Effectiveness of a trauma-informed care psychoeducational program for foster carers – Evaluation of the Fostering Connections Program

Maria Lotty · Audrey DunnGalvin · Eleanor Bantry White

51 citations0/0 files storedChild Abuse & Neglect

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Child Welfare and Adoption Social Work Education and Practice Child Abuse and Trauma

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The need to improve the quality of foster care training has been highlighted and evidenced-based programs that aim to support foster carers in the care of children who have experienced trauma are warranted. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fostering Connections program, a newly developed trauma-informed care program within the national child welfare agency in Ireland. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The study included 79 foster carers. The Fostering Connections group-based experiential intervention was delivered over a period of 6-weeks in a community-based setting to intervention group participants. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the results of the intervention group (n = 49), to a control group (n = 30,) who received usual care. Standardized assessment measures were used at baseline, 6-weeks on completion, 16 weeks and 15 months post-intervention. Foster carers' knowledge of trauma-informed fostering, tolerance of misbehavior and fostering efficacy, and children's emotional and behavioral difficulties were assessed. RESULTS: Significant improvements were found in foster carers' knowledge of trauma-informed fostering (p < 0.001), tolerance of child misbehavior (p = 0.007) and fostering efficacy (p < 0.001), with effect sizes ranging from medium to large and sustained over fifteen months (ES = 0.07-0.14). Significant improvement was also found in children's emotional and behavioral difficulties at fifteen months (p = 0.019), with a small effect size (ES = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Preliminary evidence suggests that Fostering Connections is potentially an effective intervention in increasing foster carer's capacity to provide children with trauma-informed care.

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References

2001Psychometric Properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire 2000Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample 2005Complex Trauma in Children and Adolescents 1994THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTION REGULATION AND DYSREGULATION: A CLINICAL PERSPECTIVE 2007The Impact of Placement Stability on Behavioral Well-being for Children in Foster Care 2007Psychiatric disorder among British children looked after by local authorities: Comparison with children living in private households 2017Outcomes of children who grew up in foster care: Systematic-review 2018Behavioural and emotional disorders in childhood: A brief overview for paediatricians

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2023Interventions targeting the mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people in higher-income countries: Evidence map and systematic review 2020The experiences of foster carers and facilitators of Fostering Connections: The Trauma-informed Foster Care Program: A process study 2020A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of the fostering changes programme 2022Foster caring as ‘professional parenting’: A grounded theory of the relationships between parent and professional in long-term foster care

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