A Structural Equation Model of the Impact of Relationships between Birth Parents and Foster Parents on Child Well-Being and Permanency

Background and purpose. Contact between children and their birth parents is considered essential for helping families reunify after they have experienced separation through involvement in the child welfare system. Because foster parents are responsible for the full-time care of foster children, they play an important role in helping to maintain relationships between children and their parents. However, very little is known about whether birth parents and non-relative foster parents know and interact with one another, or whether their relationships matter for well-being and permanency outcomes. This study fills an important gap in the literature by examining the extent to which birth and foster parents have positive relationships, and whether greater collaboration and less conflict are associated with children’s well-being and permanency outcomes.

Methods. A cross-sectional dataset of 140 non-relative foster parents caring for children ages 8 - 14 was used to assess relationships between birth parents and foster parents, frequency of birth parent and child visitation, and child functioning. Data from the survey was linked with administrative data from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to measure reunification outcomes 1.5 years later. Relationships were assessed with a birth and foster parent relationship scale consisting of two dimensions: collaboration (two items including I talk with the mother about how the child is doing, and I share parenting activities with the mother) and conflicted parenting (six items including I experience conflict with the birth mother). Child functioning was assessed using 20 items of the Ohio Scales, a validated and widely used measure of child well-being. Structural equation modeling was then used to examine pathways between birth and foster parent relationships, frequency of visitation, child functioning, and reunification. 

Results. Of the foster parents who had ever met the birth mother(44%), foster parents generally reported that they encouraged the relationship between the child and birth mother (69%), but few reported sharing care of the child with the birth mother (10%). Thirty-six percent of foster parents reported experiencing conflict with the birth mother, and 56% were concerned about the child’s safety and wellbeing when the child was with the birth mother. Having a less a conflicted relationship was significantly associated with positive youth functioning when controlling for integration into the foster home (p < .05), but was not associated with reunification. The collaboration dimension of the relationship scale was significantly associated with reunification (p < .05). Neither dimension of the relationship scale was associated with frequency of parent and child visitation.

Conclusions and Implications. Although relationships between birth and foster parents may pose challenges, this initial research suggests that more positive relationships between birth and foster parents may help families to reunify. Furthermore, tending to potentially conflicted relationships may improve child well-being. Because less than half of foster parents had ever met the birth parent, this study suggests that there is more opportunity at the practice level to work through relational challenges between birth parents and foster parents. These relationships are also important to consider in future research with child welfare stakeholders.