Fostering Communication

The period of transition for foster youth into independent adulthood is an important life stage, and one that has yet to be explored in HCI circles. We studied an online community centered on the experiences of former foster youth through the first year of its existence to better understand how online spaces are being used by this population. Our mixed-method study included the coding of all posts from the first year of the online community and offers a mix of quantitative and qualitative findings. These findings include alignments and gaps in an established descriptive framework from the field of social work as it relates to the online communication of former foster youth. It also includes how the domains from the framework co-occur, and some potential implications of these co-occurrences. Future research on this subject is warranted, particularly related to why former foster youth seek online platforms to engage in conversations on these topics and how effective community members perceive the platform to be in safely and securely facilitating their needs.

Comportamientos sexuales de riesgo en adolescentes del sistema de protección: una revisión sistemática

La salud sexual de los/as adolescentes y jóvenes suele mirarse desde una lente que se enfoca en los problemas. En el caso de los adolescentes que están en el sistema de protección infantil este análisis centrado en los riesgos es mayor si cabe, dado que experimentan tasas más altas de resultados negativos de salud sexual. La presente revisión tiene el objetivo de examinar la literatura relacionada con los comportamientos sexuales de riesgo de los adolescentes y jóvenes que se encuentran en el sistema de protección. Para ello, se han consultado varias bases de datos (Web of Science, Scopus y PUBMED), restringiendo la búsqueda a las palabras clave “sexual behavior” o “sexual risk” y “child welfare system” o “foster youth”, y el rango de publicación entre 2011 y 2021. De las 1496 publicaciones identificadas inicialmente, se eliminaron aquellas duplicadas y/o que no cumplían los criterios de inclusión, quedándonos con un total de 22 artículos. La mitad de las publicaciones que analizaban los comportamientos predictivos de conductas sexuales de riesgo se centraban en las experiencias de abuso sexual en la infancia. Por otro lado, el 22,7% de los artículos analizados informaban de un uso deficitario del preservativo entre los jóvenes en hogares de acogida, mientras que el 18,2% afirmaban que este colectivo presenta una mayor prevalencia de ITS y el 31,8% reportan que las tasas de embarazo son más altas entre las chicas de esta población. Asimismo, el 18,2% de los estudios analizados encontraron indicios de una posible relación entre la participación en el sistema de bienestar infantil y en actividades de sexo transaccional. Así, aunque la investigación sobre este tema sigue siendo escasa, esta revisión pone de manifiesto el riesgo de desarrollar patrones poco saludables de sexualidad entre los jóvenes del sistema de protección.

Reasons why Prescribers Decrease Psychotropic Medication for Foster Youth

Although prescribers frequently use psychotropic medication to treat emotional and behavioral problems for children in foster care, and states are required to monitor psychotropic medication usage with foster youth, few studies have evaluated the extent to which prescribers decrease psychotropic medication. We developed a system to track medication decreases for foster youth to ascertain why deprescriptions occurred. Researchers reviewed case files for 223 children and adolescents in a child welfare system who had received services via a state-funded project from October 2016 through January 2021. We found 99 individuals who had (a) prescriptions for one or more psychotropic medications at intake and (b) received both behavioral and medication review services. Results show only 32 (32%) of individuals in this sample experienced a deprescription of psychotropic medication while receiving services from the project. Analyses for these 32 individuals revealed four key findings. First, the most frequently deprescribed medications were stimulants and antipsychotics. Second, the most common reasons for decreasing any psychotropic medication were (a) medication advocacy and (b) adverse side effects. Notably, only foster youth aged 12 years or younger experienced medication reductions due to adverse side effects. Third, stimulants and antipsychotics accounted for the highest percentage of undesirable side effects. Fourth, practitioners deprescribed stimulants and antipsychotics for adverse side effects two times more often than for behavior or symptom improvement. These findings may contribute to the development of deprescribing guidelines for children in state welfare systems.

Framing Indigenous Identity Inclusion in Positive Youth Development: Proclaimed Ignorance, Partial Vacuum, and the Peoplehood Model

Indigenous youth are systemically underserved by 4-H and other positive youth development (PYD) organizations. Many underserved First Nation communities in the United States could greatly benefit from programs that foster youth thriving; however, these programs tend to be ineffective in creating culturally reflective spaces for Indigenous participants. In this article, we argue that the Peoplehood Model should serve as a unifying model for the inclusion of Indigenous identity in programming, and that cultural humility should be firmly integrated into program design and assessment. We also propose that, to support Indigenous youth thriving, PYD practitioners must intentionally create a “partial vacuum” that supports youth creating program context and thriving.

underdog DREAMS: Improving Long-Term Quality of Life Outcomes for Florida’s Foster Youth and Families

Children and youth in the foster care system face significant and continuing barriers to both physical and mental health, including lack of a medical home, disruptions in primary care providers, frequent moves to new homes, excessive caseloads for oversight providers, and at times continuing exposure to the risk factors that are considered Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The underdog DREAMS project sought to alter the course of the foster youth experience via a tri-part model that focused on clinical, research, and advocacy interventions for foster youth and the development of the workforce that supports them through training on the impacts of trauma and poverty.

Missouri foster parents : advocating for the educational needs of children from hard places

The educational attainment rates of foster youth are abysmal, and positive changes in policy and funding have not improved the rates to an adequate level. Research shows a positive relationship exists between the educational attainment of older youth in foster care and the presence of supportive adults in their lives (Clemens, Helm, Myers, Thomas & Tis, 2017; Dworsky & Perez, 2010; Neal, 2017). This study will explore foster parents as supportive adults, specifically, educational advocates. Educational advocacy comes from the field of special education and refers to behaviors of supportive adults who intervene and mediate for a child or someone who cannot advocate for self. This study will expand educational advocacy research (Duquette, Fullarton, Orders, & Robertson-Grewal, 2011; Duquette, Orders, Fullarton, & Robertson-Grewal, 2011; Duquette, Stodel, Fullarton, & Hagglund, 2011; Mulick & Butter, 2002; Olivos, Jimenez-Castellanos, & Ochoa, 2011; Wilson Cooper, 2007) to foster parents. Framing the study will be the four dimensions of advocacy proposed by Duquette, Stodel, Fullarton, and Hagglund (2011). The framework will inform the interview protocol: items will follow the four dimensions (awareness, seeking information, presenting the case, and monitoring) to explore how foster parents tacitly advocate for the educational needs of their foster children. This qualitative study will seek to answer the research questions How do foster parents serve as educational advocates for foster children? and What challenges do foster parents face as they serve as educational advocates? The study will use a qualitative research design with a phenomenological approach. Data collection will include in-depth interviews of eight to ten foster parents. By extending educational advocacy research to foster parents, this study will highlight the need for foster youth to have educational advocates and the ways in which that need is, or is not, being met. This study will provide a research foundation for additional research, with the hope of helping to ensure an educational advocate, foster parent or otherwise, is engaged in advocacy behaviors for every foster child in Missouri.