scholarly journals "We Had to Rely on Each Other": Voices of Latinx Foster Youth with Experiences in Care with Siblings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Isabella Ginsberg
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Foster Youth ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Demographic Questionnaire ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Youth In Care ◽  
Children In Care

Relationships between members of sibling groups have been found to impact well-being for children who enter foster care (Herrick & Piccus, 2005). Being placed in stranger foster care is often challenging and can be traumatic with children reporting confusion, worry, and loss of identity and sense of belonging (Herrick & Piccus, 2005, Unrau et al, 2008). While there is some research that explores the experiences of siblings groups in foster care and others separately that examines Latinx children in foster care, there is very little information that looks into the potentially unique experiences of Latinx individuals who were in care with siblings that also accounts for cultural nuance. This study used a mixed-methods exploratory design with a demographic questionnaire and interview components that answers the research question: How do various factors affect the experiences of Latinx foster youth in care with siblings? Participants were invited to be interviewed either in person or over the phone. A constant comparative analytic method was used to analyze the interview transcripts to identify common themes. This exploratory study begins to discuss how social work practitioners and foster placements can better support this specific population of children in care. Findings suggest the importance of listening to foster youth and hearing their voices, understanding the role responsibility plays in familial relationships in the Latinx culture, and culturally responsive and individualized knowledge and care from social workers and foster placements.

Normalcy for children in foster care in the time of coronavirus

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-219
Author(s):  
Mary Elizabeth Collins ◽  
Sarah Baldiga
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Young People ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Child Welfare Policy ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Youth In Care ◽  
The Usa

Purpose This paper aims to describe how a sense of normalcy for young people in foster care can be critical to their well-being. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on policy and practice efforts in the USA to promote normalcy for youth in care. The authors review policy that promotes normalcy and report on one organization's efforts to support these goals. Findings COVID-19 has offered profound challenges to the goal of normalcy. Rise Above has adapted to meet the challenges. Originality/value The authors argue that COVID may also offer opportunities to build toward a more robust paradigm of normalcy within child welfare policy and practice.

Reading with Angels: Improving Literacy among Children in Foster Care

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Knight
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Literacy Outcomes ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Love Of Learning ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
Children's Literacy ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Children In Care

The Pyjama Foundation is an Australian charity working to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes for children in foster care. The foundation delivers the Pyjama Foundation Love of Learning programme, a learning-based mentoring programme in which volunteer ‘Pyjama Angels’ visit children in care each week to read books, play games and engage in other learning-based activities.This study surveyed 121 Love of Learning mentors (‘Pyjama Angels’) to assess their perceptions of the relationships they had developed with the children they mentored and of the children's improvement in their literacy skills, a key aim of the programme.The statistical data analysis based on the structural equation modelling and multiple regression approach showed that several factors had a statistically significant impact on the mentors’ perceptions of the children's improvement in literacy skills: relationship with the child, child's engagement and tenure in the programme, and frequency of meetings. Age and gender of the mentors were not found to have a statistically significant impact on mentors’ perceptions of this improvement, while mentors’ perceptions of their relationship with the children was the most important factor influencing their perceptions of improvement in literacy skills. The study did not include objective measures of the children's literacy outcomes, so its results are limited to the mentors’ perceptions. However, this study offers valuable insights for mentoring programmes working with children living in foster care.

Randomized Trial of PMTO in Foster Care: Six-Month Child Well-Being Outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Becci A. Akin ◽  
Kyle Lang ◽  
Thomas P. McDonald ◽  
Yueqi Yan ◽  
Todd Little
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
High Risk Population ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Prosocial Skills ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Cohen’S D ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Cohen's D

Objective: This study tested the effectiveness of Parent Management Training, Oregon (PMTO) model on child social–emotional well-being. Methods: Using a randomized controlled design and three measures of social–emotional well-being, the study investigated effectiveness of PMTO with families of children in foster care with serious emotional disturbance (SED). Participants included children (3–16 years) and parents who were randomly assigned to PMTO ( n = 461) or services as usual ( n = 457). Study condition was known to participants and assessors. Six months after baseline, analysis of covariance models examined the intervention’s overall effect and time interactions using intent-to-treat analysis. Follow-up analyses identified salient predictors of well-being. Results: PMTO demonstrated small but significant positive effects on three primary outcomes: social–emotional functioning (Cohen’s d = .31), problem behaviors (Cohen’s d = .09), and prosocial skills (Cohen’s d = .09). Conclusion: Results suggest that PMTO was effective at improving short-term social–emotional well-being in a high-risk population of children with SED.

