Introduction
In the child welfare system, foster homes play a vital role by providing a resource helping to support a child's safety, well-being and permanency (Geiger, Hayes, & Lietz, 2013). Child welfare agencies are charged with providing adequate foster homes for children placed in their care to ensure access to the appropriate services and skills to meet their needs (Chipungu & Bent-Goodley, 2004). The majority of children who enter the foster care system are placed in foster family homes (Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2002; USDHHS, 2016). As of the Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, there were 427,910 children in foster care, with 45% of these children living in non-relative foster family homes, and the demand for foster family homes grew from prior years (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2016).
Because foster parents are a crucial factor in delivering services and care to foster children, a major concern for child welfare agencies is how to recruit and maintain an adequate supply of foster homes (Pasztor, Hollinger, Inkelas, & Halfon, 2006). Due to the intricacy of the foster children's physical, behavioral and emotional needs, many foster parents discontinue their foster care license within the first year (Chipungu & Bent-Goodley, 2004). Nationally, there has been a serious decline in foster home availability creating a great need for resource homes that appropriately address the children's needs and safety, permanency and well-being goals (USDHHS, 2002). This need has challenged child welfare agencies to re-examine the reasons why individuals become foster parents, what factors influence the recruitment and retention of foster parents, and the reasons foster parents decide to discontinue fostering (Chipungu & Bent-Goodley, 2004). In addition, assessing the length of time of fostering may lead to implications for recruitment, retention, and supports provided to foster parents. The main objective of this study is to examine factors associated with length of foster parenting. This study will contribute to developing implications for successful recruitment and retention policies and practices for foster parents.
Highlights
- This study examined predictors of length of foster parenting duration.
- Survival analysis using bivariate Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models was conducted.
- Age, number of children fostered, marital status, race, and education significantly impacted duration of fostering.
- Implications identified effective foster parent recruitment and retention practices with regard to duration of fostering.