Relationship Between Foster Care Youth's Participation in Extracurricular Activities and Positive Placement Outcomes In 2003 with approximately 906, 000 children determined victims of abuse and neglect in the foster care system are expected to receive services to improve their functioning and trauma of multiple placements and dysfunctional families. While treatments focus primarily on therapy, studies have arguably shown extracurricular activities to reduce drop out rates, increase attachment to school, educational and goal attainment, and self-esteem (Posner & Vandell, 1994; Quiroz, 2000; Swanson, 2002). Public criticism about the public child welfare system drives the examination of what activities have been used and are successful in improving the functioning of these children. The purpose of this random sample study of 73 administrators, 38 case managers, and 169 foster care parents was to determine if the different kinds of therapeutic services and normal activities improved the functioning of foster care youth. Mailed out surveys with questions about perceived differences in importance of traditional services (insight therapy) versus nontraditional or normalizing activities (sports, church, community) were collected and analyzed. A profile of activities available to foster children, average ratings for the importance of the activity and frequency of participation in the activity were computed for each of twenty-seven activities on the survey. Statistical analysis focused on the relationship between normalizing activities and improvement in functioning. Correlations between the importance of activities and the measure of improved functioning were done. Cronbach's alpha, a measure of internal consistency, was calculated to examine whether the variables in the same activity category are unidimensional or considered to measure one construct. Bivariate correlations between the agency outcome variable and the six created scales (i.e., three importance scales and three frequency scales) were examined using Pearson's r coefficient. Findings included agency administrators, foster care parents, and case managers agreeing that family activities and playing with other children were some of the most important activities to children. They also all agreed that some of the least important and frequented activities were student council, government, and political clubs. The activities in which they perceived foster care children to participate in the most were watching TV, playing with others, and talking to foster care families. Contrary to expectations, an inverse relationship between the importance and frequency of participation in extracurricular activities and positive placement outcomes was found. Finally, a majority of foster care parents and case managers perceived social activities as most important whereas agency administrators reported therapy as most important to the success of the foster care children in their care. Implications for policy and practice are while agency administrators reported the importance for foster care children to be normal and participate in normalizing activities, frequent placement changes and the difficulty for foster care children to get permission to be involved in activities both contribute to failures in the children's attempts and experiences. Internal barriers within the child and external barriers within the welfare system exist which are hindrances preventing foster care children from improving their functioning, a dire problem needing attention.