Contents
The Challenge of Being a Foster Parent
Literature Review
February 29, 2004
Abstract
This review discusses the commonly overlooked issue of how adults
should deal with foster children with behavioral problems. It will explain
how foster parents can help foster children properly adapt to their new
homes, how foster parents can contribute to maladjustment, and what can be
done by foster parents to correct pre-existing problems. This review will
help others understand the process of fostering children and will uncover
the thought processes of foster parents in dealing with problematic
children.
This paper identifies the behavioral problems of foster children and
how they develop as a function of the surrounding environment and the
foster parents, the history of how adults deal with foster children, and
past attempts to understand the issue, and reviews and studies that have
been done about the issue.
Problem Statement
Ways in which foster parents understand and deal with foster children
who have behavioral problems is a serious issue in the United States and
one that tugs at the heartstrings. This issue remains serious due to the
fact that approaching troubled foster children is often a difficult task
that not many adults feel they can handle. Due to the difficult task of
caring troubled foster children, many foster parents become less willing to
care for such children (Cox, Orme, & Rhodes, 2003).
A study performed by Cox, Orme, and Rhodes, in which 142 foster family
applicants were a part of, showed that, while most foster parents are
willing to care for foster children, very few want to take on the task of
caring for a foster child with behavioral problems. In fact, some of the
only families to take care of these children were families that had access
to many resources and were placed in the upper and upper-middle classes
(Cox et al., 2003). Even those homes that do take on troubled foster
children end up giving up on the child and sending him/her away to another
home, making the problem even worse. In fact, almost all troubled foster
children have seen more than one or two homes, and likewise with foster
parents, seeing more than one or two foster children.
Sonya Leathers, in her study of foster children and their troubling
behaviors as a function of foster parents and community institutions, found
that most foster children who are not respected and cared for at home and
who are not actively involved in the community with a group with adult
leadership will develop problems as well. Troubled foster children are
often excluded from activities in school, on the playground, and in
extracurricular activities. These experiences lead to a detachment, not
only from the foster parents, but also from the environment. This
detachment causes the child to retreat at the prospect of interaction
between himself and the foster parents as well as social events or taking
part in an activity where a role with any amount of importance is assigned
(Leathers, 2000). Society’s negative view of these disenchanted youth only
serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy in which these children have a great
deal of difficulty overcoming.
Historical Perspective
Historically, foster parents are adults of households who have
decided, not to adopt, but to take on the challenge of caring for a child
until the child is ready for adoption. These adults are usually in charge
of normal households and are willing to take in and care for orphaned
children who have nowhere to go or cannot go back to their old families for
legal or health issues. Foster parents will usually care for the child for
any amount of time until another family or the foster family itself adopts
the child. In 1999 alone, over 290,000 children were separated from their
parents and placed into the care of foster parents (Leathers, 2003).
Hundreds of thousands of adults make the decision to foster a child every
year.
History has shown that children who are separated from their parents
and placed into foster homes usually develop behavioral problems due to the
sudden shift in environments and pressure to adjust to the new life. Most
foster children in this situation feel violated, rejected, and handed off
as if they were just some tangible object to be passed around. These
children become maladjusted to their new environments and the negative
feelings spur on cognitive psychological issues that cause the child to act
out in a manner that is deemed unacceptable in society. This causes
problems for the foster parents that they are not able to handle. History
has also shown that foster parents who give away a problem child instead of
attempting to correct the problem contribute to the negative behaviors of
the child, resulting in fire starting, stealing, vandalizing, bullying, or
acting in ways that go against societal norms. These actions are performed
mostly in part for their sheer shock value and the intentions that they
will draw attention to a much larger problem: the need for love, attention,
and care. In the past, the causes of such behavior problems were largely
unknown due to the lack of research. Due to this, children who developed
behavioral problems were either harshly disciplined or sent to another
foster home, in either case, the underlying problems were ignored and an
“easier way out” was taken. Very few families knew how to deal with
troubled foster children (Breuninger, 2004).
Recent studies have since found that the transition and readjustment
periods are very crucial to the psychological development later in life and
that foster parents play a very crucial role in the child’s life. Foster
parents must constantly apply an environment full of honesty, trust, and
attention. Foster parents must let the child know that he/she is wanted in
the home. Also, foster parents must stress participation in outside the
home activities, thus helping to include the child and make him/her feel
comfortable in and out of the home (Puddy, 2003).
