Contact: Nolan Rindfleisch, (614)436-7458
Written by Pam Mayfield, (614) 292-8457
STUDY FINDS SOCIAL WORKERS INFLUENCE FOSTER PARENT SATISFACTION
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Social service agencies need to do a much better job of supporting foster parents if they want to correct the shortfall of families willing to take in children, a new study suggests.
The study found that foster parents are more likely to continue that role if they feel they receive support and encouragement from the agency social workers with whom they work.
While the results are not surprising, they offer agencies a crucial step they can take to help stem the critical foster parent shortage, said Nolan Rindfleisch, co-director of the study and emeritus faculty in social work at the Ohio State University.
"Recruitment alone is not the answer to developing an adequate supply of foster parents," Rindfleisch said. "We need to do a better job of retaining current foster parents, and to do that we have to determine what distinguishes foster parents who continue to foster from those who stop." Rindfleisch said understanding what influences the satisfaction of existing foster parents -- the goal of this study -- may help social service agencies accomplish this goal.
The study involved a survey of 539 active foster parents in the eight largest urban counties in Ohio. Results showed that two of the four predictors of high satisfaction rested with the relationship between the foster parents and the social services agency through which they fostered. The data showed that higher levels of satisfaction were reported when the social workers showed approval for the foster parent doing well and when the social worker provided information when needed.
"When the social workers show support for the parents, when their attitude is encouraging and forthcoming, and when they share information about the child or the agency, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their role as a foster parent," explained Rindfleisch. "However, when the parents are kept in the dark and there is criticism about their handling of the child, or when the social worker is difficult to reach, the parents reported low satisfaction," he continued.
Other factors indicating high foster parent satisfaction included taking in a child who needs, and responds to, the parent's love; and the age of the foster mother --- older mothers are more likely to be satisfied. In this study, three out of five of the foster mothers were over 40.
Predictors of low satisfaction included not feeling competent to handle the psychological or behavioral issues with the foster child, dealing alone with agency red tape, lack of communication with the social worker, and having regrets about time invested in foster children.
The United States' foster care system is experiencing a national shortage of available foster care. Rindfleisch cites as the primary cause of this shortage "the increasing number of children in the 1980s and 1990s who are coming through the juvenile court system into foster care." The United States General Accounting Office reported that in 1985, 276,000 children were in foster care nationally. Six years later, that number had increased to 429,000.
The survey, completed in 1994, was funded through a small grant from the Ohio Board of Regents. Rindfleish's co- director on the project was Karen Harper, now of West Virginia University. The article was authored by Ramona Denby, now of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Rindfleisch and Gerald Bean of Columbus. The results were published in a recent issue of Child Abuse and Neglect.
In the sample, only 16 percent of the parents reported low levels of satisfaction, while 70 percent indicated they are likely to continue fostering. However, Rindfleisch explained that more extensive training for the foster parents and a higher level of ongoing support from the social service agency could help improve these numbers.
"Foster parents need to be better prepared to deal with the increasingly more difficult behaviors shown by foster children," he said. "Parents want to feel competent in handling the behavioral and psychological problems they face. In Ohio, only 12 hours of training are required to become a licensed foster parent, which is less than needed," said Rindfleisch.
He recommended that social agencies implement a sound support plan to enhance the relationship between the social workers and the parents. This could include using agency volunteers to more rapidly respond to parent requests, using student interns to assist parents, and promoting interaction and mutual support among each county's foster parents.
Rindfleisch noted that each of these recommendations would cost the agencies very little money, which is often the limiting factor in social care. "Most social service agencies want to provide optimal services to parents, and workers do attempt to be accessible. However, the reality of budgetary constraints sometime thwart the best of intentions, as do the size of caseloads and the complexity of child protection work itself."
However, Rindfleisch insisted that regardless of costs, changes to the fostering program must be adopted. He said a renewed commitment on the part of social workers to support foster parents and their efforts is just the first step to this goal. "Agency officials should concentrate their efforts towards developing staff persons who embrace a commitment toward maintaining working relationships with foster parents."
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