Parenting Resources for Foster Parents

Although all parents need support and guidance, foster parents and families face unique challenges when caring for foster children and youth in their homes. The resources in this section provide information on parenting children in foster care, outline ideas for working with the permanency team, and offer helpful links for additional support.

Affirming and Nurturing Racial Identity and Equality in Children [Webinar]
Edwards & Hudson (2020)
Youth Law Center
Explores messages and actions that caregivers could use to assist children in exploring and appreciating their own racial identity as well as adopting an antiracist worldview. 

10 Resources for Foster Parents
Annie E. Casey Foundation (2018)
Provides 10 resources for foster parents and families to help them parent children in their care and navigate the child welfare system. Resources include a blog post on keeping siblings together, a website for raising grandchildren, a magazine written by parents who have experienced the child welfare system, and more. 

Behavioral Management for Adolescents in Child Welfare
California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare
Reviews and rates programs that help manage the behavior of adolescents involved with child welfare for evidence-based practices. Behaviors targeted include general disruptive behaviors (e.g., arguing and back talk), delinquent behaviors (e.g., petty theft and vandalism), truancy, and running away from out-of-home placements.

Child Discipline Techniques for Foster or Adopted Children
Craft (2019)
Verywell Family 
Offers 11 different ways to discipline children who have experienced trauma, including redirecting behavior, consulting a professional, discussing feelings, time in vs. time out, charting the child’s behavior, and more. 

Families and Caregivers
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Examines the effect of trauma on children throughout development and provides resources to guide parents.

Foster Care
Sesame Street in Communities
Provides resources for providers and families to help children in out-of-home care cope with their separation from their parents, their placements in care, and reunification.

Foundations for Healthy Relationships With Foster Youth
Belian (2018)
National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families
Provide caregivers with ways to support foster care youth develop the critical relationship skills necessary for future stability, healthy decision making, and overall growth.

How to Say Goodbye to Children in Your Home (PDF - 1,137 KB)
Iowa Foster Care and Adoptive Parents Association (2015)
News and Views, Spring
Suggests several ways that a foster parent can prepare to have a child in their care get ready to leave their foster home. Suggestions include life books, engaging the child in the packing process, craft activities, and more.

The Pros of Including Foster Children in Your Family Vacation Plans (PDF - 971 KB)
Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association (2015)
News From Your Peer Liaison
Discusses some of the benefits of taking foster children on family vacations, which can allow for time to bond as a family, create unique experiences and memories, allow children to experience family vacations as a normal part of growing up, let children know they are important enough to include, and allow children to be a part of the planning process.

Resources Especially for Foster or Adoptive Families
Center for Parent Information and Resources
Provides information and resources for foster or adoptive parents on raising or caring for a child with disabilities, including how to address and understand the child’s disability, a list of organizations focused on adoption and foster parenting, and information on finding support groups. 

Safe and Sound: Responding to the Experiences of Children Adopted or in Foster Care
American Academy of Pediatrics (2020)
Presents a series of downloadable guides intended to help children who have experienced trauma and adversity by helping their parents, caregivers, and other adults in their lives understand how that early trauma may have affected them.

Tips for Resource Parents: How to Support a Child Who Has Been Separated From His/Her Parent(s) (PDF - 77 KB)
Family Link (2015)
Offers practical ways for foster and kinship caregivers to support children in their care.

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