Foster Parents Research Articles

Hierarchies of Actualization.

The concept of transforming power over to power with, the theme of this issue of Creative Nursing, comes from Riane Eisler's cultural transformation theory describing a continuum of domination and partnership along which cultures orient themselves. Hierarchies are important organizing principles in many systems; it is not their presence that is inhumane, but how they function. Domination systems display authoritarian rule in both the family and the state or tribe, with strict hierarchies of domination, and narratives that normalize domination and present the violence that maintains it as inevitable. Partnership systems are characterized by egalitarian structures in both the family and state or tribe, with hierarchies of actualization in which power is used to empower others rather than disempower, low levels of sanctioned violence (since it is not needed to maintain power), and narratives depicting mutual respect, accountability, and benefit as natural. All the articles in this issue of Creative Nursing depict empowerment: of patients, parents and other family members, foster parents, children from preschool age to near adulthood, providers of direct patient care at many levels in many areas, nurses seeking to publish their knowledge, and all people who seek to use language that demonstrates respect and value for all people while acknowledging the diverse cultures in which we abide.

Does money motivate prospective foster parents? Are responses from high vs. low‐income towns different? Evidence from Google advertising

AbstractRecruiting foster parents is a worldwide challenge. In the US, foster parents are supposed to volunteer but receive stipends to cover the cost of foster children. Thus, Foster Care agencies hesitate to highlight the Stipend in their recruitment messaging to prospective foster parents. This hesitation is to weed out extrinsically (stipend) motivated prospective parents early in the application, training and licensing process.The first step in foster parent recruitment is to start the conversation between prospective foster care parents and foster parent recruiters.Extant research has relied on current or former foster parents to find their motivations for fostering and continuing to foster. We believe ours is the first study to empirically examine whether mentioning money (stipend) early in the recruitment process makes a difference in the response of prospective foster parents.The research reports Google ads data from two foster parent recruitment campaigns. These Google search ads showed when “foster parenting” related words were Googled. One ad had the word “stipend,” and the other did not. We then examine differences in response between high and low‐income towns. Next, we analysed differences in click behaviour over 207 days between the two versions of the ads. We then examined differences in click behaviour between residents of high and low‐income towns. We used the t‐test to test for differences in our data analysis approach.We find no statistical difference in response between the ads that mention ‘stipend’ and those that do not (t = 0.64, p = 0.26). However, residents of low‐income towns are five times more likely to click on a foster parent ad than residents from high‐income towns, irrespective of whether the stipend is mentioned in the ad (without mentioning stipend: t = 3.21, p = 0.0008; mentioning Stipend: t = 3.77, p = 0.0001).

Experiences in the relationship between foster children and foster parents in specialized foster care—Thematic analysis conducted on five minute speech sample-data

Experiences in the relationship between foster children and foster parents in specialized foster care—Thematic analysis conducted on five minute speech sample-data

Attitude of adoptive and biological parents to tactile interaction with children

Introduction. The problem of children's adaptation to foster families remains relevant for many years all over the world. However, there is now evidence that humans have two tactile systems, one of which is social and is activated by slow, gentle touch. The idea arose that adoptive parents could be taught such touches using the example of a special massage. But for this you need to know the attitude of parents towards touch in principle. That is why the purpose of this study was to study parents’ attitudes towards tactile interaction with children. Methodology. 277 foster and biological parents (M=39.9; SD=7.6) completed a survey using Google Forms that included 48 statements scored on a psychometric Likert scale. The work used theoretical (analysis, comparison and synthesis), empirical (survey) and statistical (correlation, regression and factor analysis using the SPSS 21 software package) research methods. Results and discussion. Significant inconsistency was found regarding physical sanctions among all groups of respondents. Thus, by unanimously declaring a negative attitude towards punishing the children of other children, respondents allow this to happen to themselves (Ro=-0.603, p<0.001), which affects the personal impact of the child’s development (Ro=-0.508, p<0.001). All mothers reported detecting excessive tactile contact with the child (Ro=0.544, p<0.001). The 4-factor model shows an ambiguous attitude of respondents towards gentle, tactile interaction with both their children and parents in their own childhood (KMO=0.792; p<0.000; 63.1%). Signs of emotional burnout are observed in all parents, but are especially pronounced in adopted ones (p=0.007; R2 =0.056; DW=1.633; r=0.236). Conclusion. Before inviting parents to try massage based on gentle tactile interactions with children, it is necessary to provide training in methods of rewarding and punishing children within the family without violence. A burnout prevention program is needed for all parents.

