Foster Care Research Articles

Constructing the ‘zero family’: Breaking the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment from the perspective of care-experienced parents

BackgroundSeveral studies have explored the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment (ITCM), which also involves care-experienced parents; however, what is less explored is their direct experience, especially regarding resilience processes. ObjectiveDeveloping the theoretical framework of ITCM through an exploration of the perspectives of those who appear to have interrupted it. Participants and settingA sample of 27 Italian parents - with experience in foster and/or residential care - who have broken the ITCM, completed an in-depth interview between May 2021 and February 2023. MethodsA Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2014) approach was adopted in carrying out the interviews, which focused on daily experiences of parenting (Morgan, 2011) and on factors perceived as supporting ITCM interruption. Data were analyzed using open, focused and theoretical coding; the analysis itself was discussed with a consultive board of care-experienced parents. ResultsThe study highlighted important aspects that, from parents' perspectives, play a role in breaking ITCM: for instance, how their parenting experience is a challenging process of constructing what they term ‘zero family’. Furthermore, starting a family from scratch requires coming to terms with the past, re-imagining oneself as a parent, and managing the complexity of everyday life despite such tensions. ConclusionsThe results throw light on how the transition to parenthood itself is perceived as a significant developmental opportunity for the interruption of ITCM. However, many problems persist, foregrounding the relevance of discussing possible supports to strengthen parenting agency and skills. Such a discussion should therefore be increasingly informed by ecological approaches and parents' perspectives (also on everyday practices and life contexts), thus avoiding the risk of pathologizing responses.

Fostering participation and change through action research conducted with youth in the foster care system – A note from the field

The purpose of this note from the field is to review the current state of action research studies involving young people currently or recently involved in the foster care system in the United States. Young people in foster care often report feeling that they have little opportunity for advocacy or self-directed change during their time in the system. Action research is presented as an approach to research that appears to provide opportunities for self-advocacy and real-world change among youth in the foster care system. While noting some challenges associated with recruitment and attrition while working with youth in foster care, this note emphasizes the promising potential of action research as a tool to increase youth autonomy and well-being while generating meaningful knowledge and social change within the U.S foster care system. The note, based on a database search that included 636 articles 2013–2023, hopes to contribute to advancing youth-led research in foster care.

Mattering matters in youth suicidality: Implications for implementing in practice

The goal of this paper is to discuss and provide commentary on the construct of mattering in terms of its role in protecting children and adolescents from suicide and its underutilization in violence prevention contexts that target child rights, child health, and child protection. Reviewing and reflecting on decades of psychological research, the current article examines how feelings of mattering among youth are highly protective in terms of suicide risk while feelings of not mattering heighten vulnerability and risk. Mattering is discussed as a source of strength accompanied by hope but it is also a core source of vulnerability when a young person feels unseen, unheard, and unvalued. While mattering is important for all young people, it is especially vital for youth who experience marginalization, including youth in racialized circumstances, youth in foster care, and young people who are members of the LGBTQ ​+ ​community. Research is reviewed that shows consistently that feelings of not mattering are associated with suicide ideation, plans, and attempts. Mattering also has a key role in treatment and the process of recovering from a previous suicide attempt and other adversities. The overarching theme is that mattering is essential in protection and prevention and feelings of mattering can be instilled in young people by caring people in caring settings and communities.

Matching Process Concerning Children With Disabilities in Family Foster Care

ABSTRACTChildren with disabilities are over‐represented in foster care and exposed to more disruptions. This is unfortunate because they need long‐term relationships and predictability, as well as access to special schools and health care. Disruption can be the result of a poor match between the child and the foster family. In this article, we focus on the matching process in relation to children with disabilities. Zeijlmans et al. describe matching as the process by which social workers move from principles of good matching to realistic matching, depending on existing premises. Using their model, we analyse the matching process for children with disabilities in Sweden. The study is based on 31 individual interviews and six group interviews with social workers and social work managers. They describe how they take into account the family climate, family composition and prior knowledge and/or experience of disability in the foster home. However, disruptions occur even when these conditions are met. Stable placements seem to be more related to the fostered child's progress when the family's efforts are rewarded. We also address the complex issue of what disability actually means in the context of foster care, given the interrelatedness of trauma, maltreatment and impairment.

