177,926 research outputs found
Views of children and young people in foster care survey: education
No full textThis paper explores the educational experiences of children and young people living in foster care in Queensland. Findings are drawn from the responses of 845 children and 1180 young people to the 2011 Views of Children and Young People in Foster Care survey, which is a rich source of information about children’s and young people’s attitudes towards and perceptions of their own education. Findings relate to educational status, key markers of educational disadvantage including suspensions and exclusions, and specific problems children and young people experience at school, as well as children’s and young people’s enjoyment of school and aspirations for the future. Information about educational support, including Educational Support Plans and support provided by Child Safety Officers and Community Visitors are also presented. Where relevant, comparisons are made between the 2011 survey results and prior surveys conducted in 2006, 2007 and 2009. Relationships between key educational measures as well as relationships to other important measures of health and placement stability are also explored.
The findings suggest that children and young people continue to experience educational disadvantage, including high rates of suspension and exclusion and a range of problems at school including problems with schoolwork, bullying and behaviour and that these difficulties can be exacerbated by the child protection system, for example, through placement instability. However, there are reasons for optimism. Children and young people are overwhelmingly likely to report that they enjoy school, expect to complete Year 12 and that their teachers generally like their schoolwork. Furthermore, over time, the proportions of young people reporting that they have an Educational Support Plan have grown, and, importantly, they are more likely to report that these plans are helpful. Analyses in relation to a number of educational variables reveal that young people with a plan they consider to be helpful fare better. Children and young people were also positive about the important role that CSOs and CVs are able to play in supporting their education.
While educational disadvantage is an enduring problem, the survey findings provide evidence of progress in key areas and suggestions for how continued improvements may be made
Appraisal report of Bandon State Natural Area, Coos County, Oregon
No full textThis archived document is maintained by the Oregon State Library as part of the Oregon Documents Depository Program. It is for informational purposes and may not be suitable for legal purposes.Title from PDF cover (viewed on December 5, 2013)"Date of valuation: April 7, 2011."Mode of access: Internet from the Oregon Government Publications Collection
Examining Postsecondary Education Perceptions of Former Foster Care Youth
No full textNationally, youth with experiences in the foster care system are enrolling and graduating from
postsecondary education institutions at rates that are far behind their non-foster peers, with less
than 10% earning associate’s degrees or higher (Rios & Rocco, 2014; Wolanin, 2005). This study examines the perceptions of former foster care youth to gain a deeper understanding of how they perceive the role of postsecondary education, as well as their potential to succeed. Foster care youth are the most important stakeholder in terms of their care, yet their voice is the least present in the existing literature.
The qualitative design of the study merges Emerging Adulthood Theory (Arnett 2000,2007) and the concept of social capital (Coleman, 1988) to frame the priorities of older foster care youth as they prepare to transition out of the foster care system. Study participants included
eight former foster care youth, ages 18-21. Hermeneutic phenomenology is the methodological approach utilized to underscore commonalities between the lived experiences of the study participants, as well as how they discern the significance of postsecondary education. Data was collected through in-depth, in-person, semi-structured interviews and coded for themes.
Major findings illustrate: (1) complex family dynamics that greatly influence the lived experiences of foster care youth; (2) long-term mental, emotional, and behavioral health effects of multiple transitions and placements; (3) deteriorating outlook on school based upon K-12 educational experiences after entering foster care; (4) unclear pathways, or general disinterest, in
postsecondary education immediately upon exiting the foster care system; and (5) priorities, as well as self-defining success, after leaving foster care. The theoretical, research and practical implications encourage care providers and educators to reconsider the traditional approaches that have been utilized when working with and supporting foster care youth
Living with foster siblings: the adjustment of adolescent sons and daughters in families who foster.
No full textThis paper aims to review how fostering affects the adjustment of adolescent sons and daughters in families who foster. The research is presented within a developmental psychopathology framework, addressing individual, parent-child and sibling factors that affect adolescents' adjustment. These factors are initially discussed in the context of 'normative' families and stepfamilies, as a prelude for understanding the adjustment of adolescents in reconstituted foster families. Secondly, fifteen studies were reviewed on birth children in families who foster. The literature specifically on adolescents in families who foster is scarce and most of the studies reviewed sampled birth children of all ages. Findings suggest that fostering affects the adjustment of birth children both positively and negatively. Birth children are more caring and mature as a result of fostering, but the relationship with their parents seems to change, resulting in less quality time. Finally, suggestions are made for future research, and clinical implications arising from the literature are discussed
Authors' attitudes to, and awareness and use of, a university institutional repository.
No full textThis article reports the findings of an author study at Cranfield University. The study investigated authors' publishing behaviours, attitudes, concerns, and their awareness and use of their institutional repository (IR), Cranfield QUEprints. The findings suggest that despite a reasonable amount of advocacy many authors had not heard of QUEprints and were not aware of its purpose. Once explained, all authors saw at least one benefit to depositing a copy of their work to QUEprints, but many were unsure how to deposit, preferring to depend on the Library to do the work. The authors voiced few concerns or conditions regarding the inclusion of their work in QUEprints, but felt that it would be an extra, inconvenient step in their workload. This research led to the development of the Embed Project which is investigating how to embed the IR into the research process and thereby encourage more authors to deposit their work
Does emotional resilience enhance foster placement stability? A qualitative investigation.