Nurturing Self-Esteem: Understanding the Role of Parenting Styles

Background: The New research thoroughly examines the intricate and challenging role of foster parents, which involves various stressors beyond the usual challenges of parenthood. The study explores the connection between parenting style and self-esteem to determine the relationship. Methods: A descriptive quantitative study design was initiated from the period of 1stNovember (2023) to 1st may (2024) that use the (Parenting Style Questionnaire) that consist of 38 questions to measure the parenting style. The sample of the study A non-probability (convenience sample) consists of 110 students in university of kerbala. Sample were selected from the collegians nurses and accept to participated in research and accomplish the questionnaire. Results The result showed for those 110 students, the age of participants was 51.8% were 18-20 years, 93.6% of the sample was single and more than half of the sample was female the great percentage of participants have enough monthly income. The present study showed the parenting style was Negligent in 57.2 percent. The study showed that there was non-significant statistical correlation between the parenting style and the self-esteem, finally the self-esteem was moderate for 57.3% of the participants. These results indicate the need to support positive parenting style (Authoritative) that support the correct upbringing of children through adolescence and then adulthood, which reflects positively on the personality.

Exploring parenting behaviors, stress, and closeness among foster parents

This mixed methods study with a triangulation design aimed to explore the impact of parenting styles and those that most make up parenting care among foster parents today. We assessed how foster parents individually view their management of childcare, perceived levels of support, and education opportunities surrounding foster care parenting practices or level of received preparedness. Furthermore, this study offered insight into if parental styles are associated with parental perceived stress level, and foster parent-foster child closeness. Preexisting secondary data from the Fostering Healthy Relationships study was utilized. This study contained national survey data and focus group transcriptions from licensed foster parents, which were collected during 2018–2019. Our current sample included quantitative data from 457 foster parent participants and qualitative data from 12 participants. Overall, the results indicated most parents who responded to the survey revealed having participated in authoritative parenting practices. Those with authoritative and authoritarian parenting practices had more stress, while authoritative reported more closeness with foster children.

Need for Foster Homes, Foster Parent Recruitment, and Licensure: Comparing Foster Parent and Child Welfare Worker Perspectives

Need for Foster Homes, Foster Parent Recruitment, and Licensure: Comparing Foster Parent and Child Welfare Worker Perspectives

Foster care breakdown in adolescence: A retrospective view of young individuals on their experiences

Summary Placement with a foster family is one of the care arrangements available for children who cannot live at home. Many of those in foster care are teenagers. The complexity of the development during adolescence poses major challenges and may ultimately lead to what is known in the literature as “foster breakdown.” Most of the research in this area focuses on the point of view of social workers or foster parents. The current study examines this experience through a retrospective view of those who were teenagers at the time of foster care breakdown. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 Israeli young individuals (16–30 years old) who had experienced foster breakdown at various stages of adolescence. Findings The findings paint a complex and multidimensional picture of breakdown. While most of the interviewees described it as a sudden, unexpected event, closer examination revealed a dynamic process of collapse. This process comprised various factors, including those associated with the welfare system, the foster family, and characteristics related to the developmental stage of adolescence of the research participants. The combination of these factors led to the premature termination of the foster arrangement. Applications This study opens a window to the complex experience of foster breakdown in adolescence, an issue that has received very little research attention thus far. Understanding the dynamics of foster breakdown from the perspective of young individuals can improve professional foster care practices and policy and can benefit social workers in their work with foster families.

Feasibility and Acceptability of a Family-Based Telehealth Intervention for Families Impacted by the Child Welfare System: Formative Mixed Methods Evaluation.

