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Children in America’s foster care system represent one of the nation’s most vulnerable populations of students. The life outcomes of these children can be tragic, with disproportionate numbers experiencing prison, homelessness, non-marital parenthood, and other poor life outcomes. Many of these children have suffered trauma before and after they were placed in care, and many have special medical, emotional, and social needs. Of all the difficulties that foster children experience, however, low academic achievement may have the most detrimental consequences for their futures. The purpose of this study is to explore the commonalities of the 2-3% of former foster children who graduate from college despite the odds against them. By delving into the experiences of this population, this study hopes to contribute to the research by improving our understanding of academically successful foster care alumni, particularly by studying the social and educational support systems that abetted the success. Because a majority of foster care alumni remain on some form of public assistance throughout the course of their lives, any reduction of that number would be a step in the right direction. By studying the tiny minority that successfully graduates from college, we can gain insight into how this group managed to overcome the barriers that prevented the other 97% of this group from graduating from college. The findings could have implications ranging from K-12 educational support systems in and out of schools, higher education policy decisions, and foster care program design. / text

This dissertation is about the ways David Foster Wallace's writing expresses Buddhist philosophy. Because Buddhism is a vast subject, sometimes I conflate several traditional "Buddhisms" into a common-denominator form, while other times I investigate Wallace's work through Zen Buddhism specifically. By close-reading his work in chronological order--starting with The Broom of the System, Girl With Curious Hair, "The Empty Plenum," Infinite Jest, "Roger Federer as Religious Experience," "The Suffering Channel," and The Pale King--I analyze the ways in which Wallace's writing focused on questions of the self-awareness of linguistic expression, the contemporary causes of addiction and suffering and their implied remedy, the ethical and moral implications of living out of self-consciousness, the principles of mutual causality, "co-arising" and ecological well-being, and the discernment of multiple forms of awareness, all of which are foundational concerns shared with Buddhist philosophy. / text