Related Studies
Research Study 1
This study examines the willingness of foster parents to take in
orphaned children with behavioral problems. This longitudinal study of 142
foster family applicants analyzed the feelings and thoughts behind the
individuals applying to take on foster children. It found that most adults
were willing to talk about taking on such troubled children, but the act of
actually caring for the child was not one that most of the applicants were
ready to do (Cox et al., 2003). Of the few families that actually care for
a troubled child, most have spent time in pre-service training learning how
to care for this type of child. These results have important implications
for recruiting, training, and providing support and services to foster
families (Cox, Orme, & Rhodes, 2003).
Research Study 2
This study examines the effect of parental visitations to child in
foster homes and feelings of disorientation within the child. A random
sample of 199 young adolescents placed in foster care for longer than 1
year was used for this study. Leathers examined how biological parents
often feel the need to visit their children in foster homes. This
situation creates a problem for the foster parents in that the child is
torn by feelings of allegiance between the two sets of parents. This makes
it harder for the foster parents to make an impression on the child. Due
to the feelings of confusion in the child, he is often negatively affected
psychologically, and instead of choosing one, or both sets of parents to
bond with, the child ends up rejecting both sets of parents (Leathers,
2003)
Research Study 3
This study examines how the parents deal with the transition process
of bringing a foster child into their home. Forty sets of foster parents,
were used for this study in order to predict the development of behavioral
problems in coordination with different transitional processes. The study
focused on how the foster parents organized the transition for the child:
the type of the environment in the house, attitudes, rules, and overall
procedures that help the child properly adjust to its new home. The study
found that foster parents need to be very careful with the child and that
each child is different, so there are no set standards for foster parents
to go by. The only solid way of figuring out how to help the child adjust
well is for the foster parent to introduce a lot of love, care, and most
importantly, respect for the child (Barber & Delfabbro, 2002)
Areas for further research
Discuss limitations of the literature
The amount of literature on this topic is not limited, but rather
spread out. There are many deviations to the original question of troubled
foster children such as how they become troubled, who is willing to care
for them, and how they should be treated. Overall, the literature actually
helped to define the topic and give it some distinct points that helped to
educate.
Areas where further research is needed
Some more research needs to be done on what foster parents should not
do and what they should do when certain problems arise. Although many
think about the hardships that foster children must go through, the
tremendous effort put forth by the foster parents often goes unnoticed.
They are the ones that change their lives in order to accommodate a child
in need. They must put a lot of work and money into creating a comfortable
environment for the child, and when the child leaves, the foster parents
will have developed an emotional attachment and will often find it hard to
give up the child. The foster parent also has the burden of raising the
child and teaching it important life lessons and figuring out how to
properly deal with a problematic child.
New ideas, projects being developed
Currently, there are no notable ideas or projects being developed that
have caught the attention of the country. Studies are constantly being
done on the numerous aspects of this problem and will be published in order
to help others become more educated on the topic, but as to my knowledge
there are no major projects being planned.
Summary of Review
This paper identified the problem of foster parents and the hard work
they must do in order to take on a foster child, the different tactics they
must use when dealing with the child, and the hardships they go through
when they must give the child away. Foster parents must be given their due
respect for even attempting to take on such a challenging task.
Further research questions
Through my research, I became curious as to what programs are
available to help foster parents learn how to care for foster children and
deal with the myriad of needs and situations that may arise. What are the
processes that an applying family must go through in order to care for a
foster child? What requirements must future foster parents fulfill before
taking on a child?
References
Barber, James G. & Delfabbro, Paul H. (2002, July). The plight of
disruptive children in out of home care. Children’s Services: Social
Policy, Research, & Practice, 5(3), 201-212. Retrieved February 29,
2004 from EBSCOhost database.
Breuninger, Harriet A. (2004, February). History and transition to
adoption. A meeting with my mother in Philadelphia, Pa.
Cox, Mary Ellen, Orme, John G., & Rhodes, Kathryn W. (2003). Willingness
to foster children with emotional or behavioral problems. Journal of
Social Service Research, 29(4), 23-51. Retrieved February 29, 2004
from EBSCOhost database. (2003 APA)
Http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2000/jun00leb.pdf
Leathers, Sonya J. (2003, January). Parental visiting, conflicting
allegiances, and emotional and behavioral problems among foster
children. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied
Family Studies, 52(1), 53-63. Retrieved February 29, 2004 from
EBSCOhost database.
Leathers, Sonya J. (2002, April). Foster children’s behavioral disturbance
and detachment from caregivers and community institutions. Children
and Youth Services Review, 24(4), 239-268. Retrieved February 29,
2004 from EBSCOhost database.
Puddy, Richard W. (2003, December). The development of parenting skills in
foster parent training. Children and Youth Services Review, 25(12),
987-1013. Retrieved February 29, 2004 from EBSCOhost database.
