Due to competing claims in the literature regarding the relationship between self-esteem and being ‘looked-after’, and the implicated ethical and clinical issues, a systematic review of the literature was carried out. Ten articles met inclusion criteria for review. The majority of studies made a limited contribution to the review due to poor study quality, and the ethical, clinical and research implications of this are discussed. In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that young people in care do not want to be made to feel different to others but there appears to be an absence of empirical research confirming this. Interviews were carried out with nine 12-16 year olds currently residing in foster care to explore their representations of ‘feeling the same or feeling different’. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) guided how data was analysed, and resulting super-ordinate themes were identified. The research paper reports on one of these themes: ‘difference’, which is explored through four sub-ordinate themes. These relate to participants not wanting others to know they were in care, feeling alienated due to their foster care status, perceiving that others viewed them differently and, at times, noticing differences themselves. Findings are considered in relation to the extant literature on foster care and identity development and practice and research implications are discussed. A second super-ordinate theme: ‘making sense’ is presented in the ‘extended results’ which is explored through five subordinate themes. Representations involved participants making sense of why their birth parents could not care for them, conflicting feelings towards both birth parents and foster parents, and a desire to feel a sense of agency in their lives.

This study gives attention to the effects of instability of placement, emotional disturbances, and at-risk behaviors on the academic performance of adolescents in foster care, specifically males. The purpose of this study was to examine the academic success of male adolescents in foster care and environmental influences that prevent many children from excelling. Data were extracted and analyzed (Chi-Square) from 50 of200 case files (active and discharged). The sample represented male residents (12 to 18 years of age) of a privately run, state licensed residential group home in Georgia. Academic performance was measured by grade point average. Twenty-eight percent did not function on grade level while 72% functioned on grade level. There was no statistical significance between academic achievement and instability of placement (X2= .577, p = .448), emotional disturbances(X2= .759, p = -.348), aggressive/violent behavior (X2= .020, p = .887), and sexual activity (X2=.732, p = .392). However, there was statistical significance found between academic achievement and substance use (X2= 4.095, p = .043). An additional key finding in this study was 74% of the adolescents had a mental health diagnosis but had only been in foster care less than one year. Therefore, additional research should be conducted to determine the preexisting conditions adolescents experience before entering foster care. The findings from this study can perhaps encourage the child welfare community to investigate other variables that may impact the academic achievement of adolescents in foster care.

The Black community within the foster care system has received minimal empirical attention as it pertains to the impact of media intake, caregiver navigation and levels of self-perceptions. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the correlations between these variables. The nonrandom snowball sampling method was used to recruit 18 Black women, who were eighteen years old or older and former foster youth, to participate in a self-administered online survey. The nonparametric test, Spearman's Rho, was chosen to analyze both research questions due to the sample size violating a Pearson's Correlation assumption. The relationship between media intake and levels of self-perceptions had a p value of .394, whereas, the relationship between caregiver navigation and levels of self-perceptions had a p value of .109. Therefore, the findings for research question one revealed that there were no correlations between levels of self-perceptions and media intake. Similarly, research question two identified no significant relationships among the levels of self-perceptions and caregiver navigation. This study highlights the importance for additional research, as Black foster care youth are an underserved population with many unidentified needs; this includes that of parental guidance to heighten self-perceptions and buffer the potentially negative impact of the media.

The aim of the thesis was to have informations about a contemporary system of foster care of children, who can't live in their biological families, and find defects of the contemporary and a upcoming system. The theoretical part of the thesis was focused on a biological and foster families, the history of the institutional care and it's also about all the kinds of the foster care. The thesis gave a list of child care options, but also a historical evolution of the care and the failings of the contemporary system. There are a lot of the failings, very important is a financial deficiency, an inflexibility of the system, no good care of a biological family and a deficiency of foster parents.

