From Foster Care to Adoption and Guardianship: A Twenty-First Century Challenge

For nearly four decades, child welfare policy and practice have focused on the achievement of legal permanence for children in foster care. Although federal child welfare policy has resulted in the movement of children from state custody to legally permanent adoptive or guardianship families, little is known about the quality and enduring nature of these placements. A significant challenge of the twenty-first century child welfare system is how to ensure the well-being of children currently living with adoptive parents or guardians. This paper discusses child welfare policy and trends related to post-permanency well-being, including the decrease in Title IV-E foster care caseloads nationwide and the simultaneous increase in Title IV-E adoptive and guardianship caseloads. We highlight the needs of a twenty-first century child welfare system, including increased federal efforts to ensure child permanence and well-being after legal adoption or guardianship has been achieved, as well as more rigorous longitudinal and interdisciplinary research focused on the post-permanency adjustment of children and their families.     

Socioemotional Problems Among Young Children in Out-of-Home Care: A Comparison of Kinship and Foster Care Placement

This study examined socioemotional problems among children age 0 to 5 years in formal kinship and foster care across a northeastern state. Findings revealed that more than one third of children in both types of care showed socioemotional problems. More children were placed in kinship care when they lived in rural settings, were biracial, or spent time in the neonatal intensive care (NICU) after birth. Unique child and maltreatment characteristics predicted socioemotional problems scores for each placement type. Among children in kinship care, being biracial, spending time in the NICU, and being referred to child welfare for either caregiver substance abuse or neglect were related to socioemotional problems. When children were in foster care, spending time in the NICU, being referred to child welfare for child neglect, or being referred for intimate partner violence were all related to socioemotional problems. The results have implications for child welfare policy and practice, especially in light of increased efforts to place children with kin.     

Making visits better: the perspectives of parents,foster parents,and child welfare workers

Mothers of children recently placed in foster care, foster mothers, and child welfare workers participated in semistructured, clinical interviews focusing on the challenges of parent visitation with young children. Mothers described their feelings of grief, trauma, and rage about the forced separation from their children and stressed the importance of emotional expression and communication during visits. Child welfare workers described the complexities of supporting emotionally close parent-child interactions while monitoring and assessing parental behavior during visits. Foster mothers described the importance of preparing children for visits and the difficulties of supporting the children afterward. Implications of understanding mothers', foster mothers', and child welfare workers' perspectives on enhancing the quality of visits with young children are discussed.     

Reunification outcomes among Mexican immigrant families in the child welfare system

This study examined reunification outcomes among Mexican immigrant families involved in the child welfare system, and compared characteristics of Mexican-origin and non-immigrant children involved in the child welfare system. An exploratory retrospective longitudinal design using administrative data from two counties in Northern California was utilized. The quantitative sample (N = 2152) included children entering the foster care system for 8 or more days between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2007 in the two participating counties. Child welfare administrative data (CWS/CMS) were merged with eligibility data (CalWIN) in order to obtain parent and child place of birth and citizenship status. Quantitative measures drawn from the merged CWS/CMS and CalWIN dataset included the following: demographic characteristics, immigrant characteristics, case characteristics and reunification outcomes. Results indicated that a significantly higher proportion of Mexican immigrant families (70.7%) were reunified than non-immigrant families (43.1%). Significant correlates of reunification among Mexican immigrant families included the following: mothers with authorized citizenship status (vs. unauthorized citizenship status), mothers whose primary language was Spanish (vs. English), and children with two or fewer placements (vs. three or more placements). Differences between Mexican-origin and non-immigrant children were that Mexican-origin children were older on average than non-immigrant children, and they were more likely to experience physical abuse, sexual abuse or emotional abuse; they were also more likely to be placed in foster care or a group home (vs. relative care). Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed.     

