Effectiveness of a trauma-informed care psychoeducational program for foster carers - Evaluation of the Fostering Connections Program.

BACKGROUND

The need to improve the quality of foster care training has been highlighted and evidenced-based programs that aim to support foster carers in the care of children who have experienced trauma are warranted.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fostering Connections program, a newly developed trauma-informed care program within the national child welfare agency in Ireland.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The study included 79 foster carers. The Fostering Connections group-based experiential intervention was delivered over a period of 6-weeks in a community-based setting to intervention group participants.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental design was used to compare the results of the intervention group (n = 49), to a control group (n = 30,) who received usual care. Standardized assessment measures were used at baseline, 6-weeks on completion, 16 weeks and 15 months post-intervention. Foster carers' knowledge of trauma-informed fostering, tolerance of misbehavior and fostering efficacy, and children's emotional and behavioral difficulties were assessed.

RESULTS

Significant improvements were found in foster carers' knowledge of trauma-informed fostering (p < 0.001), tolerance of child misbehavior (p = 0.007) and fostering efficacy (p < 0.001), with effect sizes ranging from medium to large and sustained over fifteen months (ES = 0.07-0.14). Significant improvement was also found in children's emotional and behavioral difficulties at fifteen months (p = 0.019), with a small effect size (ES = 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Preliminary evidence suggests that Fostering Connections is potentially an effective intervention in increasing foster carer's capacity to provide children with trauma-informed care.