Chapter 18: Providing Competence Building and Normalizing Environments:

Key elements of the HSA service program include contracting, networking, mobilization of community resources, foster parent support systems, and respite care. Procedures for recruiting, licensing, and retaining foster homes are described and implementation difficulties identified.     

Chapter 14: Foster Care:

Specialist foster family care may be the treatment of choice for emotionally disturbed or behaviorally unmanageable children. The child and family often need a break and breathing space from each other. The child and birth parents can be involved in a treatment group, and the foster parents will be seen regularly so they may be involved in supporting the treatment goals. Biological parents will benefit from observing the foster family as role models in parenting, and practitioners are able to examine and reinforce the coping and adapting skills of the children.     

Chapter 11: Therapeutic Foster Parent:

Training can help foster parents manage reactions to the foster child, avoid stress and burnout, and cope with the difficult times so that placement is sustained. Training is necessary so foster parents will not take the child's aggressive behavior personally, will avoid becoming embroiled in power struggles, and will be less likely to become hurt or embarrassed by the child's behavior. Training will involve individual consultation by the social worker as well as participation in a foster parent group. Staff will assistn foster parents to develop behavioral management and communication skills as well as their own coping and self-control skills. Foster parents are given permission to take care of their own needs, are assisted in developing stress management skills, learn how to increase their own self-esteem, and learn to use cognitive approaches to handle their own emotions. Foster parents develop an understanding that they cannot change the child's behavior but can only change the way which they respond to the child, which may provide the child opportunities to change his or her own behavior.     

Chapter 8: Foster Parents of Mentally Retarded and Physically Handicapped Children

Two surveys of foster parents find substantial numbers of current foster parents receptive to the idea of offering care to mentally retarded or physically handicapped children although the extent of the child's disability is a factor in the decision. Barriers to providing care to such children include maternal employment outside the home, foster parents' concerns about the demands that would be made on them, and their ability to cope. Foster parents appear to find agency services regarding foster care of disabled children adequate although the level of reimbursement may be too low to cover the costs of care and may negatively affect retention of experienced foster parents.     

Unfounded Allegations of Child Abuse in the United Kingdom:

Until recently, little attention had been paid to foster carers as potential abusers. While this paucity of research is being corrected, an additional problem has now emerge in the form of allegations of abuse against foster carers which subsequently turn out to be without foundation. This paper will report on a survey of foster parents in the United Kingdom who were investigated for child abuse and neglect. Topics discussed will include how allegations were made, how foster parents responded to allegations, and ways in which the sensitivity and efficacy of the investigations could be improved.     

Chapter 21: Specialist Fostering:

Specialist foster family care has quietly developed in the last twenty years and consistently reflects features of families' services providing within their homes, receiving payment for services, and are the primary service providers with social workers and other staff providing back up supervision and consultation. Matters for consideration as this programming thrust develops include distinguishing models of service which define the problem as lying with the child who is assumed to require treatment contracted with models which take a more ecological approach, clarifying the roles of foster parents and social workers, specifying the role of birth parents in specialist foster family care programs, developing the relationship of specialist foster family care to permanency planning, and identifying possible future directions including more extensive use of this type of service for adults.     

Providing Foster Care for Adolescents: Barriers and Opportunities

This study used quantitative and qualitative data from a larger research project regarding foster parent experiences to examine the characteristics that predict a parent’s willingness to foster an adolescent. Data collected from closed- and open-ended items related to reasons for not fostering a teen were also analyzed. Findings suggest parents who are older and were a foster child themselves, increased the likelihood they would foster a teen. When discussing reasons for not fostering an adolescent, parents identified fears of problem behaviors and concerns about negative impact on other children; findings that were corroborated in responses to the open-ended comments.     

Permanency for Children in Foster Care: Issues and Barriers for Adoption

The desired outcome for children in foster care is to be reunited with their parents or to be permanently placed in a stable home. Federal and state legislation directs increased efforts by the social welfare and judicial systems in the United States to act in the best interests of the child and to identify and reduce barriers to permanency. Records from two county dependency courts in Florida were examined and caregivers surveyed to identify issues that prevented them from adopting the child in their care, and to identify services that would have enhanced the likelihood of adoption. The findings and their implications suggest that more integration of the two systems and support for concrete assistance to caregivers are paramount to facilitating adoption of children in foster care.     

Chapter 13: Group Therapy for Birth Parents of Children in Foster Care

Psychological impairments render many biological parents of children placed in treatment foster care incompetent to meet child-rearing tasks. Service agreements identify and address critical areas of dysfunctioning but do not engage parents in a broader inventory of their parental functioning and dysfuntioning. A group method provides mutual support, exploration, and a positive child-rearing model. A clinical assessment of parenting that highlights ongoing developmental needs of nurturance and empathy, limit setting, structure, role modeling, reality testing, and separation and individuation is used to promote progress. Parents gain insight into their own overall impairments, origin of impairments, and compensatory techniques. Parents recognize broader responsibility for parenthood enhancing reunification efforts.     

Seeking Safety,Finding Abuse: Stories from Foster Youth on Maltreatment and Its Impact on Academic Achievement

The safety of foster children and youth is the primary concern of the U.S. Department of Human Services. Yet, not all certified foster care homes offer the safety children need. This article reports the findings of a phenomenological study of foster youth reporting maltreatment occurring at the hands of foster parents. With a scarcity of studies on the abuse occurring at the hands of foster care providers, this study offers an important glimpse into the realities of life in care. Through in-depth interviews, this study reveals the harm perpetrated by foster care providers and the probable connection between maltreatment in care and barriers to academic achievement.     