Prevalence,experiences, and characteristics of children and youth who enter foster care through voluntary placement agreements

A voluntary foster care placement (sometimes referred to as a voluntary placement agreement) is an agreement, entered into without court involvement, between a state or county child welfare agency and a child's parents to place a child into out-of-home placement. When a child enters foster care through this type of placement, state and federal programs that cover children who enter child welfare due to a court order become the custodians of the voluntarily-placed-child's placement, care, and supervision. In this cross-sectional, exploratory study, data from the Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS) was used to examine the characteristics and experiences of children who enter foster care through a voluntary foster care agreement, and to compare them with those of children who enter foster care through a court order. Findings indicate that children who are placed through a voluntary placement agreement differ from children who enter through a court order in their personal characteristics, as well as in their placement settings, length of placement, and manner of discharge from foster care. This study provides a baseline for future research into this area of child welfare practice.     

Considering the best interests of infants in foster care placed separately from their siblings

This article offers a perspective on the child welfare practice of placing infants and their siblings in foster care using the theoretical frameworks of attachment and infant mental health. The authors highlight issues for child welfare workers to consider when determining if moving an infant or young child from one home to another for the purpose of placing him with his siblings would cause trauma or disruption; and also issues to consider when determining the infant or young child's best interest when separated from siblings. First, the authors summarize the literature regarding attachment relationships and attachment disruptions. Then, they review outcome studies of children residing in foster care who are placed with their siblings and of those who are placed separately. Finally, the authors conclude with specific recommendations for child welfare workers to aid in making such difficult decisions about placing infants in foster care.     

Facing Time Limits

Abstract

With reauthorization of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) on the horizon, policy makers need to have a sound understanding of the act's consequences for children and families. In contrast to earlier studies, the present study quantifies the impact of a 24-month state imposed welfare time limit on foster care placements. It also examines the impact of a “hardship” provision that temporarily excuses select families from meeting a two-year time limit on foster care placements in Nevada. In order to determine how these factors, in conjunction with other relevant welfare experiences and personal factors, affect parent-child separation, a multivariate logit model was tested. Key findings reveal that families who have more months counted toward their time limits also are more likely to have at least one child removed and placed in foster care. On the other hand, hardship families are not more likely to have their children placed in foster care than non-hardship families. The findings lend support to the notion of providing family-centered casework services to those identified to be at risk of approaching their welfare time limits. The findings also lend support to inter-agency collaboration between TANF and child welfare systems.     

‘In a bind’: Foster mothers' experiences with welfare reform

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has diminished government support to single mothers and further limits the options for full-time parenting, placing priority on work participation and reduction of welfare caseloads. Based upon interviews with 100 low-income foster mothers who are also Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, this study examines their experiences with these policies while they balance multiple responsibilities as caregivers for abused and neglected children from the child welfare system. The implications of TANF policies for foster mothers and policy alternatives that support diverse family structures are also discussed.     

Examining risk,strengths, and functioning of foster families: Implications for strengths-based practice

ABSTRACT

Foster families provide safe and stable homes for children and youth who are removed from their homes due to maltreatment. Despite the stressors associated with bringing children in and out of a family’s home, many maintain healthy family functioning and continue fostering for many years serving an essential function in the child welfare system. This study sought to understand the factors that explained higher levels of family functioning within foster families. Collaborating with one statewide public child welfare agency, 681 licensed foster parents participated in an online survey that examined the association between family functioning with family strengths and risk factors. Findings from this study can inform strengths-based practice including training, assessment, and interventions for new and existing foster families to strengthen families and improve the well-being of children and youth in their care.     

Connective complexity: African American adolescents and the relational context of kinship foster care

Attempts to address racial disproportionality in child welfare must include a focus on the benefits and challenges facing children in kinship care. African American children not only are overrepresented in the child welfare system, but also are placed disproportionately in kinship foster care. Using a sample of 18 African American adolescents ages 11 to 14, this article explores how the relational context of care experienced by adolescents in kinship foster care differs from that of adolescents in nonkinship foster family placements. Findings are presented regarding the stability of relationships as well as complex role dilemmas experienced by kinship youth as they relate to caregivers and birthparents in the child welfare context. Implications are given for practice with kinship families.     

