scholarly journals Variability in Developmental Outcomes of Foster Children: Implications for Research and Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 116-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anouk Goemans ◽  
Mitch van Geel ◽  
Paul Vedder
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Developmental Outcomes ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Brief Assessment ◽  
Children's Development ◽  
Children’S Development

This article focuses on the variability in developmental outcomes of foster children and the implications for foster care research and practice. We first provide a brief overview of our previous work, where we have shown by means of meta-analysis and a longitudinal study that foster children greatly vary with respect to their developmental functioning. We then discuss that it is both the heterogeneity of developmental trajectories and the lack of an accurate model for predicting foster children's development that make the screening and monitoring of foster children's development important. We provide suggestions for screening and monitoring, and discuss the Brief Assessment Checklist as an example of a specific instrument available for screening and monitoring of vulnerable children exposed to severe social adversity. We conclude our article with directions to improve foster care and research on foster care, including a discussion of the effectiveness of and foster children's susceptibility to interventions, support for foster parents and the potential of large national and international studies.

scholarly journals Foster Parents’ Parenting and the Social-Emotional Development and Adaptive Functioning of Children in Foster Care: A PRISMA-Guided Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Chodura ◽  
Arnold Lohaus ◽  
Tabea Symanzik ◽  
Nina Heinrichs ◽  
Kerstin Konrad
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Foster Parents ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Developmental Outcomes ◽  
Parenting Behavior ◽  
Foster Families ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Increased Risk

AbstractChildren in foster care (CFC) are at increased risk for negative developmental outcomes. Given the potential influence of foster parents’ parenting on the development of CFC, this literature review and meta-analysis provide an initial overview of how parenting factors in foster families relate to CFC’s developmental outcomes. We aimed to explore (1) whether foster parents’ parenting conceptualizations are related differently to various CFC developmental outcome variables and (2) how characteristics of foster parents and CFC moderate these associations. Following the recommendations of the PRISMA statement, we searched four databases in 2017 (with an update in May 2020). Forty-three primary studies were coded manually. The interrater agreement was 92.1%. Parenting variables were specified as parenting behavior, style, and goals and were distinguished further into functional and dysfunctional parenting. CFC development was divided into adaptive (including cognitive) development and maladaptive development. Meta-analyses could be performed for foster parenting behavior and developmental outcomes, as well as for functional parenting goals and maladaptive socioemotional outcomes in CFC. Associations between functional parenting behavior and adaptive child development were positive and negative for maladaptive child development, respectively. For dysfunctional, parenting effects were in the opposite direction. All effects were small to moderate. Similar results were found descriptively in the associations of parenting style and child developmental outcomes. We found similar effect sizes and directions of the associations between parenting behavior in foster families and the child’s developmental outcomes as those previously reported for biological families. These findings provide strong support for the significant role of parenting in foster families regarding children’s development in foster care.

Chinese collective foster care model: Description and evaluation

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Chi Wang ◽  
Robert B McCall ◽  
Junlei Li ◽  
Christina J Groark ◽  
Fanlin Zeng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Large City ◽  
Institutional Care ◽  
Model Description ◽  
Care Model ◽  
Foster Families ◽  
Care Project ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Children's Development ◽  
Children’S Development

Family environments are known to usually be better for children’s development than institutional care. China has experience with different forms of foster care, but none have been empirically evaluated, especially with respect to children’s outcomes. One form of foster care is ‘collective fostering’, in which many foster families live in a single apartment building on the grounds of the institution. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of such a project operated by a children’s institution in a large city in China by examining changes in children’s height and weight from before to after entering foster care. Results ( n = 102, mean age  = 63 months) showed a significant positive quadratic relationship between time and height ( p = .002), with height z-scores declining during institutional residency and then increasing after entering foster care. Further analysis on children ( n = 23) who were enrolled in the fostering project for more than 65 months showed that their height and weight z-scores improved significantly while living in foster families compared to the last assessment before the transition. The study concluded that the collective foster care project, like the more widely practiced community foster care, had the potential for improving children’s development.

scholarly journals Psychosocial screening and monitoring for children in foster care: Psychometric properties of the Brief Assessment Checklist in a Dutch population study

