children's age and race, children's health status, type of family from which children were removed, AFDC eligibility of the family from which children were removed, and the reason for which the children were removed from their caregivers--are related to the type of foster care setting in which children were placed. Key words: administrative data; foster care; kinship foster care; logistic regression care is a large, growing, and often understudied social services program (Courtney, 1994c). The number of children in out-of-home care is clearly rising. Although there is B no centralized national registry of these children, all 50 states annually provide information on their out-of-home care populations to the Voluntary Cooperative Information Service (VCIS) of the American Public Human Services Association. According to VCIS information, the number of children in out-of-home care has steadily grown from 262,000 in 1982, to 400,000 in 1990, to 507,000 in 1996 (personal communication with P. Shapiro, American Public Human Services Association, January 15, 1999). 1997 and 1998 data are not currently available (Shapiro). One aspect of the substantial growth in the number of children in out-of-home care in recent years is the rise in what has come to be known as kinship care. Kinship care is a particular form of family foster care in which children are placed with foster parents who are biologically related to them. Certainly, it is true that throughout history kin often have cared for children on an informal basis. However, kinship care refers to a formal arrangement in which care for a child is legally transferred through a court order to the child welfare system, and in which the child's kin become his or her foster parents. Most often, these kinship foster parents are grandparents of the child or an aunt or uncle. Less often, these kinship foster parents are older siblings or some other relatives of the child. Some limited research suggests that kinship foster parents are more likely to be older, to be African American, and to have lower incomes than nonkin foster parents (Berrick, Barth, & Needell, 1994). Since the early part of the 1980s, kinship care has grown from a relatively rare form of child welfare placement to a very common one (Berrick et al., 1994; Berrick, Needell, & Minkler, 1999; Dubowitz et al., 1994; Gleeson & Craig, 1994; Goerge, Wulczyn, & Harden, 1994; Scannapieco & Hegar, 1999; Takas, 1992). GROWTH OF KINSHIP FOSTER CARE It often is argued that kinship care is a way for the child welfare system to deal with growing numbers of children in need of out-of-home care placements (Barth & Berry, 1994; Berrick, 1998; Gleeson & Craig, 1994). As noted, the number of children in need of foster homes has grown during the past decade. However, the number of available licensed foster homes has steadily declined nationwide during the same decade. In an article on the Foster Family Shortage the Child Welfare League of America (1995) reported that the number of family foster homes declined from 147,000 in 1985 to 125,000 in 1994. Placement with kin may thus represent a way of finding new foster homes at a time when the child welfare system is confronted with increasing demands for its services in the face of declining resources. The way for growth in kinship care also has been paved by developments in federal legislation. Enacted in 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272) requires child welfare authorities to plan for a placement for a child that provides permanency and to evaluate these plans regularly through a set of administrative and court hearings. …

Risk, resilience, and complexity: Experiences of foster parents

Current status and evidence base of training for foster and treatment foster parents

The purpose of this study was to examine the three most common types of caregivers in the child welfare system (birth parents, relative caregivers, and foster parents), an active child welfare case, caregivers' endorsement of barriers to mental health services and mental health service use by caregivers for the children under their care. The sample consisted of 430 dyads (caregivers and their children). Results indicate that an active child welfare case, provider characteristics, and accessibility of services predicted mental health service use for children. Implications for the child welfare and mental health systems are discussed.

The actual number of LGBTQ+ youth in the child welfare system in the United States is unknown, as this information is not collected at the federal level. There are some studies that use state-level and/or population-based samples to estimate these numbers; but they are not representative of the nation as a whole. Moreover, many of these data samples do not include samples of trans and nonbinary youth. Thus, documenting the disproportionality of LGBTQ+ youth in these systems is still in the early phases of development. Social workers and child welfare professionals play essential roles as case managers, therapists, and advocates with youth and families who are LGBTQ+ as they negotiate their lives in these systems. This annotated bibliography provides knowledge and applications that will help social workers and child welfare professionals as they increase their knowledge, competencies, and skills in working with this population of young people and their families. Drawing on classic texts, social workers can understand some of the historical and fundamental knowledge necessary to work with youth and families in child welfare systems who identify as LGBTQ+. Specific knowledge of the settings and situations where LGBTQ+ young people reside and/or are provided services (in-home versus out-of-home care) as well as a discussion about foster care and adoption by LGBT families is critical for understanding the complexity of these people’s lives and situations. Further, sexual orientation and gender identity expression variables intersect with other conditions, such as race/class/ethnicity. These intersections add to the complexity of the LGBTQ+ person’s life and experiences in child welfare systems. As youth who self-identify as LGBTQ+ experience both oppression and resilience in a range of systems, including the family of origin system, so too do families who identify as LGBTQ+ and wish to become foster or adoptive parents. The decision to self-identify and “come out,” the experience of historical and psychological trauma, the degree of social supports, and health and mental health status are some of the issues and barriers many LGBTQ+ individuals experience and overcome as they interface with child welfare systems. Interventions at the clinical level can move youth toward health, while interventions at the macro level can assuage the systemic discrimination and bias that has been present in many child welfare systems. Social workers and child welfare professionals can avail themselves to key journal articles and texts for the latest knowledge and advocacy efforts. Additionally, there are many organizations that provide digital and in-person education, family support, and legal advocacy for the LGBTQ+ youth and families in child welfare systems. Social workers and child welfare professionals are on the frontlines and behind the scenes with their work with the LGBTQ+ youth and families in child welfare. They have an ethical imperative to work to provide support, healing, and advocacy. It my hope that the bibliography will be useful to social workers and child welfare professionals in this endeavor.