Despite elevated rates of trauma exposure, substance misuse, mental health problems, and suicide, systems-impacted teens and their caregivers have limited access to empirically supported behavioral health services. Family-based interventions are the most effective for improving mental health, education, substance use, and delinquency outcomes, yet the familial and placement disruption that occurs during child welfare involvement can interfere with the delivery of family-based interventions. To address this gap in access to services, we adapted an in-person, empirically supported, family-based affect management intervention using a trauma-informed lens to be delivered via telehealth to families impacted by the child welfare system (Family Telehealth Project). We describe the intervention adaptation process and an open trial to evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, and impact. Adaptations to the in-person, family-based affect management intervention were conducted iteratively with input from youth, caregivers, and systems partners. Through focus groups and collaborative meetings with systems partners, a caregiver-only version of the intervention was also developed. An open trial of the intervention was conducted to assess family perspectives of its acceptability and feasibility and inform further refinements prior to a larger-scale evaluation. Participants included English-speaking families involved in the child welfare system in the past 12 months with teens (aged 12-18 years). Caregivers were eligible to participate either individually (caregivers of origin, kinship caregivers, or foster parents; n=7) or with their teen (caregiver of origin only; n=6 dyads). Participants completed session feedback forms and surveys at pretreatment, posttreatment, and 3-month posttreatment time points. Qualitative exit interviews were conducted with a subset of participants (12/19, 63%) to further understand their experiences with the intervention. Session attendance was high, and both caregivers and teens reported high acceptability of clinicians and sessions on feedback forms. Families were comfortable with video technology, with very few (<5%) sessions having reported technology problems. Thematic analysis of exit interview transcripts indicated that families used effective communication and affect management skills taught during the intervention. Regarding challenges and barriers, some caregiver-only participants expressed a desire to have their teen also participate in the intervention. All interview participants reported that they would recommend the intervention to others and perceptions of the intervention were overwhelmingly positive. Quantitative surveys revealed differential responses to the intervention regarding affect management and communication. An open trial of the Family Telehealth Project, a skills-based telehealth intervention for families impacted by the child welfare system, suggests high levels of intervention feasibility and acceptability. Participants noted improvements in areas often hindered by the impacts of trauma and family separation: communication and affect management. Perceptions of the intervention were positive overall for both teens and caregivers. The Family Telehealth Project shows promise in addressing the gaps in behavioral health access for systems-impacted families. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04488523; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04488523.

Foster parents’ need for greater information sharing when caring for children with prenatal substance exposure within child welfare

ABSTRACT This article presents information on how the child welfare (CW) system informs caregivers about prenatal substance exposure (PSE) and related concerns, and how those caregivers communicate back to CW about PSE issues. Focus group and interview data for this qualitative study were collected in Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 from two states, each including four local (regional/county) CW agency sites. Caregivers were eligible for inclusion if they had cared for a child served by one of the sites, with priority for those who had cared for a child with known PSE or related special needs, resulting in a total of 44 caregivers. Of these, 41 had served as non-relative caregivers, while 10 had served as informal or formal kinship caregivers. Caregivers emphasized the need for more information-sharing from CW professionals related to the histories and needs of the children in their care. Thematic findings underscore that having more information about the general impact of PSE and exposure status of individual children could better prepare caregivers. CW agencies can use these findings to inform training, information sharing, and caregiver support.When caregivers have relevant information about the children in their care, outcomes for development, family preservation, and support can be improved.

Preservice training perspectives among Florida foster parents

Relatively little is known about foster parent preservice training, particularly how foster parents perceive the helpfulness of preservice training. Given the high turnover of foster parents and research indicating that multiple demands are placed on foster parents, more attention should be paid to the preparation and support of new foster parents. The purpose of this study was to utilize an administrative data set from the state of Florida to examine foster parents’ perceptions of the type and quality of their preservice training in terms of feeling prepared to take on a foster care placement in their home. Almost one half of all participants were able to identify the name of the training completed. Of which, three of the trainings have some empirical support in published literature. Additionally, a little more than one half of participants indicated they felt prepared for their role as a foster parent, but almost one third indicated not feeling prepared for the role. Slightly more than one quarter of participants indicated supplementing their training with other resources. Results support the need for more rigorous evaluation of preservice training due to limited empirical support, attention to how training prepares foster parents to support the needs of the child and family following placement, and potential improvements to what is covered in preservice training.

Raised by White People. Conceptualisations of ‘Culture’ in the Foster Placement of African Minority Youth in Norway

AbstractThis paper examines the intricate dynamics of transethnic foster placement in Norway, focusing on African minority youth and how ‘culture’ and ‘identity’ is conceptualised within this context. Through semi-structured interviews, the study builds on the lived experiences of a set of 15 families (including 60 children), alongside insights from fostered individuals, foster parents, and a placement official. The discussion delves into the profound effects of cultural dislocation and identity crisis experienced by minority youth, problematising how foster placement often leads to adverse life trajectories, including issues with uprootedness, substance abuse, psychiatric illness, and loss of ethnic identity. At the core of the discussion is the contention that while the child protection system in Norway is mandated to safeguard children, it inadvertently neglects the cultural rights and identity development of African minority youth. Employing insight from Franz Fanon and Jean-Paul Sartre to articulate the psychological impact and moral implications of such transethnic placements, the paper argues for re-evaluating assimilation practices and cultural rights within the child protection framework, highlighting the need for a culturally sensitive and rights-based approach to foster care. This research contributes to the broader discourse on human rights and social work, emphasising the ethical and legal dimensions of fostering minority children.