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anouk Goemans ◽  
Michael Tarren-Sweeney ◽  
Mitch van Geel ◽  
Paul Vedder
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Population Study ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Child Behavior Checklist ◽  
Brief Assessment ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Psychosocial Difficulties ◽  
Children In Care

Children in foster care experience higher levels and rates of psychosocial difficulties than children from the general population. Governments and child welfare services have a responsibility to identify those children in care who have need for therapeutic services. This can be achieved through systematic screening and monitoring of psychosocial difficulties among all children in foster care. However, general screening and assessment measures such as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) might not adequately screen for the range of difficulties experienced by foster children. The Brief Assessment Checklists for Children (BAC-C) and Brief Assessment Checklists for Adolescents (BAC-A) are measures designed to screen for and monitor attachment- and trauma-related difficulties among child welfare populations. This article reports psychometric properties of the BAC-C and BAC-A, estimated in a population study of 219 Dutch foster children. The results suggest the BAC-C and BAC-A perform both screening and monitoring functions well. Their screening accuracy, internal reliability and concurrent validity are comparable to those estimated for the SDQ within the same child and adolescent sample. Future research is needed to assess the value of the Brief Assessment Checklists (BAC) compared to other measures and to validate cut-points for the BAC. This study further establishes the BAC-A and BAC-C as valid and useful mental health screening and monitoring measures for use with children and adolescents in foster care.

scholarly journals ACKNOWLEDGING THE COMPLEXITY OF PROCESSES LEADING TO FOSTER CARE BREAKDOWN

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Clara Bombach ◽  
Thomas Gabriel ◽  
Renate Stohler
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Care Process ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
Family Based ◽  
Children In Care ◽  
Individual Perspective ◽  
Breakdown Event

Family-based solutions for children in care are the preferred option in European countries on the grounds of both cost and quality. Yet, too often, foster care placements intended to be long term are terminated unexpectedly early. Few studies have identified factors leading to unexpected breakdown and fewer still have translated such findings into practical guidance for professionals. This article outlines: (a) the ambiguity and contradictions in the use of terminology (e.g., instability, breakdown, disruption) in several international studies; (b) the adoption of a one-sided, file-based, systemic perspective in recent studies of foster care instability, breakdown, and disruption; and (c) empirical data collected from interviews with foster children. Foster care breakdown is shown to be a process that takes place on several levels. In addition to the actual breakdown event, the situation of the child before the placement, the situation during the placement, the emergence and development of the crisis and the consequences of the breakdown for all those involved are all part of the process. It is only in retrospect that the ending of a foster care process is perceived as a breakdown. Assessments of whether it was planned or unplanned, expected or unexpected, and desirable or undesirable are meaningful only from an individual perspective. Such a perspective must be clearly identified: different people experience and remember the same breakdown in different ways, and its significance for their personal biographies may vary.

Determinants of Interrater Reliability of Job Analysis: A Meta-analysis

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga F. Voskuijl ◽  
Tjarda van Sliedregt
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Interrater Reliability ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Job Analysis ◽  
Job Descriptions ◽  
Job Description ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Descriptive Information ◽  
Interrater Reliability Coefficients ◽  
Reliability Coefficients

Summary: This paper presents a meta-analysis of published job analysis interrater reliability data in order to predict the expected levels of interrater reliability within specific combinations of moderators, such as rater source, experience of the rater, and type of job descriptive information. The overall mean interrater reliability of 91 reliability coefficients reported in the literature was .59. The results of experienced professionals (job analysts) showed the highest reliability coefficients (.76). The method of data collection (job contact versus job description) only affected the results of experienced job analysts. For this group higher interrater reliability coefficients were obtained for analyses based on job contact (.87) than for those based on job descriptions (.71). For other rater categories (e.g., students, organization members) neither the method of data collection nor training had a significant effect on the interrater reliability. Analyses based on scales with defined levels resulted in significantly higher interrater reliability coefficients than analyses based on scales with undefined levels. Behavior and job worth dimensions were rated more reliable (.62 and .60, respectively) than attributes and tasks (.49 and .29, respectively). Furthermore, the results indicated that if nonprofessional raters are used (e.g., incumbents or students), at least two to four raters are required to obtain a reliability coefficient of .80. These findings have implications for research and practice.

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