Connecting Foster Care Services and Training to Attachment Theory

Is foster care services and training adequately providing what is needed for the foster care families to care for the children both physically and emotionally? Is it supporting the research and knowledge that is known about attachment theory? This study asked Foster Care Workers, in a public and private setting in the Minnesota Twin Cities Area, if in their opinion their agency does just that. The respondents were asked seventeen Likert Scale questions and three open-ended questions to get a sense of their satisfaction with the services and training they are able to give their family and if it is not satisfactory, what gets in the way. Six workers responded to the survey, three from each agency. Overall the workers from both the public and the private agencies were satisfied with the services and training that their agencies provide. When looked at individually, the average of the responses, the workers at the public agency disagree that they include foster parents in on planning for the foster children and that they do a good job of informing the foster parents of the child’s attachment history. The averaged responses of the private agency disagreed that the foster care parents take advantage of the trainings. One of the open ended questions might have shed light on barriers that get in the way of foster parents accessing not only trainings, but possibly other services. Social Workers who work in the field of foster care can take note to these concerns. Some of the literature found that foster parents had the desire to be included and help the children in their care more than just physically. Including the foster parents in on the history, especially attachment history, and in on the planning, both present and future, will help them understand and fulfill the needs of the children placed with them. When the foster parents have understanding and investment this might change the way they look at situations, parent the child, and seek out support and services. This might also help with placement disruption, which as the literature shows can continue the cycle of insecure attachment