Temporary placement of a child in the family of an actual caregiver as a from of children`s placement

Ensuring the rights and well-being of the child is one of the main priorities of modern society. As Ukrainian and foreign legislation states that every child has the right to a family. However, due to different life circumstances, unfortunately, not every child has the opportunity to live in a family with their parents. That is why the question arises, how to ensure the realization of all the rights of a child who has lost his parents, or whose parents have given up their child. In this way, the institution of placement of a child was born. To date, Ukrainian legislation distinguishes such forms of placement of children as foster family, guardianship and care, adoption, family-type orphanage, placement in the family of relatives, acquaintances. All of these forms of placement have a clear procedure for placing a child in a family and a legal mechanism for regulating the rights and responsibilities of the person who took the child into their family, as well as the rights and responsibilities of the child. Each case of placement of children is unique and requires a specialized approach taking into account specific situations, circumstances and needs of the child. However, one form of placement should be singled out, such as placement of a child in the family of an actual caregiver. It is this form that has shown itself to be the most unexplored and at the same time convenient, first of all for a child. However, the problem of legislative implementation of temporary placement of a child by the actual guardian remains unsolved, since the existing legislation quite briefly describes the mechanism of such placement. This form of placement requires clear regulation from the side of the legislation, because the legal mechanism of placement of a child in the family of an actual tutor, the rights and obligations of the actual tutor and the pupil himself need to be researched. The article examines the advantages and disadvantages of such a temporary form of placement of a child as placement in the family of an actual tutor.

HUD releases $13M to help youth aging out of foster care

HUD releases $13M to help youth aging out of foster care

The necessity of an empirical study to determine if church congregations function as a family

Scripture’s reference to believers as the ‘family of God’ may indicate that believers should mutually care for one another like members of a caring family do, and not merely that members are part of a ‘spiritual’ family. From this perspective, the article investigated the extent of mutual care within congregations. The increasing need for pastoral care, within and outside church congregations, reveals the need for mutual care between members. The necessity for empirical studies within church congregations were revealed by the differences in the intensity of the answers by the participants. Without knowledge about the experiences of church members, leaders of church congregations may overlook potential needs of their members. A quantitative empirical study was done through an anonymous online survey with church members, pastoral counsellors, and pastors and ministers from various denominations who completed the survey, according to their experiences within their individual church congregation. The concepts of fellowship (koinōnia), service (diakonia), care, and family were used in the survey to determine the experiences of mutual care between members of the church congregation. The deficiency of mutual care between members of the congregation may motivate leaders to intentionally develop relationships through fellowship (koinōnia) to foster mutual care between members, and intentionally develop members to serve (diakonia) one another and their community.Contribution: This article contributes to an interdisciplinary discussion between pastoral theology, practical theology, and systematic theology from a Reformed perspective with a focus on the practical participation of members of the church congregation in pastoral care as the ‘family of God’.

Parenting styles and dental caries in Brazilian children and adolescents in foster care.

This study aimed to analyse parenting styles as a possible factor associated with caries in foster children and adolescents who had been victims of domestic violence. The study was carried out in nine foster shelters in Recife, Northeast Brazil, with a sample of 88 participants aged 8 to 17years old. Data were collected through intraoral examinations to verify deft/DMFT indices, applying the Demandingness and Responsiveness Scales to determine parenting styles. In turn, sociodemographic data were retrieved from records filed at the institutions. Descriptive analysis was performed, with the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests being used to compare the categories of numerical variables. The mean deft/DMFT was of 3.78 in children (8 and 9years old) and 1.93 in adolescents (10years old and older). Overall, the index was of 2.31. Neglect was the main reason for the children's admission to foster care, while neglectful was the most prevalent parenting style. Children of indulgent parents had higher caries indices in both deciduous and permanent teeth, while children of authoritative (permanent teeth) and authoritarian parents (deciduous teeth) had the lowest caries indices. However, no significant associations were found between caries and parenting styles.

