Displaying 1 - 10 of 159
Abstract
Children entering custody within the child welfare system have been found to have high levels of trauma and significant behavioral health needs. In this paper, authors demonstrate how a structured functional well-being assessment can be used with the custody population to promote an understanding of behavioral health needs, inform case planning, and measure functional improvement over time. Specifically, this paper will: (a) briefly describe how two states implemented a common standardized assessment of functioning to inform case planning and measure well-being progress of…
Abstract
Children who have been adopted internationally often exhibit persistent behavior problems. The current study assessed the efficacy of the Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up intervention (ABC; Dozier & Bernard, 2019) for reducing behavior problems in 122 children adopted internationally. Behavior problems were measured via parent-report using the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment at a pre-intervention visit and after the intervention when children were between 18 and 36 months.…
Abstract
This study experimentally tested proximal outcomes of Connecting, a low-cost, self-directed, family-based substance-use prevention program for foster families. Families (n = 220) fostering youth age 11 to 15 years were recruited and randomly assigned into the self-administered program with telephone support (n = 110) or a treatment as usual, control condition (n = 110). Program materials included a workbook with family activities and …
The Children’s Bureau, within the Administration for Children and Families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), is funding a multi-phase grant program to build the evidence base on what works to prevent homelessness among youth and young adults who have been involved in the child welfare system. This program is called Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH). YARH focuses on three populations: (1) adolescents who enter foster care from ages 14 to 17, (2) young adults aging out of foster care, and (3) homeless youth and young adults up to age 21 with foster care histories.
Eighteen…
Abstract
The needs of foster carers are complex as children in their care often present with complex emotional and behavioural difficulties. Previous studies have examined foster carers’ perceptions of the unmet needs of the children in their care but there is a lack of knowledge regarding carers’ own goals when seeking professional help. The present study seeks to fill this gap by examining the goals that carers who are looking after children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties set at the start of an intervention, the Reflective Fostering Programme, designed to support them.…
Established in 2011, Clark County Nevada’s Foster Kinship agency provides educational and supportive services to formal kinship caregivers of children without safe and stable parental homes. In 2019, Preston Management and Organizational Consulting was awarded a contract to evaluate Foster Kinship’s navigator program for formal families. The evaluation contract required the completion of two separate, but interrelated, empirically-based studies. The purpose of the initial qualitative evaluation was to determine Foster Kinship staff’s level of fidelity to its navigator program manual. The…
The events of 2020—including a global pandemic, a nationwide conversation about systemic racism, and a contentious election—allowed us to immediately put our core values into practice. Bethany made significant programmatic and operational changes within three major categories, which are outlined below and will be explored in detail throughout this report. This report summarizes findings from a mixed-methods case study of innovations and challenges within four Bethany foster care locations in the U.S.: Atlanta, Georgia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; and Grand Rapids, Michigan…
Abstract
COVID-19 has put child wellbeing at risk, perhaps especially, for children and youth involved in the foster care system. For these children and youth, any stability they may have experienced since entering care has been disrupted and their contact with parents limited. A sudden shift to virtual only contact meant both parents and caregivers were in need of support to navigate these changes. This study reports on the rapid development and implementation of an eLearning and structured practice guide for visitation supervisors to help them facilitate virtual visits…
Abstract
There is increasing recognition of the potential for sibling relationships to promote the well‐being of youth in out‐of‐home care. Efficacious interventions now exist to strengthen the sibling relationships for youth in out‐of‐home care, yet the processes through which these interventions work to enhance sibling relationships remains largely speculative. The current study therefore aimed to identify the critical components of an efficacious dyadic relationship enhancement intervention for siblings in foster care through a secondary analysis of fidelity of implementation and trial…
Abstract
Given the high rates of placement disruptions for teenagers, a need exists for resource parents (the collective term for foster, adoptive, kinship, and guardian caregivers) who are both willing and able to care for teenagers. In response to this need, we created Critical On-going Resource Family Education (CORE) Teen, a comprehensive foster parent training program designed to provide resource parents with the knowledge and skills to support teens in their care. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA compared the results from participants at the pretest (N=188), posttest (N=130), and…