Girls In Foster Care Research Articles

It's More Than Just Hair: Addressing the Cultural Needs of Black Girls in Foster Care

ABSTRACT: This essay considers the historical and current relationship between the child welfare system and Black families and its effect on the lives of Black children, with a focus on the minimal attention that is given to their racial, ethnic, and cultural needs once placed in foster care. It explores the importance of understanding how Black foster youth navigate the experiences of racial socialization and ethnic identity. This essay specifically focuses on Black girls and through a sociohistorical overview of the importance of Black hair in America, I address the connection between socialization and hair and haircare perceptions and experiences of Black foster girls. Based on critical analysis of research that highlights the potential for unfavorable outcomes, I address the level of responsibility that the child welfare system has to Black youth and emphasize that prioritizing the cultural needs of Black youth is paramount to the development of a healthy sense of self. Finally, I call for the child welfare system to consider multiple perspectives and engage in multiple dialogues when considering how to best support Black youth in care and provide supportive conditions for them to thrive.

CHILDREN’S AND GIRLS’ COMMUNITY LEARNING AND RAISING THEIR CHILDREN'S COMMUNITY

This article seeks to explore the community of boys and girls in foster care and how to raise them. The following methods of research, ie interview and observation, were widely used in the study of the problem. Some of the problems encountered in the upbringing of boys and girls in orphanages have been scientifically analyzed. There are ways to manage the changes associated with this period through the community, whether negatively or positively influencing their morals, behavior, and social attitudes.

“Even if you think you can trust them, don’t trust them”: An exploratory analysis of the lived experiences of sexual health among sexual minority girls in foster care

Girls in foster care are at heightened risk for poor sexual health outcomes compared to their general population counterparts. Sexual minority girls are also at greater risk for poor sexual health compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Yet, little is known about the sexual health of sexual minority girls in foster care. This study aims to provide a preliminary understanding of how sexual minority girls in foster care experience the phenomenon of sexual health. Using a single-case interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) design, we interviewed five sexual minority girls in foster care using a single in-depth focus group discussion and analyzed the data using a series of IPA steps. Analysis revealed three major themes about the lived experiences of sexual health among sexual minority girls in foster care: fear of being victimized and distrust within sexual relationships, self-protection from sexual relationship harm, and sexual health communication. Further research is warranted to investigate the sexual health experiences and needs of sexual minority girls in foster care, with particular sensitivity to the potential impact of past sexual victimization and abuse on their sexual health and wellbeing.

Staff Perspectives Regarding the Influence of Trauma on the Intimate Partnering Experiences of Adolescent Mothers in Residential Foster Care

Adolescent girls in foster care are disproportionately vulnerable to pregnancy and parenthood. These experiences of motherhood might be partially attributable to experiences of trauma, including sexual trauma. Trauma, particularly related to domestic violence and sexual abuse, have been linked to subsequent struggles in intimate relationships, such as dating violence or engagement in unsafe sexual behaviors. Although some research has begun to investigate experiences of trauma on relationships, there has been a lack of focus on intimate relationships in general and how they have been influenced by past and/or current traumatic experiences. The present study draws on 12 interviews with program staff who work with adolescent mothers at a residential foster care facility. Staff provided perceptions concerning the mothers’ dating and sexual health experiences to provide recommendations for working with this population. Findings present two overarching themes which attend to the nature of the mothers’ lived relationship experiences (e.g., boundaries, expectations) and how those relationships had been influenced by their past experiences of trauma. Findings provide implications for empirically informed and strengths-based, as opposed to deficit-focused, practice. Future research should focus on further developing trauma-informed care for adolescent mothers in foster care.

Peer Relations and Delinquency Among Girls in Foster Care Following a Skill-Building Preventive Intervention.

There is evidence that risk for delinquency is elevated among girls with foster care histories, and one correlate of delinquency is affiliating with peers who engage in delinquent behavior. Although intervention studies have shown positive effects of interventions that target delinquent peer affiliation on reductions in delinquency among adolescents with juvenile justice histories, the success of such interventions for younger girls in foster care, without prior involvement with juvenile justice, is unknown. We analyzed data from a randomized clinical trial of the middle school version of the Keep Safe intervention in a sample of girls in foster care (n = 100). The intervention was delivered to girls and foster parents during the transition to middle school. Path analysis suggested a significant intervention effect on reduction in affiliation with delinquent peers at 12 months (B = -.21). No significant mediation effects were identified. The middle school Keep Safe intervention shows promise as a preventative intervention for reducing affiliation with delinquent peers, which importantly is associated with adolescent delinquent behavior. Implications for researchers and professionals who tailor and deliver evidence-based programs for girls in foster care are discussed.

