Foster Families: A Systematic Review of Intention and Retention Factors

Abstract

Background: Compared to residential care, family foster care is the preferable type of alternative care for neglected or abused children as it provides a familiar context that supports children's developmental needs.New foster families are needed to care for these children. Objective: This systematic review aims to provide a critical analysis of the literature, identifying factors that explain the intention to become and to continue as a foster family. This review was performed following the PRISMA checklist and guidelines, through a search conducted in the following databases (no restrictions were made): PsycArticles, PsycInfo, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Academic Search Complete, ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science. Study eligibility: The review includes empirical quantitative and/or qualitative studies in English, Portuguese and Spanish, with community and/or foster parents' samples and explores the factors for becoming and/or retention foster parents. Results: Forty-nine studies were included. The results revealed that the intention to become a foster parent is largely influenced by motivational factors, personal and family characteristics, individual values and beliefs, social context influences, and perceived familiarity with the child protection system. The retention of foster families is closely related to factors within the child protection system, personal or family characteristics, foster child characteristics, and placement challenges. The relationship with agencies and professional support stands out as the most important factors. Limitations and Implications: This review did not include studies focused on children with specific needs, and future research should consider the particular challenges of fostering this group. Practice implications of these findings for the recruitment, selection, and retention of foster families will be discussed.

The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee—Evidence-Based Recommendations for Alternative Care

“…These authors [ 74 ] analysing several studies, found that retention of foster families is closely related to factors within the child protection system, such as foster child characteristics; personal or family characteristics; and placement challenges, as well as relationship with services and professional support, in line with Portuguese studies, e.g., Diogo and Branco [ 75 ]. It is highlighted that not only close and warm relationships between professionals and foster families are relevant to helping them adequately deal with diverse challenges, but also specific training is needed—on empathic relationships to prevent significant problems between foster families and services, and on educational strategies, expectations of the foster child and Foster Care system, and promoting positive attitudes towards the foster child’s family and their life history [ 74 ].…”

“…For developing a foster care system, it is central to increase the number of foster families towards both strategies, recruiting new families as well as retaining the experienced families [ 37 ]. A systematic review [ 74 ] on recruitment and retention found that the intention to become a foster parent is largely influenced by motivational factors; personal and family characteristics; individual values and beliefs; social context influences; and perceived familiarity with the child protection system. Therefore, it suggests that recruitment campaigns should emphasize the intrinsic motivational factors and the resources needed to provide quality; appeal to moral responsibility, as well as to the difference that individuals could make in children’s lives; and disseminate accurate information (considering adequate knowledge about foster care is relevant in decisions to foster).…”

The New Kälvesten Method for the Assessment of Foster Parent Suitability in Sweden: Causes for Concern

“…Somewhere between 30% (Ofsted, 2021) and 56% (Gibbs & Wildfire, 2007) of foster carers deregister within two years after approval. Two systematic reviews (Gouveia, Magalhães, & Pinto, 2021;Hanlon, Simon, Day, Vanderwill, Kim, & Dallimore, 2021) on the causes have both identified carers' relationship to professionals as one of the most important retention factors. Conflicts and communication difficulties with social workers (Gouveia et al, 2021) and lack of respect, emotional support, and sympathy (Hanlon et al, 2021) were among the most prominent factors reported to affect carers' willingness to continue fostering.…”

“…Two systematic reviews (Gouveia, Magalhães, & Pinto, 2021;Hanlon, Simon, Day, Vanderwill, Kim, & Dallimore, 2021) on the causes have both identified carers' relationship to professionals as one of the most important retention factors. Conflicts and communication difficulties with social workers (Gouveia et al, 2021) and lack of respect, emotional support, and sympathy (Hanlon et al, 2021) were among the most prominent factors reported to affect carers' willingness to continue fostering. The relationship between carer and professionals begin during the investigative process and it could easily be argued that unethical interview conduct may further complicate the relationship and inflame potential conflicts.…”

Evaluation of a Trauma-Informed Parenting Program for Resource Parents

“…The recruitment and retention of resource parents are key factors in the delivery of quality foster care services [ 11 , 12 ]. Factors related to resource parent retention can be conceptualized at the levels of the child welfare system (e.g., resource parent retention is supported when there is sufficient training and ongoing communication with the child welfare practitioner), resource parent (e.g., social support, confidence, and sense of competence), and youth (e.g., positive youth-caregiver relationship, positive mental health) [ 11 , 13 , 14 ].…”