Suchergebnisse

Summary More than 50% of children who depart foster care will experience a permanency placement after being involved in the child welfare system. The struggles faced by children and families during the transition into the home and community setting following foster care are well-known and often result in child welfare re-entry. Presently, little is known about preparation for permanency placements or appropriate supports to aide in this critical transition period. This includes understanding the perspectives of key stakeholders such as foster parents, who are essential to the transition. This descriptive study begins to address this need by examining the perspectives of foster parents (N = 60) on: (a) transition planning, (b) the importance of specific supports and services critical during to transition period, and (c) availability of supports during the transition period. Findings Results indicate that the most frequently addressed areas during transition planning process were family, medical/physical health, and education. Participants rated mental health and safety as the most important supports for youth. Most respondents indicated being unsure about the availability of nearly all supports. However, of those reported as available, safety and mental health supports were identified most often. Application Findings have practical application for service provision and transition planning for youth and their families departing foster care to permanency placements. Specifically, a continued focus on mental health and an increase in educational supports during the transition process. These are discussed in depth as well as implications for practice. Limitations and future research are also presented.

AbstractWhile much is known about youth struggles after reintegration into the home and community settings following stays in out‐of‐home care, little is known about appropriate supports for aftercare, or parent (see Note ) and youth perceptions during this critical transition period. This study seeks to begin to address these questions through surveys evaluating youth (n = 48) and parent (n = 48) perceptions of (i) transition planning, family preparedness and aftercare; (ii) youth preparedness for the transition period across major life domains (e.g. education, health care, relationships); and (iii) the importance of specific aftercare supports and services. Results indicate differences between youth and parents on perceptions of need for continued supports, likelihood of participation in aftercare programs; and youth preparedness for success in relationships, family and independent living domains. In contrast, similarities were found on youth and parent ratings regarding the importance of specific services and supports, with both groups indicating supports in education as most important and supports in mental health as least. Study limitations, future research and implications are provided.