Functional Adaptation to Foster Care: Foster Care Alumni Speak Out

Abstract

For this qualitative study, 18 foster care alumni, ranging in age from 18 to 25 years, described good foster parents as helping them functionally adapt to foster care. Good foster parents never referred to them as a "foster" child, balanced consistency with individualized application of rules, used terms such as "our family" or "our home," and included them in extended family gatherings and events. They were emotionally available without being intrusive, especially about stressful events in their lives. They facilitated ongoing contact with people from the child's past without being judgmental. Good foster parents also used their own resources, tried to accommodate personal tastes, and supported extracurricular activities.KEYWORDS aging out of foster care, foster care, family engagement, policy issuesThe number of children in foster care has been declining for much of the past decade-with approximately 397,000 children in care in 2012 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Data from state child welfare systems in 2012 indicate that most children exit foster care to permanent placement through reunification with birth families or by being

Foster Parent Strategies to Support the Functional Adaptation of Foster Youth

“…Findings in this study were congruent with prior research that suggested these activities are important and can help "normalize" the transition into foster care; at the same time, the attendant expenses are often not covered by board payments and require foster parents to pay out-of-pocket (Affronti, Rittner, & Semanchin Jones, 2015). Future research might explore the potential impact of providing increased financial support to foster parents, specifically to cover these "normalizing" after-school activities.…”

“…This study found that children in care experienced ambivalence towards their birth families as well as their foster families that parallels what foster children report as unresolved grief and loss while in placement (Affronti, Rittner, & Semanchin Jones, 2015;Henry, 2005;Samuels, 2009). Study findings with foster care alumni support these foster parents recommendations about the importance of speaking positively about birth parents and developing a collaborative working relationships with birth parents or siblings (Affronti, Rittner, & Semanchin Jones, 2015).…”

“…Study findings with foster care alumni support these foster parents recommendations about the importance of speaking positively about birth parents and developing a collaborative working relationships with birth parents or siblings (Affronti, Rittner, & Semanchin Jones, 2015). Trainings for foster parents should further reinforce that this ambivalence in children is common, which fits with the Alliance model used in MAPP (Children's Alliance, n.d.).…”

“…There is growing evidence that placement instability is experienced as traumatic and contributes to negative short and long-term educational, emotional, social, and behavioral outcomes (Fernandez, 2009;Newton, Litrownik, & Landsverk, 2000;Perry, 2006;Topitzes, Mersky, Dezen, & Reynolds, 2013). However, there is little research on how foster parents enhance the functional adaptation of children who are transitioning into their care following removal from their families or from prior placements, and little understanding of what behaviors signal social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment and adaptation as they enter a new family (Affronti, Rittner, & Semanchin Jones, 2015). This study adds to the understanding of what foster parents report doing to help children successfully transition into their care.…”

Foster home integration as a temporal indicator of relational well-being

“…Relational well-being in foster family settings have been operationalized a number of ways, including foster home adjustment (Affronti, Rittner, & Semanchin-Jones, 2015), foster home adaptation (Dunn, Culhane, & Taussig, 2010; Semanchin-Jones, Rittner, & Affronti, 2016), foster home integration (Leathers, 2002; 2006), positive home integration (Authors, 2016a), and child-caregiver therapeutic alliance (Rauktis, De Andrade, Doucette, McDonough, & Reinhart, 2005). These characterizations illuminate the processes occurring within foster family systems that promote successful adjustment and adaptation (Affronti, Rittner, and Semanchin-Jones, 2015; Semanchin-Jones, Rittner, & Affronti, 2016), identify factors which contribute to the development of therapeutic alliance between children and their caregivers (Rauktis, et.…”