Who is caring for our most vulnerable children?

Abstract

Objective: Responding to the need for more foster families to provide care for increasing numbers of children coming into care, this study was designed to understand the motivations and needs of foster parents in order to improve recruitment and retention. To meet this goal, the study identified characteristics of current foster families, performed a factor analysis on the Foster Parent Satisfaction Survey (FPSS) (Denby, R. W., Rindfleisch, N., & Bean, G. 1999). Predictors of foster parent's satisfaction and intent to continue to foster were identified, and the results were used to differentiate between foster parents who did and did not consider quitting fostering.

Method: A sample of 652 foster parents completed a survey of 139 items including the Foster Parent Satisfaction Survey [Denby, R. W., Rindfleisch, N., & Bean, G. (1999). Predictors of foster parent's satisfaction and intent to continue to foster. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 287–303].

Results: Foster parents were motivated by wanting to be loving parents to children and saving children from harm. The factor analysis of the FPSS resulted in five factors that were consistent with typical scoring methods of the instrument. A discriminant function analysis using these factors and whether parents had considered quitting fostering revealed that one factor, Challenging Aspects of Fostering, correctly classified 75.5% of parents.

Conclusions: Foster parents’ satisfaction is related to their perceptions about teamwork, communication, and confidence in relation to both the child welfare agency and its professionals. Further, the most frequently endorsed reasons for fostering reflected foster parents’ altruistic and internal motivations to foster. Negative relationships with professional staff from the child welfare agency were linked to considering quitting fostering.

Introduction

In both the United States and Canada, there has been a large increase of children coming into the foster care system (Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies, 2005; USGAO, 1995, USGAO, 2003). The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies, in a report tracking annual figures, revealed that the number of children in care was projected to rise by 63% (from 11,609 to 18,879) between 1998 and 2004, while the number of foster homes was expected to increase by only 55% (from 5264 to 8161) during the same period (OACAS, 2004) As the preferred method of out-of-home care, foster care provides children with both temporary and longer-term options for child growth and development, as well as safe, nurturing, and stable relationships in a family setting. However, there is concern that the foster care system may not be growing at a pace that can provide the necessary capacity to meet this need. The goal of the current study is to provide information to child welfare agencies pertinent to the recruitment and retention of additional foster families to meet this growing demand.

Foster homes in Ontario are approved by child protective services and provide parent care for up to four unrelated children at a time. The reasons why families choose to foster is important for future recruitment efforts, and research shows that the most important reasons cited include a desire to help children, wanting to help a family member or to adopt, a desire by mothers to stay at home and care for their own and foster children instead of seeking outside-of-home employment, and filling an “empty nest” (Andersson, 2001, Ortiz, 2000). Despite these compelling motivations to foster, providing care is not without its challenges; for example, foster children may be difficult to parent. Compared to children who have not been maltreated and who are not involved in child protective services, foster children experience levels of mental health problems that approximate those found in clinical samples and have problems with their ability to relate to others (Milan, 2000; Stein, Evans, Mazumdar, & Roe-Grant, 1996).

To recruit potential foster parents, it is necessary to know and understand as much as possible about the characteristics and motivations of those who currently fulfill this important role. In a recent review of foster family characteristics, Orme and Buehler (2001) noted the majority of parents had at least a high school education, although there was considerable variability within the studies. Further, they reported that most foster parents were married and, in the majority of studies, were of Caucasian background. They highlighted the importance of family economic well-being as a major factor in outcomes for children, but observed that the nature of the studies made it impossible to draw conclusions about the income level of families. An understanding of foster parents’ characteristics is important, but an examination of their reasons for fostering may hold important clues for retention and recruitment efforts. Foster parents who have a good match between their motivations for fostering and their actual experience of fostering are more likely to remain in the position because they are satisfied with their job.