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The Experience of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated to Foster Long Term?

Diaz, Rodrigo
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8738-3707
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1503013699534605

Abstract Details

2017, Psy. D., Antioch University, Antioch Santa Barbara: Clinical Psychology.
The number of children entering foster care has increased significantly in recent years, leading some to categorize the foster system as being in a state of crisis. More foster parents are needed, as are better retention methods. It is pertinent to understand the experiences that foster parents have that affect their decision to continue or cease fostering. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the needs of foster parents based on their experiences and perceptions. The overarching research question sought to determine the lived experiences of foster parents who were navigating through, or taking part in, the foster system. Seven foster parents living in California, who had been fostering for at least six months and who had had a child in their home participated in the study. Data was collected via one-on-one interviews using open-ended questions. Responses were analyzed and revealed four themes: 1) parents decide to foster for a variety of reasons, the most common being altruistic purposes and the awareness of the need for good foster parents; 2) parents find fostering to be a life-enhancing experience; 3) fostering involves significant challenges, the most common being handling a child who had been through traumatic experiences prior to being in the foster care system; and 4) parents felt strongly motivated to continue fostering. The findings from the current study aligned with previous literature regarding the overall positive feelings associated with fostering, and the descriptions of challenges faced by foster parents. The experience of being a foster parent could be improved if the foster care system underwent internal changes to lighten the burden for social workers so they can better respond to foster parents. This Dissertation is available in Open Access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu and OhioLink ETD Center, http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd
Salvador Treviño, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Denise Mock, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jody Kussin, Ph.D. (Other)
110 p.
Psychology; Psychotherapy
Foster; Foster Parents; Resource Families; Kinship Care; Foster Children; Long Term Foster Care; Motivation For Foster Parents; Experience of Foster Parents; Phenomenological; Qualitative

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Diaz, R. (2017). The Experience of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated to Foster Long Term? [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1503013699534605

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Diaz, Rodrigo. The Experience of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated to Foster Long Term? . 2017. Antioch University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1503013699534605.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Diaz, Rodrigo. "The Experience of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated to Foster Long Term? ." Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1503013699534605

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

antioch1503013699534605
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© 2017, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License The Experience of Foster Parents: What Keeps Foster Parents Motivated to Foster Long Term? by Rodrigo Diaz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Antioch University and OhioLINK.