101487: Understanding Foster Parenting

About the Course:

The study used as the basis of this course was designed to extend current understanding of foster parent retention by producing unbiased estimates of length of service and examining factors associated with licensure, provision of care, and length of service. The study used administrative data, applying data management and analytic methods that have been used to describe the length of stay for children in foster care. Principal research issues include: how the characteristics of foster parents have changed over time; how variations in activity levels can be described, and what foster parent characteristics are associated with varying activity levels.

Journal/Publisher:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Publication Date:

January 2005

Author

Gibbs, Deborah

About the Author:

RTI International, prepared under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for health care professionals, especially psychologists, counselors, social workers, and nurses who seek knowledge about issues pertaining to the retention of foster children by their foster families. It is appropriate for all levels of participants’ knowledge.

Course Objectives:

1. Identify factors associated with foster parent retention and the methods used to determine them.

2. Describe the characteristics and utilization of foster homes as presented in the course material.

3. Evaluate information presented regarding foster parents’ length of service and critically analyze conclusions offered in the course summary.