Socio-emotional skills of girls and young mothers in foster care

Socio-emotional skills are fundamental in acquiring a social network and in the transition to adult life. Youth in care are at serious risk of exclusion in their transition to adult life, and young mothers in care must face this difficult step with the added responsibility of motherhood.The aim of this study is to explore whether girls who are in residential care have fewer emotional skills than their peers, and if so, whether these girls have similar socio-emotional skills to girls who also experience disadvantaged environments but live with their families. Moreover, we will also analyse whether they have different skills to girls in care who are also mothers.One group was composed of the 18 teenage mothers in care who lived in the two residential care homes specialized for teen mothers in care in Catalonia (mother group). Another group comprised 18 girls from two residential care homes (girls in care group). Two more groups were included as controls groups: the normative group was made up of 18 girls from a secondary school attended by children from working middle-class families (normative group); the disadvantaged group was composed of 18 girls from disadvantaged families supervised by the Social Services participating in an NGO programme for children in families at risk.To this end, an emotional intelligence test (EQi Bar-on) was administered to 72 girls: 18 girls in care; 18 teenage mothers in care; 18 girls from a normative group (secondary school); and 18 girls from families at social risk.Those participant girls in foster care who were not mothers obtained lower scores than the normative group for the global EQi index, and on the scales of Self-actualization; Empathy; Social Responsibility; Problem Solving; Reality Testing; Impulse control and Happiness. However, the scores obtained by girls in foster care did not differ from those of their peers from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the exception of the Happiness scale, which were worse.The group of young mothers in care scored higher than those girls in care who are not mothers, their scores being similar to those of the normative group from working middle-class families.In the discussion, we analyse the possible factors underlying the observed relationships.

Understanding How School Climate Affects Overall Mood in Residential Care: Perspectives of Adolescent Girls in Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems

AbstractThe aim of the study is to understand the perceptions of court‐involved adolescent girls in residential treatment (40% delinquency, 60% foster care/child abuse and neglect) on school climate and factors that affect their mood in school. Participants included 27 adolescent females in residential care for both types of court involvement in a large urban area in a Midwestern state. Age of the participants ranged from 12 to 18. Four major themes from the three focus groups that were conducted included relationships and interactions with peers, interactions with staff and teachers and their perceptions about these interactions, the demands of the learning environment, and sensitivity to being touched. Practice implications are discussed.

Swedish population-based study of pupils showed that foster children faced increased risks for ill health, negative lifestyles and school failure.

This population-based study explored whether foster children faced a higher risk of health problems than children of the same age who were not in foster care. Data for 13 739 pupils aged 10, 13 and 16 years were obtained from the Pupil Health Database in the county of Värmland, Sweden, for the school years 2012/2013 and 2013/2014. These included data on school performance, health, lifestyle and social relationships, based on children's interviews with school nurses. Of all the pupils, 171 (1.2%) were in foster care. Children in foster care were generally unhealthier than other children. Both girls and boys were at higher risk of chronic health problems, daily smoking, use of drugs and school failure. When the girls in foster care were compared to other girls, we found that they faced a higher risk of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms. This difference was not found for boys. Foster children were also more likely to express a more negative view on life. We confirmed earlier studies that children in foster care tended to have inferior health and well-being than other children. These findings emphasise that health, risky behaviour and school performance should be considered together when assessing foster children.