The emotional terrain of foster and kinship carers’ relationships with parents of children in care: Carers’ perspectives

Children in foster and kinship care have a right to relationships with their parents. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) asserts children’s right to contact with their parents and families during periods of separation, except where this is proven not to be in the child’s best interests. Foster and kinship carers can play a pivotal role in children’s opportunities for, and experiences of, connection to parents and other family. Yet, the relationship between carers and parents is often characterised by ambivalence and tensions. Emerging research suggests that training and support to carers can help them to navigate their own and children’s relationships with their families. However, such support is not routinely available, and the evidence-base for supporting carers to manage complex relationships with parents is not well-developed. In this paper, we report on a study with 113 foster and kinship carers in Queensland (Australia). We explore carers’ perceptions of the emotional aspects of their relationships with parents. A novel feature of our study is our exploration of carers’ perceptions of affiliative and threat-based emotions in their relationships with birth parents. We report that carers experience a wide spectrum of emotions in their relationships with parents, some of which strengthen these relationships while others create distance. We find also that carers receive little, if any, formal support in building relationships with parents and for supporting children’s opportunities for, and experiences of family contact. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers report being unsupported in meeting their cultural obligations in developing relationships with children’s parents and families. We discuss the implications for formal support to improve carers capacities to build and maintain their own, and children’s, relationships with parents.

Foster Care and Health in Medicaid-Enrolled Children Experiencing Parental Opioid Use Disorder

The burden of the US opioid crisis has fallen heavily on children, a vulnerable population increasingly exposed to parental opioid use disorder (POUD) in utero or during childhood. A paucity of studies have investigated foster care involvement among those experiencing parental opioid use during childhood and the associated health and health care outcomes. To examine the health and health care outcomes of children experiencing POUD with and without foster care involvement. This population-based cohort study used nationwide Medicaid claims data from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2020. Participants included Medicaid-enrolled children experiencing parental opioid use-related disorder during ages 4 to 18 years. Data were analyzed between January 2023 and February 2024. Person-years with (exposed) and without (nonexposed) foster care involvement, identified using Medicaid eligibility, procedure, and diagnostic codes. The main outcomes included physical and mental health conditions, developmental disorders, substance use, and health care utilization. The Pearson χ2 test, the t test, and linear regression were used to compare outcomes in person-years with (exposed) and without (nonexposed) foster care involvement. An event study design was used to examine health care utilization patterns before and after foster care involvement. In a longitudinal sample of 8 939 666 person-years from 1 985 180 Medicaid-enrolled children, 49% of children were females and 51% were males. Their mean (SD) age was 10 (4.2) years. The prevalence of foster care involvement was 3% (276 456 person-years), increasing from 1.5% in 2014 to 4.7% in 2020. Compared with those without foster care involvement (8 663 210 person-years), foster care involvement was associated with a higher prevalence of developmental delays (12% vs 7%), depression (10% vs 4%), trauma and stress (35% vs 7%), and substance use-related disorders (4% vs 1%; P < .001 for all). Foster children had higher rates of health care utilization across a wide array of preventive services, including well-child visits (64% vs 44%) and immunizations (41% vs 31%; P < .001 for all). Health care utilization increased sharply in the first year entering foster care but decreased as children exited care. In this cohort study of Medicaid-enrolled children experiencing parental opioid use-related disorder, foster care involvement increased significantly between 2014 and 2020. Involvement was associated with increased rates of adverse health outcomes and health care utilization. These findings underscore the importance of policies that support children and families affected by opioid use disorder, as well as the systems that serve them.

Exploring alternative care options for children in China: recent developments and challenges

ABSTRACT In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the complexities surrounding alternative care arrangements for children, especially within China’s changing childcare landscape. This paper addresses the gap in understanding the nuances of alternative care options in China by conducting a narrative review of existing literature and governmental documents, focusing specifically on kinship care, institutional care, family foster care, and adoption. The review reveals recent developments and current challenges associated with each form of alternative care, providing insights into the evolving childcare system in China. Key findings include significant progress in diversifying childcare options, increased funding investment in the system, and efforts to standardize alternative childcare practices through policies and legislative measures. However, challenges persist in promoting psychosocial development and preparing individuals living in institutions for leaving care, ensuring adequate resources and support for kinship caregivers, and enhancing participation rates in family foster care and adoption practices. Practical implications for policymakers and child welfare agencies are discussed, emphasizing the importance of promoting family-based care options, providing quality caregiver training, considering various aspects of children’s needs, extending support for kinship care, and formulating inclusive adoption policies.

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities for Child Behavioral Health Services in North Carolina Medicaid.

Psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) are non-hospital inpatient treatment settings for children with severe be-havioral health disorders. PRTFs are a restrictive and costly form of care that can potentially be avoided with community-based behavioral health services. Statewide Medicaid enrollment and claims data for 2015-2022 were used to describe PRTF utilization in North Carolina. We examined annual episodes of care in PRTFs and compared trends before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency. From 2015 to 2022, 10,038 children insured by NC Medicaid entered a PRTF across 10,966 episodes of care. In the past five years (2018-2022), care in PRTFs resulted in Medicaid expenditures of over $550 million total, or over $100 million per year. In 2022, 42% of children who entered PRTFs were in foster care and 44% of children were placed in PRTFs outside of North Carolina. The analysis was limited to data collected for administrative purposes. Current trends indicate an ongoing overrepresentation of children in foster care placed in PRTFs and increased out-of-state PRTF placements. Coordinated efforts in future research, policy, and practice are needed to determine the cause of these trends and iden-tify solutions.

Care trajectories and imagining potential: Positioning the need for skills, confidence and communication among key professionals supporting the higher education progression of care‐experienced young people

AbstractThis paper sets out to develop understanding around supporting the journeys of care‐experienced young people towards higher education (HE) in South‐East England, through the professionals working with them. Those with care experience remain less likely than others to enter HE. In contrast to individualised approaches that implicitly or explicitly assume a deficit in care‐experienced young people to be ‘filled’ by approaches focusing on increasing their resilience and aspiration, we focus here on the role of professionals who work with them. Findings discussed here come from a set of interviews with seven foster carers and three social workers, carried out as part of a wider project involving an interprofessional team encompassing education, social work and widening participation. We identify that while professionals are often motivated to support care‐experienced young people in progressing to HE, many lack the necessary skills and knowledge. This leads us to identify the need for more targeted support both from and for professionals, for young people and those who work with them, to be able to imagine and create HE futures. This requires wider understanding around the impact of trauma on young people's ability to engage with education opportunities, and the need for recognition of the potential of care‐experienced young people and differential targeting of resources, drawing on insights from Sen's capabilities approach.

The biological embedding of social adversity: How adolescent housing insecurity impacts inflammation over time

Background & PurposeAdolescent housing insecurity is a dynamic form of social adversity that impacts child health outcomes worldwide. However, the means by which adolescent housing insecurity may become biologically embedded to influence health outcomes over the life course remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to utilize life course perspectives and advanced causal inference methods to evaluate the potential for inflammation to contribute to the biological embedding of adolescent housing insecurity. Materials and methodsUsing prospective data from the Great Smoky Mountains Study, we investigated the relationship between adolescent housing insecurity and whole-blood spot samples assayed for C-reactive protein (CRP). Adolescent housing insecurity was created based on annual measures of frequent residential moves, reduced standard of living, forced separation from the home, and foster care. Annual measures of CRP ranged from 0.001 mg/L to 13.6 mg/L (median = 0.427 mg/L) and were log10 transformed to account for positively skewed values. We used g-estimation of structural nested mean models to estimate a series of conditional average causal effects of adolescent housing insecurity on CRP levels from ages 11 to 16 years and interpreted the results within life course frameworks of accumulation, recency, and sensitive periods. Principal ResultsOf the 1,334 participants, 427 [44.3 %] were female. Based on the conditional average causal effect, one exposure to adolescent housing insecurity from ages 11 to 16 years led to a 6.4 % (95 % CI = 0.69 – 12.4) increase in later CRP levels. Exposure at 14 years of age led to a 27.9 % increase in CRP levels at age 15 (95 % CI = 6.5 – 53.5). Recent exposures to adolescent housing insecurity (<3 years) suggested stronger associations with CRP levels than distant exposures (>3 years), but limited statistical power prevented causal conclusions regarding recency effects at the risk of a Type II Error. Major ConclusionsThese findings highlight inflammation—as indicated by increased CRP levels—as one potential mechanism for the biological embedding of adolescent housing insecurity. The results also suggest that adolescent housing insecurity—particularly recent, repeated, and mid-adolescent exposures—may increase the risk of poor health outcomes and should be considered a key intervention target.

Formal and Informal Support among Mothers Aging out of Foster Care and Maternity Group Homes: Who Steps in When Mothers Age Out?

Formal and Informal Support among Mothers Aging out of Foster Care and Maternity Group Homes: Who Steps in When Mothers Age Out?

