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

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dc.contributor.authorLotty, Maria
dc.contributor.authorDunn Galvin, Audrey
dc.contributor.authorBantry White, Eleanor
dc.contributor.funderTusla, Child and Family Agency, Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderUniversity College Corken
dc.date.accessioned2020-03-31T14:07:49Z
dc.date.available2020-03-31T14:07:49Z
dc.date.issued2020-02-07
dc.date.updated2020-03-31T13:51:48Z
dc.description.abstractBackground: 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.en
dc.description.sponsorshipUniversity College Cork (Excellence Scholarship Fund)en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.articleid104390en
dc.identifier.citationLotty, M., Dunn Galvin, A., Bantry White, E. (2020) 'Effectiveness of a trauma-informed care psychoeducational program for foster carers – Evaluation of the Fostering Connections Program'. Child Abuse & Neglect, 102, 104390, (13 pp). doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104390en
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104390en
dc.identifier.endpage13en
dc.identifier.issn0145-2134
dc.identifier.journaltitleChild Abuse & Neglecten
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/9799
dc.identifier.volume102en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.relation.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213420300454
dc.rights© 2020 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectDevelopmental traumaen
dc.subjectFoster careen
dc.subjectInterventionen
dc.subjectPsychoeducationen
dc.subjectTrauma-informed careen
dc.titleEffectiveness of a trauma-informed care psychoeducational program for foster carers – Evaluation of the Fostering Connections Programen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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