Find resources and information to overcome barriers and challenges faced by child welfare and adoption professionals when working to support, develop, and retain resource families.
A CHAMPS Guide on Foster Parent Recruitment and Retention: Strategies for Developing a Comprehensive Program (PDF - 253 KB)
Children Need Amazing Parents (2019)
Draws on the existing body of resources and information related to quality foster parent retention and identifies six key drivers of better outcomes. The guide provides useful information and suggestions for innovative, promising approaches to include in diligent recruitment plans. The guide encourages agencies to go beyond writing a plan, spurring new and improved programming resulting in agency-wide prioritization of foster parenting.
Foster Parent Retention: What Are the Foster Parents Saying?
DeGarmo (2017)
Foster Focus, 6(11)
Reviews the results of a survey conducted by The Foster Care Institute.
Foster Parent Shortages in the United States
Nelson (2016)
Foster Care Newsletter
Describes the current crisis in foster parent recruitment and retention and its effect on New Jersey's foster care system.
Resources for Foster Parents
The Annie E.Casey Foundation (2018)
Identifies 10 online resources aimed at helping caregivers succeed in this critical role.
Understanding the Story: Family Mosaics Discussion Guide (PDF - 208 KB)
Capacity Building Center for States (2019)
Provides guidance to facilitate activities and group discussions to build a common understanding of what it means to see foster care as a support to families, not a substitute for parents. Activities in the discussion guide are designed to be used with the family mosaic videos. Individuals can use activities to reflect on how to sharpen relationship-building skills, and teams can use activities to identify the barriers to working in partnership, find collective solutions, and monitor practice change over time.
Why Keeping Current Foster Parents Can Be More Important Than Recruiting New Ones
Rexroad (2018)
The Chronicle for Social Change
Discusses the need to retain foster parents in California, the challenges caseworkers and foster parents encounter during the process, and the importance of providing support services, such as the family liaison position.