“It's just broken branches”: Child welfare-affected mothers' dual experiences of insecurity and striving for resilience in the aftermath of complex trauma and familial substance abuse

The voices of mothers of color who have been affected by the child welfare system are typically marginalized and are largely left unheard. Yet, attending to their experiences may yield a wealth of strategies for system change and for other women to change their path or avoid child welfare system involvement altogether. Using augmented qualitative analytic methods from two phenomenological studies that utilized the life histories approach, the current study lifts up the voices of 15 women of color with past child welfare involvement as foster youth (and, for many, as mothers). The study findings highlight experiences within two broad themes: a) immense insecurity; and b) resilience, across domains in the lives of child welfare affected women. The mothers in this study share their insights into the aftermath of complex trauma and substance abuse within their families, particularly the relational, housing, and financial insecurity it wreaked as well as how they garnered resilience through perseverance, faith and empathy, and establishing stable homes. Implications for practice, policy, and future research are discussed.     

The training process of the Maryland Guardianship Assistance Project: a collaborative model for kinship foster care

Understanding models of multidisciplinary collaborations in child welfare has become essential for policy development, program success, and improving outcomes for children in foster care. The authors present the state of Maryland's Guardianship Assistance Project (GAP) as a model of multidisciplinary collaboration in child welfare and describe the training process that supported the development of the model. Key components for effective collaborative practice, lessons learned, and recommendations from the GAP collaboration are presented.     

Improving Relationships in Child Welfare Practice: Perspectives of Foster Care Providers

Foster parents care for our nation’s most vulnerable children and adolescents. Their ability to provide care is impacted directly and indirectly by their interactions with public child welfare agencies and workers. This study examines the perspectives of 1095 foster parents in a southwestern state in the U.S. regarding what they believe child welfare workers are doing well and their suggestions for ways to improve relationships between foster care providers and child welfare workers. Foster parents commended caseworkers who were responsive to their needs and provided ongoing concrete and emotional support, and believed there was a need for improved communication and enhanced teamwork. Foster parents consistently acknowledged an overwhelmed child welfare system and the impact on child welfare workers and child welfare-involved families. Understanding the perspectives of foster parents can improve relationships between child welfare workers and foster parents, improve recruitment and retention efforts of foster parents, prevent disruption of children from foster homes due to license closure, and improve the overall well-being of child welfare-involved children and families.     

The future of adoption for children in foster care: Demographics in a changing socio-political environment

As the next century unfolds, adoption will be influenced by economic, social, and political factors that will influence the number of children needing adoption and the number of families seeking to adopt. For children in foster care who need adoption, these forces are likely to challenge current policy and practice and place greater demands on the child welfare system to respond to the needs of a growing number of children who cannot be reunited with their birth families. Demographic data and the sociopolitical factors impacting the adoption of children in foster care suggest that adoption demand will increase dramatically in the near future, far outstripping the current, already inadequate supply of adoptive families. While demand is not likely to be amenable to any significant level of change given the poverty-related forces already at work, supply can be more readily effected by policy and practice that embrace creative strategies to recruit and support adoptive families. The dynamics of supply and demand can provide the conceptual framework to support resource reallocation and shape a positive future for the adoption of children in foster care     

Concluding commentary: Varied perspectives on child welfare

A fuller understanding of the child welfare system requires its examination from multiple perspectives, as is demonstrated in this special issue. Until recently, the perspectives of mothers involved in child protection and whose children had been placed in foster care had been particularly neglected. This special issue contributes to progress in the research literature in this regard. Questions are raised about the nature of the interactions between the mothers and the child protection system, and the compatibility of those interactions with effective service delivery. This commentary concludes with the suggestions that we seek better ways to structure the child welfare system, and that a social movement composed of parents involved in that system, children in foster care, caseworkers and administrators, and researchers, all united as allies, might be necessary to effect such change.     