Predictors of Early Childbirth Among Female Adolescents in Foster Care

PurposePlacement into foster care is driven by a number of factors, many of which are associated with adolescent childbirth. Yet, there are few studies that identify the experiences and characteristics that predict adolescent childbirth among girls who spend time in foster care. MethodsA longitudinal, population-based data set was constructed by probabilistically matching California child protective service records for female foster youth to maternal information available on vital birth records for children born between 2001 and 2010. Rates of childbirth among girls in foster care after their 10th birthday were generated. Chi-square tests assessed differences and survival models were specified to determine the rate of childbearing across key characteristics. ResultsAmong the 30,339 girls who spent time in foster care as adolescents, 18.3% (5,567) gave birth for the first time before their 20th birthday. At a bivariate level, significant differences (p < .001) in birth rates were observed across demographic characteristics, maltreatment history, and foster care placement experiences. In the fully adjusted survival model, the highest birth rates were observed among girls who entered care between ages 13 and 16 years; had been in care for relatively short periods of time; lived in congregate care at the estimated date of conception; had a history of running away; and were Latina, black, or Native American. ConclusionsThe results suggest that there are identifiable risk factors associated with early childbirth among girls in foster care, which can help determine the timing and location of reproductive health services to minimize unintended pregnancy and maximize adolescent health and well-being.

Sexual health programming for vulnerable youth: Improving knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors

PurposeAmong girls in foster care, 48% become pregnant at least once by age 19 (Dworsky & Courtney, 2010). Youth in or at-risk for foster care (YFC) report limited knowledge about, access to, and use of condoms; ambivalent attitudes towards teen parenting; and participation in other risky behaviors. For the current study, we adapted and supplemented an evidence-based sexual health program called SiHLE, using a systematic adaptation framework (ADAPT-ITT, Wingood & DiClemete, 2008), to address the unique and targeted needs of youth living in a temporary shelter due to lack of housing. Youth in this study were either in foster care and awaiting placement, or having serious family problems and were at-risk of entering the foster care system. MethodsThirty-six youth participated in SiHLE-YFC during their stay at a temporary shelter. Four 90-minute sessions focused on increasing sexual health knowledge, improving attitudes towards and self-efficacy of condom use, and developing core skills such as problem-solving and communication. ResultsAs hypothesized, youth showed high satisfaction with the intervention and significant improvement in sexual health knowledge from pre to post. At one-month follow-up, youth continued to show significant improvement in sexual health knowledge, along with a significant reduction in risky sexual behaviors. Though not significant, there were moderate effect sizes for changes in attitudes towards teen pregnancy and condoms. There were no changes in attitudes towards teen parenting. ConclusionTaken together, findings suggest that sexual health education directly targeting the unique needs of YFC may improve sexual health knowledge and behavior, and are discussed in the context of challenges associated with intervention and research with this population.

Listening to the voices of young women adopted from foster care through Personal Public Service Announcements

Abstract Adolescent females who have experienced being in foster care require ongoing therapeutic support once adopted yet their perspectives are seldom heard. Four young women aged 16–18 who were adopted from foster care participated in a narrative, arts-based enquiry using the Personal Public Service Announcement (PPSA), a 30-second, make-believe PSA that integrated narradrama and a digital application on an iPad. Five themes emerged: self-expression and creativity, self-identity, independence, self-love or self-acceptance and survival from loss. This research offers foster care, adoption support services, drama therapists and others a method for generating data as well as a viable, action-based intervention that enables adolescent girls in foster care to tell their stories and to be heard.

Extended Foster Care for Transition-Age Youth: An Opportunity for Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting Support

PurposeThis analysis examined California county birth rate variations among girls in foster care. The objective was to generate data to assess potential intervention points tied to federal legislation extending foster care beyond age 18 years. MethodsChild protection records for all adolescent girls in foster care at age 17 years between 2003 and 2007 (N = 20,222) were linked to vital birth records through 2011. The cumulative percentage of girls who had given birth by age 21 years was calculated by county and race/ethnicity. ResultsOne in three (35.2%) adolescent girls in foster care had given birth at least once before age 21 years. Although significant birth rate variations emerged, even at the low end of the county range, more than one in four girls had given birth by age 21 years. ConclusionsChild welfare systems are now charged with coordinating transitional services for foster youth beyond age 18 years. Extended foster care provides new opportunities for pregnancy prevention work and targeted parenting support.

