A study of the impact foster care policies have on permanency outcomes for children in Georgiau27s private foster care

摘要

Permanency for children in care is defined as having a lasting family relationship that is safe and meant to last a lifetime. Child advocates recognize that permanency should be the goal for all children in foster care, but this belief was not actualized for many children who entered and remained in the system until adulthood. This study explored the impact of foster care policies on permanency outcomes for children in one private foster care agency in Georgia, Neighbor To Family. A Mixed Methods Triangulation Design, inclusive of both qualitative and quantitative measures was used to carry out the study. The research questions addressed include the following: Is there a statistically significant relationship between permanency rates of Group 1 and Group 2 and is there a statistically significant relationship between the length of stay rates of Group 1 and Group 2? The chi-square test of association was used to examine the association between permanency outcomes in Groups 1 and 2 and length of stay rates in Groups 1 and 2. The results did not yield a statically significant relationship between thlength of stay and permanency variables. However, further statistical testing of permanency and age variables within Group 1 resulted in a significant relationship at the p