Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1998

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Social Work

Major Professor

John G. Orme

Committee Members

Terri Combs-Orme, Priscilla Blanton, David Patterson

Abstract

Family foster care is the most prevalent type of placement for children in protective custody. However, a shortage of foster homes has jeopardized the quality of services provided for this vulnerable population. Not only have agencies had difficulties recruiting qualified foster families, but 30 to 50 percent of foster homes close each year. Knowledge of risk factors associated with foster parent exits provides much needed information for developing effective recruitment, training, and supervision practices with new foster parents. However, little is known about the reasons some foster families leave the system and others do not.

This purpose of this study was to identify factors predicting risk for early exit from foster parenting. A longitudinal prospective panel design was used to san:q)le cohorts of new foster mothers and fathers. During pre-service training, a battery of well-established standardized measures of parenting beliefs, family functioning, marital adjustment, mental health, social support, and perception of role responsibilities was administered, and demographic data were obtained. Also, foster care workers assessed foster parents’ potential to foster. Six months after the completion of pre-service training foster parents were interviewed by telephone to determine if they planned to continue or discontinue as foster parents, and to explore reasons behind their decisions.

Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of intention to discontinue fostering at 6-months and to examine reasons expressed at that time for continuing or not continuing as foster parents. Results from variables measured during pre-service training indicated that interest in adoption and having appropriate developmental expectations for children were associated with reduced risk of discontinuance. Also, results indicated that those who provided placements for sibling groups and those who were satisfied with agency services were less likely to discontinue foster parenting.

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