Minimum wages and foster care placement disruption

AbstractWe examine the potential secondary impacts of raising the minimum wage in a jurisdiction on the efficiency of its foster care placement system. We employ the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) restricted‐access dataset representing all children in the US foster care system for the years 2000–21. We calculate placement efficiency as the number of yearly moves experienced by a child in the foster care system, with a decrease in the number of placements interpreted as benefitting children both psychologically and behaviourally. This increase in stability benefits the foster parents and corresponds to a smaller financial strain on the public. After including various controls and state‐year fixed effects, our Tobit and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) analyses find that increased minimum wages are significantly associated with lower levels of placement disruption. We take this as promising initial descriptive evidence for the secondary effects of the minimum wage on reducing the financial burden, and increasing the placement efficiency, of the foster care system.

Reinforcement of an endangered goose population: the effect of age and interspecific fostering on survival of released birds

The release of captive‐bred or translocated individuals is a strategy used worldwide to support threatened animal populations. By capture–recapture analysis, we examined the survival of released individuals when reinforcing a critically endangered Lesser White‐fronted Goose population. Our analysis includes data from 646 birds, released 1984–2017, including two different age classes, divided in two distinct periods when different techniques were used. Fledglings were released with foster parents of Barnacle Geese in the first period and by a soft release without support of foster parenting in the second period. Yearlings were released by soft release in both periods. We find that use of foster parents enhances survival rates, but these differences were detectable only in the first year of life. Fledglings supported by foster parents showed significantly higher survival compared to yearlings released by soft release, but this difference was not clear when soft release was applied to both groups. Resighting data suggest that most losses occurred during the acclimation period following the release. Foster parenting may enhance survival rates due to social learning enabling the transfer of crucial behaviors (e.g. feeding, anti‐predator, and migration) to released individuals. However, these conservation benefits need to be balanced against costs and potential inherent risks related to foster parenting, including the imprinting of undesired behaviors in released individuals, such as hybridization. Based on our results, we advise conservationists to carefully consider foster parenting as one method to improve survival probability, especially if capacity to produce individuals to be released is a limiting factor.

Violence Against Parents by Adult Children: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Studies.

Violence against parents by adult children is the abuse of physical, psychological, social, or economic power committed by a grown-up child against his/her parent or foster parent with the intention of achieving a specific goal such as control, subordination, economic gains, or internal satisfaction. It encompasses physical, psychological, sexual, and financial violence, neglect, and property crime. This paper aims to systematically review the literature on violence against parents by adult children. With the use of a range of keywords, the databases Web of Science, SAGE, SpringerLink, Taylor and Francis online, PubMed, EBSCOhost, JSTOR, ProQuest Ebook Central, PsycInfo, Routledge, and Science Direct were reviewed according to the PRISMA Statement. A review of the literature by key authors and contributions using the snowball method followed. The inclusion criteria were empirical journal papers and books published in English between 1990 and 2023 that address violence against parents by adult children. Exclusion criteria included reviews, commentaries, abstracts, and any publications that address the subject topic in a language other than English. The searches returned 39 relevant contributions. Four common themes emerged across the field: the prevalence and characteristics of violence against parents by adult children, parents' responses and experiences of violence by adult children, social perceptions of (older) parent abuse, and consequences and prevention of violence against parents by adult children. Findings of the literature review show that violence against parents is an under-researched phenomenon and points to the need for further research, including the prevention, detection, consequences, and treatment of such violence.

“My heart is in the right place, but I don’t feel the court’s heart is beating”: perspectives on feeling valued from multiple nonprofessional stakeholders in child welfare court

ABSTRACT Though the experiences of individual non-professional stakeholders involved with dependency courts overseeing child protective services cases have been documented, this article provides a unique comparison across four non-professional stakeholder groups. Through analysis of focus groups and individual interviews, we compare the perspectives of birth parents (n=6), kinship caregivers (n=14), young adults removed from their homes as children (n=15), and foster parents (n=57) involved with the dependency courts in Maryland. Despite their different roles, the experiences of all groups are characterized by common themes including time, consistency, role, voice, and what is best under the broader context of feeling valued.

A stakeholder perspective on the necessary conditions for successfully implementing parenting interventions in Botswana.