Damaged Goods: Victimhood‐Survivorship and the Social Marking of Identity

This article offers a cultural cognitive theory of sexual violence: a Zerubavelian reading of its classificatory, attentional, perceptual, semiotic, mnemonic, and temporal dimensions. It maps the asymmetric syntactic contrasts between the cultural trifecta of “Victim‐Survivors,” “Victimizers,” and the hitherto unnamed, taken‐for‐granted “Unvictims,” arguing that those who experience sexual violence are marked in contrast to both those who victimize and those who have never been victimized. Suggesting that one need not be the actor of a marked act to be marked by it, a victimizing person's marked act crystallizes as a marked identity for the person they victimize, a process I call “semiotic ricochet.” Extending critiques of the victimhood‐survivorship frame, this article argues that the “rigid‐minded,” binary classificatory scheme of “Victim” or “Survivor” reifies, universalizes, derivatizes, and temporally displaces its attributed. It proposes hyphenating, encasing in scare quotes, and capitalizing the identity category of “Victim‐Survivor,” as well as referring to individuals as “those who experience sexual violence.” Using the Zerubavelian theoretico‐methodological practice of “concept‐driven” sociology, it identifies the “Victim‐Survivor” as merely one specific instantiation of the generic social type the “Damaged Good,” alongside other identities derived from marked non‐acts such as placement in foster care or undergoing a mastectomy for breast cancer.

Experiences of grief and maltreatment among orphans in foster homes in Namibia

Orphans in SSA are often cared for in foster homes. Although there is no consistent picture of whether orphans experience more often than non-orphans child maltreatment, they are at risk of facing violence in their home situation. This study aimed to understand how Namibian orphans experience their treatment in foster care and how exposure to maltreatment influences their experiences of grief. An ethnographic design was used in which 46 children, adolescents, their carers and various experts in northern Namibia participated. Focus groups, individual interviews and art-based methods were used. The results show that the majority of the orphans experience a form of maltreatment, including differential treatment between themselves and the biological children in the household. Risk factors for child maltreatment are identified on child, carer and household level. Children and adolescents long for their parents when they are treated badly and feel the parent could have protected and comforted them, which shows the important role of having a secure foster home situation in coping with parental loss. Parenting interventions to positively influence the risk of child maltreatment in foster care are recommended.

Variables Influencing Post-traumatic Growth in Abused Children and Adolescents in Foster Care

Variables Influencing Post-traumatic Growth in Abused Children and Adolescents in Foster Care

Mental health, negative life events and resilience among adolescents in contact with the child welfare services

Adolescents in contact with the child welfare services (CWS) are at increased risk of experiencing negative life events (NLE) and mental health problems compared to the general population. There is, however, limited knowledge of whether protective factors can promote resilience in the CWS population in the context of NLE. Data stem from the population-based youth@hordaland study conducted in 2012, comprising 9492 adolescents aged 16–19 years. In total, 283 youth confirmed contact with the CWS and were categorized as receiving in-home services (IHS; n = 138) or living in foster care (FC; n = 145). The youth provided self-report information on NLE, mental health problems and protective factors. The IHS- and FC groups reported significantly more NLE, mental health problems and fewer protective factors compared to the general population. Adolescents receiving IHS consistently reported the most problems compared to the general population. Approximately 30 % of the association between contact with the CWS and mental health problems was mediated by NLE. Further, higher scores on the protective factors predicted lower levels of mental health problems, independent of the number of experienced NLE. Small interaction effects were found for the protective factors Goal Orientation and Family Cohesion and NLE. The results highlight that protective factors can buffer against mental health problems among adolescents receiving CWS interventions. More research is needed to further disentangle the mechanisms leading to better outcomes in this high-risk group of adolescents.

Challenges Faced by Social Workers Rendering Foster Care Services in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District, Northern Cape Province

Foster care services are in high demand in South Africa because of the significant number of children in need of care. Reasons for this include the death of biological parents, abuse, neglect, incarceration of parents, parents abandoning their children, and even disappearance of parents. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this situation. The demand for foster care is putting strain on the delivery of social work services to this vulnerable group. Social workers tasked with implementing the foster care process experience operational impediments and emotional strain, creating an implementation challenge. In examining these challenges, the ecological perspective provides a suitable theoretical framework. This qualitative research study is underpinned by an exploratory design and semi-structured interviews have been conducted to gather primary data. Eight participants have been purposively selected, and the data has been analysed using thematic analysis. Findings suggest that the challenges social workers face fall into three categories: operational obstacles, emotional challenges, and non-adherence to foster care values and principles. Policies and practices are recommended to address the identified challenges to ensure that social workers are empowered to implement foster care services that are child-centred and needs-based.