The Development of a Parent Support Group as a Means of Initiating Family Involvement in a Residential Program

SUMMARY

Working with the families of children in residential care is critical to the success of the placement. For a variety of reasons, parents of adolescents in one residential setting were not receiving adequate services during placement. A parent support and education group was designed and implemented to provide opportunities for parents to access support, learn new parenting skills and, ultimately, optimize their relationships with their children. The responses of both parents and staff to this program were favorable. The group is now a regular component of the organization's range of services, and served as a springboard to enhance family involvement in other program areas.     

Chapter 15: Therapeutic Foster Homes for Teenage Mothers and Their Babies

The Children's Aid and Adoption Society of New Jersey developed therapeutic foster homes for young mothers and their babies in response to the complex problem of teenage out-of-wedlock childbearing. The program assesses parenting capabilities and help the mother make an early and informed decision regarding permanency for her baby. A full range of support services are offered the mother to test her decision to keep her baby under favorable conditions.     

Supporting children of parents with mental health problems through professionally assisted lay support – the “godparents” program

Children with parents with mental health problems have an increased risk of adverse developmental outcomes. Nonetheless, services for these children are still scarce in Switzerland. Therefore, an innovative program was developed, implemented, and evaluated in close practitioner-researcher cooperation. The program aims to support these children by providing lay supporters as so-called “godparents” to them. The program evaluation shows that the continuity of contacts between children and godparents builds the ground for a relationship that fosters the children’s development and relieves their parents. A carefully undertaken process of matching families with godparents appears to be crucial for a lasting godparenthood. However, a main challenge is the acquisition of godparents, who engage on a voluntary basis in the program.     

Chapter 12: Doing It in Public:

Foster family treatment programs have been developed primarily by private agencies, although public efforts have shaped the model. Public programs, however, increasingly are becoming involved in the development of programs of this kind. The Missouri Division of Family Services is one of the few public agencies to sponsor a statewide pilot program of foster family treatment. The Division's experience offers valuable lessons and practical guidance regarding the development of treatment foster care in the public sector.     

Chapter 17: The Community as an Advocate for Youth:

State treatment foster care programs established by the National Youth Advocate Program are described in terms of youth served, homes established, treatment program, implementation problems, and evaluation procedures.     

Chapter 4: Principals and Theory of Adolescent Foster Care:

Central program principles of the Kent Family Placement Service are identified and related to developments in contemporary British child care. Four areas of development in the Kent Program are described-evaluation, client population, matching, role of natural families-before turning to a discusson of the theoretical basis for special foster care for adolescents.     

Inside Quality: Examination of Quality Improvement Processes in Afterschool Youth Programs

Using a case study method, afterschool site leader experiences and organizational factors related to youth program quality improvement processes were examined. Responding to issues identified by site leaders, external technical assistance targeted both program structure and content. Staff beliefs of internal program quality standards, such as a mandatory focus on academics, affected learning and quality improvement processes. Hierarchical organizational program standards and supports, including internal self-assessments, did not appear to foster buy-in, learning, or site-based problem-solving for quality improvement. Results indicated the need for further examination of the theory of change and pedagogical approaches to quality technical assistance.     

Improving psychosocial well-being of child laborers and young people who are engaged in low-income economic activities in Istanbul,Turkey

Child laborers are typically subjected to multiple and chronic traumatic experiences. With no parents or caregivers to act as a buffer zone against stressors, they grow up in chaotic and unpredictable work environments. Child laborers are more at risk of developing a range of psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems. The authors established an 8-month psychosocial support program for child laborers and young people attending a vocational training center one day a week. The authors found that anxiety and depression moderately correlated with negative self-concept, somatization, and hostility. Toward the end of the 8-month program, participants reported improved psychological and emotional well-being. The provision of a safe and mediated psychosocial program enhanced the emotional and mental well-being of vulnerable children and young people.     

Antecedents of Chinese Parents’ Autonomy Support and Psychological Control: The Interplay Between Parents’ Self-Development Socialization Goals and Adolescents’ School Performance

Despite ample evidence for the benefits of parental autonomy support and the harms of parental psychological control to Chinese adolescents’ well-being, little is known about what foreshadows these parenting behaviors among Chinese parents. The current research addressed this gap in the literature. It tested the hypothesis that parents’ endorsement of self-development socialization goals (i.e., regarding a positive sense of self in terms of holding optimistic attitudes toward oneself, feeling autonomous in one’s actions, and establishing one’s independence from others, as important for adolescents to develop) and adolescents’ school performance may interact to predict parental autonomy support and psychological control in urban China. Three hundred and forty-one Chinese seventh graders (mean age?=?13.30?years, 58?% female) and their parents (186 mothers and 155 fathers) participated. Parents reported on their own and their spouses’ endorsement of self-development socialization goals; adolescents reported on parental autonomy support and psychological control; and adolescents’ grades were obtained from school records. Significant interactions were found between parents’ socialization goals and adolescents’ grades in predicting parenting behaviors. When adolescents were doing well at school, the stronger parents’ endorsement of self-development socialization goals, the greater their autonomy support and the lesser their psychological control; when adolescents were doing poorly at school, regardless of parents’ socialization goals, their autonomy support was relatively low and their psychological control was relatively high. These findings highlight a tension between parental concerns over adolescents’ self-development and academic success, which needs to be resolved to promote autonomy support and prevent psychological control among urban Chinese parents.     

Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI): A Systemic Approach to Complex Developmental Trauma

Children and youth who have experienced foster care or orphanage-rearing have often experienced complex developmental trauma, demonstrating an interactive set of psychological and behavioral issues. Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) is a therapeutic model that trains caregivers to provide effective support and treatment for at-risk children. TBRI has been applied in orphanages, courts, residential treatment facilities, group homes, foster and adoptive homes, churches, and schools. It has been used effectively with children and youth of all ages and all risk levels. This article provides the research base for TBRI and examples of how it is applied.