This study used the conceptual framework of emerging adulthood to explore the following question: “What are the post-care housing experiences of youths who have transitioned from care through the Independent Living with Supports (ILS) program offered by MacDonald Youth Services (MYS)?” In order to answer the research question, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten youths who had aged out of care through the ILS program. Six service providers who worked with youth in and from care in various capacities and from various agencies were also interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyze the interview data. The youths’ housing experiences were characterized by multiple moves post-care, including homelessness in the case of seven youth participants. These findings mirror the literature. In addition, none of the youth participants indicated they were successfully connected to formal supports prior to leaving care... / May 2016

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Most social assistance programmes have exit strategies in place which require beneficiaries to end their participation in the programme either on an involuntary or voluntary basis. This can occur when the socioeconomic circumstances of the recipients have improved so they accomplish programme objectives and no longer need programme benefits (World Bank, 2000). Despite this ideal of being able to exit the grant system it seems that the withdrawal of the foster care grant can erode quality of life, particularly in circumstances where the foster parents do not have exit plans put in place. The aim of the study was to explore the exit plans of the recipients of the foster care grant in Soweto and the challenges they face in coming up with these plans. The study adopted a qualitative approach and it was exploratory in nature. Ten foster parents and four key informants from the Department of Social Development were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using two separate semi-structured interview schedules for participants and key informants. The data gathered was then analysed using thematic content analysis. The results of the study revealed that there was little knowledge and understanding about the foster care grant and what it seeks to do. The study also revealed that there were no exit plans put in place by foster parents. These results of the study found that the participants had very little knowledge of what an exit strategy was and they did not have set exit plans to exit the grant. Other findings indicated that there was no support for participants from their social workers in terms of the sharing of information and the development of exit plans. This study will thus contribute to the discourse on social assistance in general and foster care grants in particular. Furthermore, it will help to sensitise social workers on the need for exit plans for the recipients of foster grants.

ABSTRACT This is a qualitative study that was conducted in conjunction with San Bernardino County to explore the experiences of you adults in Extended Foster Care. Extended Foster Care is an extension of foster care services offered from age 18 to 21 as a result of the passing of Assembly Bill 12. This study focuses specifically on the experiences of young adults deemed “successful” based upon their enrollment in school, work status, and overall plans for their future. The data was collected through telephone and face-to-face interviews with young adults currently involved with Extended Foster Care in San Bernardino County. The findings of this study indicated that successful young adults tend to demonstrate some level of resiliency and have an overall positive outlook, are self-motivated, have better relationships with their social workers, an overall good understanding of the program and services offered, stable supports, and all participants became involved in EFC immediately following regular foster care. Young adults also expressed a desire for more assistance in gaining work experience. The strengths of this study include the use of open ended questions and triangulation of analyzing data. Limitations of this study include participant self-selection bias and the briefness of the interview that may have not allowed for sufficient time for young adults to reflect intensely on their experiences. Recommendations for future social work policy, practice, and research based on the findings of this study include extending foster care services beyond age twenty-one, the importance of social workers roles in young adult clients’ lives, and the need for continued, more intensive research.

There has been extensive, mostly negative research on the outcomes of foster care youth. Due to the abundance of this research, Extended Foster Care (EFC) was created to help to provide additional resources and support to young adults in foster care until age 21. This is a fairly new program, therefore little research has been completed. One of the negative outcomes of foster youth is the high pregnancy and parenting rates. The purpose of this study is to be able to understand the knowledge and use of family planning services among the young adults participating in EFC. Understanding this information will help to improve services provided by the social workers who work with this population. This research used a quantitative questionnaire. The questionnaire was mailed to the young adults participating in EFC in San Bernardino County. A statistical analysis was completed using SPSS version 21. The study’s findings showed that on average, EFC participants have a good understanding of safe-sex practices but do not usually use safe-sex methods or go to family planning service organizations. The study also found that participant demographics do not have a correlation to their knowledge or use of family planning services, nor to the number of pregnancies or live births. However, there is a negative correlation between a participant's knowledge score and if they have children in their custody. Finally, 47% of participants reported being informed about family planning service organizations by their Social Worker.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the Extended Foster Care (EFC) Program in meeting the needs of emancipating foster youth by assisting them in becoming self-sufficient prior to emancipating out of the foster care system. The research method used for this study was a quantitative study design, using secondary data obtained from the County of San Bernardino, to assess the level of independent living skills foster youth obtain while participating in the program. The information was gathered on youth who were currently participating in the extended foster care program. The results of this study were inconclusive. Although the data showed that youth in the EFC program did seem better prepared to emancipate than those compare to previous research studies, the data sample was small, and more research is needed to determine if Extended Foster care is indeed effective.