A study of the effect of foster care reunification services on family reunification among children under the age of eighteen

摘要

This study examined the extent to which the intervention of foster care reunification services affected family reunification among children placed in out of home care. Prior research had concluded that foster care reunification services, strengthen family systems by enhancing coping and problem solving skills as well as preserving the childu27s attachment and sense of belonging to the family. The ultimate outcome of full re-entry into the family system was facilitated by these services. In order to ascertain whether reunification was being achieved through the provision of foster care reunification services, this study examined the effect of foster care reunification services on family reunification of children under the age of eighteen, who had been placed in foster care. The methodology utilized was an intervention only design as the data were collected only during the administration if the intervention. As hypothesized, a significant percentage of the children (68.3%) in foster care were reunified by the end of the intervention. Implications for these findings for practice and future research are discussed.