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Foster Parents' Role in Supporting Permanency

Increasingly, foster parents are seen as key players in the team working to achieve permanency for children in foster care. Foster parents may work with birth parents and support reunification efforts. They also may consider adopting the children in their care if the children cannot return home. As the children's primary caretakers, foster parents can have significant roles in carrying out the tasks in the permanency plan.

Crossing Bridges and Fostering Change: Foster Parents Speak
New York State Citizens' Coalition for Children (2004)
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A discussion with foster parents about their role in promoting family reunification for the children in their care, including strategies for developing relationships with birth parents, visitation, and transitions from foster care to reunification.

Family/Child Visiting
National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning
A collection of reports, curricula, and other resources relevant to visiting between children and birth families.

Foster Parents Working with Birth Parents
Fahlberg (2003)
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Designed for social workers, foster parents, and birth parents, this DVD presents a panel discussion involving two experienced foster parents who have cared for more than 1,600 children in their home.

Relationship Between Public Child Welfare Workers, Resource Families and Birth Families: Preventing the Triangulation of the Triangle of Support (PDF - 690 KB)
Lutz (2005)
Emphasizes the need for resource parents, birth parents, and child welfare staff to work cooperatively to support children in foster care and ultimately improve child permanency outcomes.

Toolbox No. 2: Expanding the Role of Foster Parents in Achieving Permanency
Child Welfare League of America (2001)
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Examines the outcome of motivating child welfare agencies to rely more heavily on foster parents to achieve permanency goals for children, and provides suggestions for supporting foster parents

	Related Information Gateway Topics Out-of-home care: Resource families

Updated on December 7, 2007