The purpose of this study is to identify satisfaction levels and retention intention of Chinese foster parents in Hong Kong. Foster parents are one of the major caregivers of children in out-of-home care services. However, in recent years, there has been a decreasing number of foster parents. The aim of the study is to discover what aspects foster parents value in fostering, and in what way they perceive value fulfillment through fostering and what their wants are. Finally, the relationship between foster parenthood satisfaction and foster parent retention is examined. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are applied in this study. The quantitative research data was collected with the aid of a questionnaire. 666 questionnaires were sent out to current foster parents giving Ordinary Foster Care service and 150 questionnaires were sent to deregistered foster parents who had quit since 2009; and these questionnaires were sent out through the Social Welfare Department of Hong Kong SAR Government. 200 responses were received from the former and 15 from the latter. The response rate was 30.03%and 10%respectively. The qualitative research data comprised13 in-depth interviews with three current foster parents joining the service in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s respectively, along with13 deregistered foster parents from 10 families. The results from analyzing questionnaire data collected from the current foster parents reveal that foster parent retention can be explained through foster parenthood satisfaction (.839). It is found that foster parenthood satisfaction can be explained by foster parents’ perception regarding what they gained as they went through fostering (.513). The results indicate that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute to foster parenthood satisfaction. The in-depth interviews reveal that foster parents are happy when they can see positive changes and development in children under their care. All 16 interviewed respondents stated that foster care worker support was important to them, particularly to those looking after special needs children. The author recommends that foster care agencies review their practices and find ways to facilitate foster parents to achieve what they value. It is recommended that the foster home ownership system be evaluated so that foster care agencies can try to build up a stable relationship with foster parents to strengthen their support. It is also recommended that the need for developing different types of foster care apart from ordinary service be reviewed as a method of relieving foster parent shortage. In addition, further research is recommended to be carried out into understanding the different wants of foster parents at different stages of their fostering experience. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Family placement or foster care (as it is more commonly known) is now the most widely used form of care forlooked after children in the UK, howeverthere is relatively little research evidence on any aspect of foster care (Berridge, 1997). A commonly held view of social care professionals is that foster care can provide a beneficial experience for foster children and families (Ruegger and Rayfield, 1999) and is more likely than alternative forms of substitute care to meet individual needs (Corrick, 1999). The aim of this study was to examine foster families' experiences of caring for children particularly in respect of the management of any emotional and behavioural difficulties children who are fostered may experience. Anecdotal evidence from foster carers and social workers suggests that children who are looked after by local authorities present a wider range of needs than previously and that foster carers are now facing a more challenging task (Ruegger and Rayfield, 1999). The study sets out to investigate: the range of problems children are presenting in foster care; the way in which carers manage children's difficulties; the impact looking after children has, if any, on foster families; the ways in which the service can be improved to help children and foster families manage difficulties; and the context in which foster families are caring for children. The research took a multi-method approach which encompassed the collection of quantitative data in order to provide an overview of foster carers' experiences and qualitative data which provided an opportunity to study the dynamics of foster care in more depth. The quantitative data was collected via a postal questionnaire to all the foster carers in one local authority and two unitary authorities (872 carers in total). The questionnaire asked carers about children's behaviour and needs and also about their views on support, training and planning in order to ascertain information from a broad range of carers about what would improve their ability to look after children. A short questionnaire was also sent to carers' children asking them to draw or write about their experiences of fostering. This provided information about their experiences of looking after foster children and illustrated how the behaviour of foster children can effect them. The qualitative data involved case studies of 10 placements of 13 children and young people who had recently moved into a new foster family. The case studies provided in-depth information about what it is like for a foster family to have new children move into their homes and what types and range of difficulties and needs the foster children were experiencing. The case studies were primarily about the foster families' perceptions and experiences but interviews were also carried out with the child's social worker and the children themselves (where appropriate) both at the beginning of the placement and 6 months later. Family placement social workers were consulted by means of a short questionnaire. The postal questionnaire to foster carers discovered that families were looking after children with a wide range of difficult to manage behaviours and needs. The behaviour of foster children and the impact of this on carers' own families was one of the main reasons foster carers cited for thinking of giving up fostering. In addition foster families reported frustration with and lack of support from social services. The training that carers most frequently asked for was on behaviour management. The responses from foster carers' own children illustrate the way in which the behaviour of foster children can impact upon their lives. The case studies highlighted the types of emotional and behavioural difficulties children in foster care may display. Foster carers were shown to be central in helping children overcome these problems. The reasons for placements breaking down or being close to breakdown were complex and individual, yet children's behaviour was a key factor in all of these cases. Carers struggled to cope with children's behaviour and neither carers or children were provided with the support they needed in six out of ten cases.

Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Attachment Theory and its practical application have re-emerged in recent years as a critical factor in understanding and determining the quality of relationships between the primary caregiver and the child. The reasons for disruptions in foster care placements have also been linked to problems with attachment. Foster care, in turn, has also become more prominent as a placement option in South Africa as we try to deal with the effect of HIV and AIDS on our communities. It would seem that the latest development in the application of Attachment Theory has specific value in assessing, developing and supervising the relationships in out-of-home care such as foster care placements. In this study the knowledge and application of some of the theoretical components and Attachment Theory of the social workers of Child Welfare Tshwane and their perceptions of their in-practice use thereof were explored. The results suggest that although the social workers knew that the quality of the relationship between the foster parents and the child is predictive of the success of the placement, they lacked the basic knowledge and skill to effectively attend to the attachment between foster parent and child. It seemed that they took more of a common sense approach towards understanding and addressing the attachment between the foster parent and the child. The research indicated that they do not have a sufficient grounding in Attachment Theory to be able to provide effective intervention regarding attachment-based concerns within the foster care context. The results indicate that there is a need to better equip social workers to deal with attachment-related issues they would routinely encounter when doing foster care supervision. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.App.Psych.) -- University of Adelaide, Department of Psychology, 1995.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Erlangen.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Southern California, 1963. / Microfilm copy (positive) of typescript. Bibliography: p. 335-355.