Health Care Needs of Children in the Foster Care System

PEDIATRICS ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 106 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 909-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Simms ◽  
Howard Dubowitz ◽  
Moira A. Szilagyi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Parent Education ◽  
Continuity Of Care ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Developmental Problems ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
The Impact

Nearly 750 000 children are currently in foster care in the United States. Recent trends in foster care include reliance on extended family members to care for children in kinship care placements, increased efforts to reduce the length of placement, acceleration of termination of parental rights proceedings, and emphasis on adoption. It is not clear what impact welfare reform may have on the number of children who may require foster care placement. Although most children enter foster care with medical, mental health, or developmental problems, many do not receive adequate or appropriate care while in placement. Psychological and emotional problems, in particular, may worsen rather than improve. Multiple barriers to adequate health care for this population exist. Health care practitioners can help to improve the health and well-being of children in foster care by performing timely and thorough admission evaluations, providing continuity of care, and playing an active advocacy role. Potential areas for health services research include study of the impact of different models of health care delivery, the role of a medical home in providing continuity of care, the perception of the foster care experience by the child, children's adjustment to foster care, and foster parent education on health outcomes.

Chapter 2: Still Fighting for Ethnic Studies: The Origins, Practices, and Potential of Community Responsive Pedagogy

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales ◽  
Jeff Duncan-Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Ethnic Studies ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Responsive Pedagogy

Background/Context As the debate on what content should be included in Ethnic Studies continues, there has also been an exploration of what effective pedagogy in Ethnic Studies looks like. Community responsive pedagogy advances the work of critical pedagogy and culturally responsive pedagogy by centralizing a community's context in the education of children and youth. We use community to refer to the cultural, political, social, and economic spaces and places that shape student and family realities. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This chapter begins by drawing from the scholarship written about Ethnic Studies and the development of a pedagogy that is both responsive to students and centers their wellness. Building off the research on Ethnic Studies pedagogies, we offer a conceptualization of community responsive pedagogy (CRP). Community responsive leaders and educators transform climates, cultures, and curriculum to prioritize youth wellness (innerself, interpersonal, interconnectedness) through a focus on three domains of pedagogical practice: relationships, relevance, and responsibility. Research Design We begin with historicizing the origins of CRP in Ethnic Studies and then provide examples of how CRP can be applied. The chapter explores the three domains of CRP and provides examples from our previous studies to show how educators practice those domains to reveal the potential benefits for all students. Conclusions/Recommendations Ethnic Studies as a movement is community responsive. CRP has the potential to go beyond the Ethnic Studies classroom and reshape the way we understand education and its purpose. Ethnic Studies, and the community responsive teaching that sits at its pedagogical core, centers youth wellness. In this chapter, we reveal that (1) the protective nature of caring adult relationships acts as armor against future threats to a child's wellness, which is particularly important for youth living in the chronically stressful environments created by structural inequalities; (2) centering students, their families, their communities, and their ancestors, a relevant pedagogy acknowledges their stories as assets that provide cultural wisdom and medicine, along with pathways to freedom and justice—advancing Maslow's individualistic frame toward one that allows children to use their learning to develop a sense of concentric circles of interconnectedness (peers, school community, local community, larger society, and the world); and (3) schools and educators also have the responsibility to acknowledge and leverage student strengths to develop and maintain their well-being and overall achievement.

Increasing School Success for Children in Foster Care and Other Residential Placements

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aakanksha Sinha ◽  
Ruth G. McRoy
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Peer Relations ◽  
Grade Retention ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Educational Environment ◽  
Government Schools ◽  
Social Growth ◽  
Children In Foster Care ◽  
Out Of Home Care ◽  
Outcomes For Children

Every year thousands of children are removed from their families and are placed into out-of-home care. While these children are placed in care settings with a hope of a better future, they are often faced with many challenges that impact their short and long terms growth. As of 2017, 442,995 children have been removed from their families and placed in the U.S. foster care system for an average of 20.1 months. Placement occurs for several reasons, such as neglect, parent incarceration, drug abuse, and caretakers’ inability to cope. Twenty-seven percent (117,110) have been in care over two years, and all of these children face many obstacles in life that can impact their short- and long-term well-being. One of the most significant challenges they face is access to a stable educational environment that supports positive mental, emotional, behavioral, physical, and social growth. Frequent moves, lack of coordination between schools, and underdeveloped infrastructure to support unique needs are some of the significant predictors of disproportionately poor education outcomes for children in foster care and other residential settings. The lack of stable educational environment leads to a number of challenges related to enrollment, stability, access to special services, peer relations, grade retention, and caregiver and teacher familiarity with academic strengths and weaknesses of the child. To improve their educational outcomes, there is a need for advocacy and significant changes at the at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Consistent efforts need to be made by stakeholders, such as state and federal government, schools, child welfare systems, and community partners to address systemic inequities, improve current policies and practices, increase accessibility to quality schools, provide mental health services, and, most importantly, establish a stable environment that will enable the youth to flourish and succeed.

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