Paper
The relationship between foster parent training and outcomes of looked after children in Canada
- issue: Issue 3 / 2009
- authors: Jordanna J. Nash and Robert J. Flynn
- keywords: parent training, children, outcomes
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abstract
Introduction
Placement stability for foster children has become a formalized priority for children in the care of the child welfare system in Ontario. Research has identified that placement breakdowns are often the result of factors such as expectations of foster parents and foster child difficulties. The number of placements a child has experienced has been shown to significantly predict greater internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. In order to avert placement breakdowns, foster parents need to be equipped to handle the difficult behaviour of the children coming into their care. Research investigating the relationship between foster parenting and foster child outcomes has found that positive parenting behaviour, such as nurturance, predicts fewer externalizing behaviour problems. Research has also shown that foster parents identify training as critical in the preparation for the foster parenting role, as well as for providing quality care to children placed in their homes.
While foster parent training, in some form or another, seems to be common place within the child welfare system, it has not been the focus of research in the area. A review of the literature revealed only four studies investigating two different pre-service foster parent training programs. Furthermore, a recent systematic review of the research investigating the effectiveness of in-service foster parent training programs unearthed only six studies meeting inclusion criteria. At this point in time, the state of the knowledge and research in the area of foster parent training remains in the initial stages.
The goal of foster parent training programs is to impart knowledge of the child welfare system, enhance substitute parenting skills, and help foster parents effectively deal with the challenges they may face in caring for foster children. The overall intent of attempting to ensure the effectiveness of foster parents through training is to be sure foster parents can meet the needs of looked after children. If foster parent training programs accomplish the goals they intend, it can be intuited that foster child outcomes will improve as a result.
Purpose
This was an exploratory study to investigate whether there was any association between selected foster child outcomes and exposure to foster parent training. The study analyzed data from the Assessment and Action Record (Second Canadian Adaptation; AAR-C2), collected as part of the fifth year (2005-2006) of the Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) project. Data from 445 older children and youth (ages 10 to 17) was examined. Outcomes under investigation included emotional and behavioural difficulties, internal developmental assets, relationships with caregivers, and placement satisfaction.
The child outcomes were analyzed in terms of the amount of the foster parents' LAC training, as well as according to the number of different types of foster parent training the foster parents had received in total. In addition, the outcomes were analyzed in relation to whether foster parents had received more formalized and standardized foster parent training programs (LAC; Parenting Resources for Information, Development and Education; College; or Other), or the more common, but variable, agency-specific foster parent training. Given the dearth of research in the area of foster parent training to inform hypotheses, the study involved only research questions, although it was intuitively expected that training would have a mild, positive effect on foster child outcomes.
Key findings
Analyses revealed a consistent, mild effect of training, in the opposite direction than was expected. Foster parents who had received more LAC training, or a higher number of total types of foster parent training, reported the child in their care to have more emotional and behavioural difficulties. In addition, foster parents who had received LAC training reported the child in their care to have fewer internal developmental assets, when compared to foster parents trained with agency-specific foster parent training programs. No training variable was significantly associated with the outcomes investigated that were reported by the foster child; namely, the quality of the relationship with the female caregiver, the quality of the relationship with the male caregiver, or satisfaction with the current placement.
Implications
The finding that foster parent training was associated with foster parents reporting more negative, and fewer positive foster child outcomes may be interpreted as training having a sensitizing effect on foster parents' perception. Training may make foster parents more aware of the high needs of looked after children; therefore, they may be more likely to detect and report difficulties experienced by children in their care. Furthermore, this sensitization effect may be especially true for foster parents who have received LAC training, as the program utilizes the children in the general population as a point of comparison, thus increasing foster parents' expectations of the children in their care. The results of this study suggest that practitioners employing the AAR may do well to consider the foster parents' training background when interpreting foster parents' reports of children's functioning.
Key references
Turner, W., Macdonald, G.M. and Dennis, J.A. (2008) 'Behavioural training interventions for assisting foster carers in the management of difficult behaviour.' Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews issue 2.
Perkins-Mangulabnan, J. and Flynn, R.J. (2006) 'Foster parenting practices and foster youth outcomes.' In R.J. Flynn, P.M. Dudding, and J.G. Barber (eds) Promoting resilience in child welfare (pp.231-247). Ottawa, ON: Ottawa University Press.
Contact details
Jordanna Nash, School of Psychology and Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services, University of Ottawa, 34 Stewart Street Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. K1N 6N5
Phone: (613) 562-5800 ext. 4458 Fax: (613) 562-5188
Email: jnash089@uottawa.ca
Dr Robert J. Flynn, Full Professor, address as above.