Encouraging positive parenting practices through evidence-based interventions is vital for the achievement of SDG target 16.2, which aims to eradicate all forms of violence against children while promoting their safety and mental wellbeing. As low- and middle- income countries increasingly adopt parenting programs, policymakers and implementers face the challenge of efficiently transporting, adapting, and implementing them across multiple settings. This study seeks to evaluate the real-world experiences, challenges, and best practices in implementing parent support programs in Botswana. A series of interviews with program implementers and stakeholders from governmental and non-governmental organizations were conducted. Key informants from governmental and non-governmental institutions were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling and 17 practitioners participated in the study. Data collection was carried out through online Zoom video conferencing at a convenient time and location for participants. The findings indicate several factors that contribute to the successful implementation of parenting programs in Botswana, including (a) enabling factors such as supportive policies, regulations and guidelines, (b) innovative factors such as capacity building, program adaptation and mixed method program delivery, (c) bridging factors through collaborations with skilled organizations, and (d) intra-organizational factors such as organizational resources, program sustainability, and support for program staff. No single organization or strategy can sustainably foster positive parenting support in Botswana. Instead, a collective and collaborative learning approach is necessary to develop lasting and scalable solutions.

Parenting stress, dyadic coping and endocrine markers of stress and resilience in foster and biological mothers.

Foster parents have been shown to report higher levels of parenting stress but also more dyadic coping (DC) behaviors in their partnership than biological parents, which might be an important protective factor that helps them cope with daily stressors. Here, we examined how parenting stress and DC are related in foster and biological parents and whether these are reflected in long-term alterations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity. A total of 79 foster mothers and 131 biological mothers participated in a longitudinal study. At the initial assessment, children were aged 2-7 years and lived for an average of 18 months in their current foster family. Mothers' cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations and their cortisol/DHEA ratios were assessed in scalp hair twice with approximately 11 months in between, while their perceived parenting stress and DC were measured by self-report questionnaires. Results showed no significant differences between foster mothers and biological mothers in cortisol, DHEA and cortisol/DHEA concentrations. While more DC was longitudinally related to lower levels of parenting stress across both study groups, no significant associations were found to endocrine markers. Thus, these findings indicate that increased parenting stress levels were not, or not strongly, reflected in HPA axis alterations as assessed in hair. Our findings thus add evidence for non-significant associations between self-reported perceived stress and chronic HPA axis markers. Future studies may explore whether early interventions, including those aimed at promoting and maintaining positive DC, are beneficial in preventing the development of stress-related illnesses in foster parents.

Strategi Komunikasi Kepala Desa dalam Meningkatkan Pendidikan Masyarakat di Desa Karang Mukti Kecamatan Karang Bahagia Kabupaten Bekasi

This study is based on the low education level of the community in Karang Mukti Village, Karang Bahagia Sub-district. This situation necessitates communication actions by the village head towards the community and the related village government to improve the community's education level. This study aims to analyze and evaluate the communication strategy of the village head in improving community education in Karang Mukti Village , Karang Bahagia Sub-district, Bekasi Regency. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach. The data collection techniques in this study are interviews and documentation. The sources of data for this study are the village head, the head of planning, community leaders, and community members in Karang Mukti Village, Karang Bahagia Sub-district, totaling 4 people. The data analysis techniques used in this research are data reduction, data presentation, and verification. The results of this study show that the village head communicates with the community and village apparatus, utilizing public communication and group communication to ensure that the foster parent movement education program in the village and schools can reach the community.

Threat of violence as a way to commit «Counteraction to legitimate economic activity»

The article is devoted to one of the ways of committing a criminal offense under Article 206 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Counteraction to legitimate economic activity”. In particular, the author examines the concept of threats of violence against the victim or persons close to the victim in the course of counteracting legitimate economic activity. It is determined that the method of committing a criminal offense in the form of a threat of violence against the victim or persons close to him/her is present both in Article 206 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Counteraction to Legitimate Economic Activity” and in some other corpus delicti of criminal offenses. The author establishes that in the Criminal Code of Ukraine “threat of violence” appears either as a separate criminal offense or as a method of committing a criminal offense. The study reveals the content of the terms “threat” and “threat of violence” used in the disposition of Article 206 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Based on the results of the analysis, the author suggests that a threat of violence should be understood as actions of a person aimed at intimidation without physical contact with the victim, which are intended to influence the psycho-emotional state of the victim with a view to achieving the desired criminal result. For the purpose of recognizing a threat as a method of counteracting legitimate business activity, it does not matter whether the perpetrator actually intended and was actually able to carry out the threat. From the moment the demand combined with the threat is made, this criminal offense is complete. It has been determined that, within the meaning of Article 206 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, close persons are understood to mean close relatives - parents (foster parents), children (foster children), grandparents and grandchildren. Family members are parents (foster parents), children (foster children), brothers, sisters and their spouses who live together, as well as a spouse who lives together but is not married, and the spouses’ parents. The closeness of persons who are family members is based primarily on marriage (husband, wife) and consanguinity (children, parents, other relatives), and may also arise on other grounds (friendship, love, etc.).