One of the most detrimental experiences for a child’s
immediate and future well-being is to be moved from foster home to foster home,
or, in the case of failed reunifications, from foster home to biological
parents and back to a foster home. Changes
in placement affect the child’s sense of trust, feelings of abandonment, and
ability to attach to new caregivers. But
this movement, informally referred to as “foster cycling,” will occur for most
children in foster care.
According to childwelfare.gov, multiple placements are also
associated with higher delinquency rates in males; increased (actually, double
for most children) visits to emergency rooms because of the lack of continuous
medical care; and increased use of mental health services. Multiple placements lead to multiple schools
and every school change results in an estimated loss of 4 to 6 months of school
progress per school change. Over
one-third children who age out of foster care will have attended five or more
schools while in care. (See:
www.theatlantic.com/archive/2014/02/every-time-fosters-kids-move-they-lose-months-of-academic-progress/284134)
Among the reasons for foster cycling are foster parent
turnover, failed reunifications with biological parents, and unusual behaviors
from the child that the foster parents are not prepared to handle. Of all the people who move through the lives
of foster children, none are in a better position to affect multiple placements
than foster parents. That effort begins
by helping the child acclimate to his new home.
Annette Jones and her colleagues at the University of
Buffalo recently interviewed 35 certified, experienced foster parents to gain insight
as to what works to help foster children adjust to a new foster home. The foster parents described several
approaches to making their newly arrived foster child feel welcome. Briefly, these foster parents…
·
emphasize that the foster home is now also the
child’s home.
·
help the child make the home “their own” by
surrounding them with their own possessions.
·
commit themselves to handling whatever behavior
problems might arise during the initial adjustment period.
·
do not insist that the child refer to them as “mom”
and “dad.”
·
do not refer to their children as “foster”
children thus making it easier for the child to feel a part of the family.
·
set up a daily routine so the child knows what
to expect from day to day.
·
allow the child to freely express his loyalty to
his biological parents.
·
relieve parentified children from their
responsibilities to care for younger siblings, thus allowing them to return to their
“childhoods.”
Other efforts to reduce the foster cycling include excellent
foster parent training, confidence that family reunification will be
successful, and a quicker road to permanence with a family, whether family
reunification, adoption, or guardianship.
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