Displacement,caregiving, and the ecological system of youth in foster care: a theoretical perspective

Children involved in the child welfare (i.e., foster care) system are at a greater risk for numerous negative outcomes in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., lower educational attainment, higher risk for a criminal record). For children in foster care who experience placement disruption (i.e., removed from a foster home and placed in another nonpermanent placement), the risks significantly increase. Informed by the ecological systems model, the authors propose a theoretical perspective to explain the unique aspects of a foster child’s development and discuss how this framework informs child welfare practice and intervention for foster children at risk for placement disruption. This perspective has the potential to provide a framework that has implications for foster caregivers and child welfare professionals and to inform future policies.     

A study of 185 foster children 5 years after placement

This study's findings are similar to those of other studies. The majority of children who enter foster care return to their families within a relatively short time. A small group, because of the severity of their problems or those of their parents, need extended care. This group of children, over time, form the hard core of foster care placements. Our findings also bear out those of others that the foster care experience is a relatively stable one for children, with the majority having one or two placements while in care. Clearly, the need for and use of foster care is frequently misunderstood. The methodology used in research studies has gradually improved, adding to objective knowledge about this aspect of the child welfare system. Longitudinal studies, such as Jenkins [1967], Fanshel and Shinn [1978], and the one reported here, point to the need for deeper, more refined studies that examine not only the going and coming of children in foster care but the professional service component that can make foster care a constructive experience for children placed in it. Meyer issued an intelligent and timely challenge to the field of child welfare to give up "debates about permanency" and, if it is not too late, to "retrieve child welfare from the control of lawyers and MBAs" [1984: 499]. If the profession of social work can more clearly define the components of foster care service and can differentiate among the children needing care those who can best be served by this type of placement, then the field will be well on its way to offering an appropriate service for certain children. Attempts to denigrate a potentially helpful service for needy children simply destroy one aspect of a complex system. A wide range of services is necessary to serve all children appropriately. Without this kind of continuum, children are more likely to receive inappropriate services and to be placed at risk.     

Improving healthcare for children entering foster care

Despite the fact that children in foster care are, perhaps, the most vulnerable children, healthcare for them has been lacking woefully for many years. A growing body of research has documented the need for such care as well as the failure of child welfare agencies to make major improvements in providing healthcare to foster children. Nonetheless, current efforts are being made to change this situation. This article reports on one effort to improve the provision and timeliness of health exams for children entering care. One rural and one urban county served as project treatment sites, with two additional rural and urban counties serving as control sites. The treatment sites achieved a statistically significant improvement in their rate of exam completion as compared to the control sites. The study finds that despite an existing policy for healthcare for children entering foster care, legislation mandating additional efforts, shortened time frames, and provision for judicial oversight are needed for improvement.     

Flemish Foster Mothers’ Perceptions of Support Needs Regarding Difficult Behaviors of Their Foster Child and Their Own Parental Approach

Family foster care is a valuable, but vulnerable type of out-of-home placement. Adequate support of foster parents is an important factor for placement success. This requires an accurate assessment of the support needs of foster parents. This paper focuses on the support needs of foster mothers concerning difficult behavior of the child and their own parenting behavior. Data were gathered from 282 foster mothers. 46 % of the foster mothers needed support on at least one behavior of the child, 40 % on at least one parenting behavior. Foster mothers, who felt less competent to deal with the child, expressed a higher support need on both areas. A high support need concerning difficult behaviors was further predicted by the foster mother’s age, the type of foster care, and the number of biological children. A high support need concerning parenting was further predicted by the quality of support by the foster care worker and the number of foster children. Careful monitoring of all types of foster care situations with special attention to problem behaviors and how to handle them could make this type of out-of-home-placement more effective.