Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-35).

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-198).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisors: Edmund Emmer and Guy Manaster. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / Kinship foster care in South Africa, whereby orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) are being cared for by their biological relatives, is increasing. The significant increase in kinship foster care has a strong correlation to the high rates of HIV/AIDS-related deaths, resulting in a high prevalence of children who are vulnerable and orphaned. Social workers are mandated to seek alternative care placements for such OVC, prioritising kinship care as opposed to foster care with non-biological families. However, such kinship foster care, in which children are likely to be placed in the care of their grandparents, as common practice in South Africa, is not without challenges relating to family dynamics, especially when foster children become teenagers.

Objective: The Casey Foster Applicant Inventory-Applicant Version (CFAI-A) is a new standardized self-report measure designed to assess the potential to foster parent successfully. The CFAI-A is described, and results concerning its psychometric properties are presented. Method: Data from a sample of 304 foster mothers from 35 states are analyzed. Results: Six CFAI-A subscales were identified, and internal consistency reliability for these subscales ranged from.64 to.95. The construct validity of all but one of these subscales is promising. Conclusions: The CFAI-A shows promise for use in research and practice, where it might be used to improve decisions about how to support, monitor, and retain foster families and to match, place, and maintain foster children with foster families.

Children with disabilities represent a significant and increasing proportion of children in foster care. In a national sample of 304 foster mothers we identified two groups of mothers, one willing to foster children with any type of disability except HIV/AIDS (51%) (Unconditional mothers), and a second group who were more selective (49%) (Selective mothers). Unconditional mothers fostered longer, fostered more children, and had more foster children in their homes.

Many foster parents serve only briefly, and foster and adopt few children. Anecdotal reports suggest that a small percentage of foster parents provide a disproportionate amount of care; however, we know virtually nothing about these parents. This study applied the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80-20 rule or Vital Few, as a framework to conceptualize these foster parents. Using latent class analysis, two classes of mothers were identified: one accounted for 21% of mothers and the other 79%. We refer to the former as the Vital Few and the latter as the Useful Many. Vital Few mothers fostered 73% of foster children - 10 times more than Useful Many mothers although only fostering three times longer. They adopted twice as many foster children while experiencing half the yearly rate of placement disruptions. Vital Few mothers were less likely to work outside the home, had better parenting attitudes, more stable home environments, more time to foster, and more professional support for fostering, but less support from kin. Further, they were as competent as the Useful Many on numerous other psychosocial measures. Understanding characteristics of these resilient Vital Few can inform recruitment and retention efforts and offer realistic expectations of foster parents.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

by Leung Tung So Mei, Emily. / Thesis (M.S.W.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 208-214.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries