Improving Parenting Competency and Permanency Awareness for Kinship Foster Parents Through In-Service Licensure Training

Abstract

Child welfare jurisdictions increasingly place foster children with kinship foster parents as a means of meeting their need for stability, family connection, and behavioral and emotional support. However, the lack of financial and educational assistance provided to kin by child welfare authorities often undermines these caregivers’ ability to provide effective and lasting care for the children in their homes. This study uses a mixed-methods approach to understand how formal training and licensure processes can aid kinship foster parents in facilitating positive outcomes for children and youth in the foster care system. Specifically, we investigated the barriers experienced by kinship foster parents while trying to access existing licensure-based training and supports, as well as the initial outcomes of a kin-tailored licensure training curriculum alternatingly administered in in-person and virtual delivery formats. Participants reported that incomplete or inaccurate communication about licensing processes, practical difficulties in attending training, irrelevant session content, and stringent licensing requirements acted as barriers to accessing these resources. However, participants in the kin-specific licensure training administered in this study reported high levels of learning related to key parenting competencies and increased awareness of kinship permanency supports, although these outcomes appeared to be less pronounced among those receiving the training in a virtual format. These findings suggest that researchers and policymakers should consider developing, implementing, and evaluating further initiatives to provide accessible and tailored supports to kinship foster parents as a means of improving outcomes for the children in their care.

Foster Caregiving and Child Outcomes in relative and non-relative Foster families

“…This article serves as a reminder that passing a policy may create the structure or resources families need, but successful implementation is key to realizing the intended policy objectives, in this instance increased permanency and positive child adjustment associated with licensure. Similar to the article by Gibbs et al, (2022), this study highlighted the challenges caregivers encounter with barriers to participation and the lack of support to manage relational difficulties with birth parents.…”

“…In other words, many interventions or trainings lack relevance to the population or issue at hand. Gibbs et al, (2022) examined the lack of attention to training and support for kinship foster parents, even though kin caregivers are increasingly relied on to provide substitute care for relative children. The participants in this study reported that incomplete and inaccurate communication regarding licensing processes, as well as practical difficulties attending training, irrelevant session content, and stringent licensing requirements acted as barriers to access training.…”

“…Three articles in this special edition examined parent training programs tailored to specialized populations of caregivers with two focused specifically on kin caregivers. One of the kin caregiver focused articles examined a training program developed specifically for kinship caregivers (Gibbs et al, 2022). The second was specific to adapting training provides considerable financial aid and other benefits for the child and permanent guardian.…”

Examining Financial Hardship and Caregiver Subgroups in Kinship Foster Placements: A Machine Learning Approach

“…One of the primary ways kinship caregivers receive financial assistance to provide care for children of relatives is through foster care payments [32]. However, many kinship caregivers cannot benefit from this type of assistance due to foster care licensing requirements [33,34]. Even when these caregivers can receive foster care payments, there is evidence that the payment amounts in all but four states in the U.S. are insufficient when considering the financial demands associated with meeting the needs of children in their care [35].…”