Date of Award

6-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Janet C. Chang, Ph.D.

Abstract

Foster parents play a key role in providing care to children that have been removed from their families. The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify factors that contribute to foster parent turnover. A self-administered survey included 6 questions in each section of the following sections; interaction with agency staff, communication, and foster parent training. The study’s findings indicated that over 36% of the study’s participants reported that they were hesitant to discuss concerns with agency workers, and almost 45% were unsure of or did not believe that their worker was open and honest in providing relevant background information about a child before they were placed in their care. Over 84% of participants reported that training prepared them for children placed in their care, and the vast majority (87%) reported that the foster parent training they received provided them with knowledge and skills that are useful and realistic. Future research is needed to identify factors that lead to foster parent turnover as our results had no variation among the independent and dependent variables. Foster parents who have decided to cease fostering need to be included in future research and policy in order to identify additional factors which impact foster parent turnover.

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