Behavior problems, foster home integration, and evidenced-based behavioral interventions: what predicts adoption of foster children?
Unfortunately, significant behavior problems frequently discourage foster parents from adopting, and little is known about factors that predict adoption when a child has behavior problems. Previous research suggests that foster parent behavioral training could potentially increase rates of successful adoptions in very young children.
In older children, effective treatment of behavior problems might also increase adoption by reducing the interference of behavior problems and strengthening the child’s foster home integration. This pilot study focused on this question by examining the associations between behavior problems, foster home integration, an evidence-based foster parent intervention, and adoption likelihood for older dependent youth.
The study found that how well a foster youth was able to integrate into his or her foster home was the greatest predictor of permanency in that home. The full study can be read here.