Purpose: Family-centered practice models, concurrent planning, and dual-approval require that resource parents be support systems to birth families of children in foster care. Previous studies indicate that placements that facilitate birth family connections produce better outcomes for children than others. Resource parents' openness to helping foster children keep contacts with birth families contributes to resource parents' participation in case planning. However, resource parents often are hesitant to be too involved with birth families. Family-child contact requires additional time and energy and the associated strain affects retention negatively. This presentation examines resource parents' characteristics that associate with receptivity to children having connections with birth families. It also examines how receptivity to birth families affects foster home utilization and retention. Implications include what agencies can do to support foster parents in this critical role. Methods: This study is part of a larger study of 304 resource mothers from 35 states. Data were gathered using a battery of self-report measures to assess numerous dimensions of individual and family functioning. Mothers' receptivity to birth families was measured with the Receptivity to Birth Family Connections Scale (RBFCS) (14-item scale, a = .78). Retention was measured by asking mothers if they intended to continue fostering over the next six months, the next year, and the next three years. Utilization variables included years of fostering, number of children served, number of children adopted, and requested placement changes. Results: Hypotheses were tested by regressing on resource mother characteristics. Logistic regression was used for intention to continue fostering because the dependent variables were dichotomous. Poisson or negative binomial regression (depending on the presence of overdispersion) was used in the remaining analyses because the utilization variables were counts. Mothers with greater receptivity to children's connections with birth families also had greater hardiness, more satisfaction with parenting, greater acceptance of children, more family resources, more information about fostering, more time for fostering, greater cultural competency, greater cultural receptivity, greater perceived responsibility to work with agencies, greater willingness to foster older children and children with diverse backgrounds, and greater personal dedication to fostering. Mothers who were more receptive to birth family connections also had a greater potential to foster, intended to continue fostering, had fostered longer, and had fostered more children. Implications: Results indicate the importance of resource parents' receptivity to birth families to the utilization and retention of resource families. Not all resource parents want to work with birth families. Agencies may use the RBFCS to identify licensed resource parents willing to learn new ways of interacting with birth families. Findings lend empirical support to clinical observations about the importance of recruiting families who are resilient, accepting, care about children, are generally satisfied with parenting, and have no significant unmet needs. Results also suggest that agencies can support resource families by clarifying role expectations and by providing training that emphasizes the importance of birth family connections and enhances cultural receptivity.