No full textFrequent changes of foster placement are known to have a detrimental effect on the long-term well-being of cared for children. Foster carers who take on children with challenging behaviours have to draw on resources, both internal and external, to help them build and maintain a relationship with the child that will last. Not all foster carers are successful in this regard. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the role that the emotional resilience of foster carers plays in promoting placement stability.
Seven foster carers, who had a track-record of stable placements (according to national criteria) with children exhibiting challenging behaviours, were recruited from a Local Authority in the North East of England. They attended a focus group and one-to-one interview. Verbatim transcripts were subjected to an inductive grounded theory analysis.
Three potential underlying constructs, namely emotional resilience, interpersonal characteristics and external factors, were found to emerge from the data and identified as likely to influence foster placement outcomes. These data provide a springboard for further quantitative investigation with the potential to screen prospective carers to identify those best suited to ‘difficult’ placements in order to maximise success for the benefit of all concerned
The Experience of Being a Foster Parent in Non-Kinship Placements: Emotional and Psychological Impacts
No full textDue to previous life experiences, children who enter the foster care system have been significantly impacted in numerous ways; and the individuals who act as their caregivers may encounter behavioral challenges as they seek to address the result of what years of abuse and trauma have created. However, as placements progress over time, the foster child may also become an integrated member of the foster family and thus attachments are formed. As a result, foster parents may experience the significant impacts of managing severe and challenging behaviors as well as breaking strong attachments with the foster child who has largely become family. Therefore, the intent of this research study was to gauge how managing behavioral challenges and forming attachments with foster children may impact the families in non-kinship placements, emotionally as well as psychologically. Furthermore, it was important to determine if these impacts additionally served as deterrents for foster families to continue their placements. The process of data collection consisted of interviews conducted with foster parents individually as well as a couple when applicable, with a previously established interview protocol serving as a guiding framework. The interviews were then transcribed and assessed for emerging themes, commonalities as well as discrepancies. Lastly, the psychological and emotional impacts of managing behavioral challenges and forming attachments were identified and discussed. As the findings indicate, despite their intensity, these impacts did not serve to deter participants from continuing their role as foster parents. Overall, the findings of the present study were largely consistent with previously cited research and provided additional implications as well as recommendations for future policy and practice
Foster care in context: an evaluation of the foster care communication and recruitment strategy
No full textThis report makes important recommendations to ensure the ongoing efficiency and effectiveness of Victorian approaches to foster care publicity and recruitment. It also makes a significant contribution to the challenge of ensuring that foster care remains a sustainable option for the placement of children who cannot live at home.
Further it makes important recommendations to ensure that recruitment processes also meet the needs of potential foster carers. 
What is work? Insights from the evolution of state foster care
No full textThis article focuses on state foster care as a case study in the (re)configuration and negotiation of boundaries between work and non-work. Foster care can be seen as occupying a liminal position between the domains of ‘work’ and ‘family’, requiring management of the tensions presumed to exist between competing value systems. Through a review of research and policy developments, the relevant boundary issues are contextualized and explored, drawing examples from areas such as remuneration, taxation and benefits, employment status, work-life balance and the labour process. It is argued that while foster care shares the hybridity and ensuing tensions of care work more generally, the spatial and temporal integration of work and family and the high level of state regulation give them a particular intensity. In turn, this offers great potential for the study of work/non-work boundaries. Possible research avenues are set ou
Supporting the education of youth in foster care during the pandemic: foster parent and agency perspectives
No full textFoster youth are at risk of poorer educational outcomes than their peers; foster youth take longer to graduate from secondary education, are less likely to obtain a high school diploma and less than 10% obtain a college diploma. Moreover, schools are a primary site for mental health services and counseling for this group of youth. The COVID-19 pandemic and educational closures has the potential to negatively impact educational and social gains for these youth, yet we know very little about how they have been impacted. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the educational/mental health and social developmental impact of the COVID-required changes in K-12 education (remote learning, fewer or no in-class sessions, no in-school supports and mental health services including IEPs) from the perspective of foster parents who are the primary education support in the home and from foster parent agencies. A second purpose is to obtain foster parent perception of how impactful the initial resources provided through the schools and the foster parent agencies have been for supporting foster parents and what else may be needed to continue to support youth learning at home. We will use a client-participatory, mixed methods approach which includes focus groups and surveys well as a systematic review of educational best practices and implementation. By involving foster parents and agency staff in creating the tools and collaborating on interpretation and writing, we will a have a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding and better products to share with the community. Approximately 150 foster parents from this region will be surveyed and foster-care agency staff will participate in focus groups. A systematic review will be conducted on evidence-based educational practices for vulnerable K-12 populations. The products will include one to two manuscripts published in a child-welfare focused journal or education journal; (2) feedback in the form of a brief graphic report to all the agencies who assisted or worked with us (3) a series of two to three data and policy briefs
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