Boundary Ambiguity and Borderline Personality Traits: Implications for Treatment for Adolescent Girls in Foster Care

This article explores the relationship between boundary ambiguity and borderline personality traits in adolescent girls in foster care. Boundary ambiguity is a family systems concept: family members are uncertain about who is in or out of the family—in either psychological or physical presence or absence. In foster care, it can be assumed that an adolescent girl has experienced trauma significant enough to be removed from her family. The connection between early childhood trauma and attachment disruption in addition to the connection between insecure/disorganized attachment and borderline personality disorder leads to the conclusion that these same adolescents are at high risk for developing borderline personality traits. The sample consists of 40 caseworkers from New England’s child protection departments and therapists from residential programs working with adolescent girls. They completed the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure for Adolescents to determine the presence of personality disruption as well as a variation of Pauline Boss’s Boundary Ambiguity Scale #1, and demographic questionnaires. The results find a significant correlation between boundary ambiguity and borderline personality traits. These findings provide directions for future research in clinical treatment and child welfare policy making.

Maternal caregiving and girls' depressive symptom and antisocial behavior trajectories: an examination among high-risk youth.

Past research has identified maternal depression and family of origin maltreatment as precursors to adolescent depression and antisocial behavior. Caregiving experiences have been identified as a factor that may ameliorate or accentuate adolescent psychopathology trajectories. Using a multilevel approach that pools the unique attributes of two geographically diverse, yet complementary, longitudinal research designs, the present study examined the role of maternal caregiver involvement as a factor that promotes resilience-based trajectories related to depressive symptoms and antisocial behaviors among adolescent girls. The first sample comprises a group of US-based adolescent girls in foster care (n = 100; mean age = 11.50 years), each of whom had a history of childhood maltreatment and removal from their biological parent(s). The second sample comprises a group of UK-based adolescent girls at high familial risk for depression (n = 145; mean age = 11.70 years), with all girls having biological mothers who experienced recurrent depression. Analyses examined the role of maternal caregiving on girls' trajectories of depression and antisocial behavior, while controlling for levels of co-occurring psychopathology at each time point. Results suggest increasing levels of depressive symptoms for girls at familial risk for depression but decreasing levels of depression for girls in foster care. Foster girls' antisocial behavior also decreased over time. Maternal caregiver involvement was differentially related to intercept and slope parameters in both samples. Results are discussed with respect to the benefits of applying multilevel (multisample, multiple outcome) approaches to identifying family-level factors that can reduce negative developmental outcomes in high-risk youth.

The Not-So-Good News about Teenage Pregnancy

Over the past few decades there has been a significant reduction overall in both pregnancy and childbearing among adolescents in the United States. Since the most recent peak of the early 1990s, the rate of pregnancy per 1,000 girls aged 15– 19 dropped from about 116.9 to 67.8 and the birthrate from 61.8 to 31.3 (the exact rates reported depending upon the data source). These dramatic declines of 42 and 49 % respectively occurred more or less steadily, and represent unequivocally good news. The downward trends occurred among teens in all racial and ethnic groups, of all ages, and in all states, to their current historic lows. Though the overall teen birth rate in the U.S. is nearly twice that of the next highest among developed nations, the U.K., the consistency of these positive trends over time and across various socio-demographic groups suggests that the tide of increased high-risk sexual activity among everyounger girls and boys has been stemmed. However, not all the news is good. Despite within-group declines, about half of all Latinas and black girls will become pregnant at least once before age 20, compared to 19 % of whites. Births to teens in rural counties are now almost 30 % higher than in urban or suburban communities and account for about 20 % of all births to teens. There also has been recent recognition of high levels of risky sexual activity among girls in foster care, who are twice as likely to give birth as those in the general population of teens. Preventing pregnancy among many of these adolescents—such as the young woman above whose early sexual initiation and motherhood resulted from fear of incest– and for whom the costs to the larger society are the highest, may prove to be extraordinarily difficult. In other words, as Sarah Brown, the Director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy observed, we may already have achieved the “easy wins” in bringing down rates of pregnancy and childbearing among American youth.

