Risk, Resiliency and Protective Factors: Influences on Foster Parent Retention
According to U.S. child welfare data, 254,162 children entered foster care due to parental abuse or neglect during the 2012 fiscal year. The majority of these children were placed in substitute family settings, including 47% in non-relative foster homes and 28% in relative foster homes. With responsibility for three quarters of all children in out-of-home placement, family-based foster care is a vital component of the public child welfare system. However, research confirms that recruiting and retaining foster parents is a pressing concern for the child welfare system that affects both the quality and stability of placements.
Foster parents typically serve under very trying conditions. The children in their care often struggle with trauma, uncertainty, upheaval and loss, requiring high levels of emotional support. Foster parents are also accountable to the child welfare system but often feel strained due to the systems’ limitations. Extant research suggests that there are resiliency characteristics and protective factors that help foster parents persevere despite these challenges. Further, certain experiences may be particularly problematic, including serious, frequent behavioral problems exhibited by children and lack of support from the agency when a crisis emerges. The purpose of this study is to explore a range of characteristics and experiences that predict the intent to continue or discontinue foster parenting.
Methods
This paper presents findings from the qualitative component of a mixed-methods study examining foster parent perspectives on factors related providing care in a racially diverse, northeast state. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were conducted with over 50 current and former foster parents to provide context, identify key factors, and deepen our understanding of the perspectives of foster parents. Using a phenomenological approach to analysis, findings capture the lived experience of deciding whether or not to give up foster parenting. Qualitative findings also informed the creation of a survey that will be distributed in May to over 1,000 randomly-selected, licensed foster parents statewide. Survey questions cover a comprehensive range of risk, resiliency, and protective factors including foster parent motivation, training, emotional, logistical, and financial support; information, respect, and responsiveness of caseworkers; parenting styles (i.e. emotionally distant/engaged and rigid/flexible) and family coping strategies that may be related to dissatisfaction with resource parenting.
Results
Qualitative results revealed a number of systematic problems in the training and partnering of the child welfare agency with foster families. However, most respondents indicated that such challenges were expected and were readily counter-balanced by their personal motivations for becoming a foster parent. Severe acute strain due to unabated child behavioral issues, breakdown in adoption proceedings, and natural changes in life circumstance – including the adoption of children – were more often cited as reasons for leaving or intending to leave foster parenting.
Conclusion and Implications
This study has implications for recruitment, preparation, and support of foster parents and builds on extant research to provide a broad perspective on risk, resiliency and protective factors. It expands existing literature by exploring issues related to parenting style and coping skills.