Cumulative teen birth rates among girls in foster care at age 17: An analysis of linked birth and child protection records from California

This study used linked foster care and birth records to provide a longitudinal, population-level examination of the incidence of first and repeat births among girls who were in foster care at age 17. Girls in a foster care placement in California at the age of 17 between 2003 and 2007 were identified from statewide child protection records. These records were probabilistically matched to vital birth records spanning the period from 2001 to 2010. Linked data were used to estimate the cumulative percentage of girls who had given birth before age 20. Birth rates and unadjusted risk ratios were generated to characterize foster care experiences correlated with heightened teen birth rates. Between 2003 and 2007 in California, there were 20,222 girls in foster care at age 17. Overall, 11.4% had a first birth before age 18. The cumulative percentage who gave birth before age 20 was 28.1%. Among girls who had a first birth before age 18, 41.2% had a repeat teen birth. Significant variations by race/ethnicity and placement-related characteristics emerged. Expanded data and rigorous research are needed to evaluate prevention efforts and ensure parenting teens are provided with the needed services and supports.

A cross-sectional examination of birth rates among adolescent girls in foster care

Abstract Although research has suggested that girls in foster care are at high risk of teen birth, limited data have been available from which rates could be calculated and characterized. This California study was based on a dataset constructed by probabilistically matching foster care records to statewide birth records. Using these linked data, we computed cross-sectional birth rate estimates for 15- to 17-year-old girls who were in foster care during each year from 2006 to 2010, characterizing the placement-related experiences and timing of births. Results indicated that although only a small number of 15- to 17-year-old girls in foster care gave birth each year, their birth rate was somewhat higher than the rate observed in the general population. Girls who were in foster care for less time or experienced greater placement instability had higher rates of birth. In terms of race and ethnicity, Black and Latina adolescents in foster care were more likely to give birth than their White counterparts. During the 5-year period, there were no detectable trends in the overall birth rate of girls in foster care, despite significant declines in the birth rates of 15–17 year olds in California overall. This linked data contributes new information that can be used to inform the targeting of prevention and intervention resources to girls involved with child protective services.

Intervention Effects on Health-Risking Sexual Behavior Among Girls in Foster Care: The Role of Placement Disruption and Tobacco and Marijuana Use

The present study examined the effects of the Middle School Success (MSS) intervention, a program to promote healthy adjustment in foster girls, on their health-risking sexual behavior, using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. As hypothesized, girls in the intervention condition (N = 48) showed significantly lower levels of health-risking sexual behavior than did girls in the control condition (N = 52) at 36 months post-baseline. Further path analysis indicated that this intervention effect was fully mediated through its effects on girls' tobacco and marijuana use. Findings highlight the importance of providing preventive intervention services to foster girls during early adolescence.

MTFC for High-Risk Adolescent Girls: A Comparison of Outcomes in England and the United States

The current study examined 12-month outcomes for girls enrolled in an implementation trial of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) in England. In addition to examining changes from pretreatment to posttreatment, we also compared results for girls enrolled in the England implementation trial to girls enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of MTFC in the United States. The England MTFC sample included 58 girls in foster care between the ages of 12 and 16 years. The U.S. MTFC intervention sample included 81 girls between the ages of 13 and 17 years who were referred to out-of-home care due to chronic delinquency. Results indicated improvement in offending, violent behavior, risky sexual behavior, self-harm, and school activities for girls enrolled in the England implementation trial. The effect sizes of these results were similar to those obtained in the U.S. RCT, with the exception of substance use, which showed significant decreases for girls enrolled in the U.S. RCT but not for girls enrolled in the England implementation trial. These results, in combination with other cross-cultural findings, support the notion that MTFC might be relevant across U.S. and European cultures.

Girls’ Tobacco and Alcohol Use During Early Adolescence: Prediction From Trajectories of Depressive Symptoms Across Two Studies

Associations between trajectories of depressive symptoms and subsequent tobacco and alcohol use were examined in two samples of girls assessed at age 11.5 (T1), 12.5 (T2), and 13.5 (T3). Two samples were examined to ascertain if there was generalizability of processes across risk levels and cultures. Study 1 comprised a United States-based sample of 100 girls in foster care; Study 2 comprised 264 girls in a United Kingdom community-based sample. Controlling for T1 aggression and T1 substance use, individual variation in intercept and slope of depressive symptoms was associated with tobacco use at T3 in both samples: greater intercept and increases in depressive symptoms increased the risk for T3 tobacco use. A similar pattern of associations was found for alcohol use in Study 1. The replicability of findings for the prediction of tobacco use from trajectories of depressive symptoms suggests potential benefit in identifying girls with elevated depressive symptoms for tobacco use prevention programs, prior to the transition to secondary school.