Foster and Adoptive Parent Recruitment and Retention Recommendations

Jan 3

The following recommendations were developed and approved by the State Advisory Council for Adoption and Permanency. The Council is a convening of state adoption and permanency directors and other public agency staff from 43 states assembled by Voice for Adoption to develop consensus-based federal recommendations on adoption and permanency issues affecting children and youth in foster care.

Foster and Adoptive Parent Recruitment and Retention

The United States is facing a significant shortage of qualified foster parents. National estimates suggest that the total number of licensed foster homes dropped more than 10 percent from 2019 to 2023.[1] More recent reports show several states facing shortages that have become severe.[2] Moreover, because most children and youth who are adopted from foster care are adopted by their foster parents,[3] these shortages produce spillover effects for adoption.

Such shortages are especially severe for high-needs children and youth, including older youth, sibling groups, high-needs groups such as children and youth with disabilities, and LGBT youth. There is also a substantial mismatch between the racial and ethnic diversity of foster and adoptive parents and the children who need homes.

These shortages could be reduced through improved recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive parents. A 2018 review of state efforts by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found several common barriers: [4]

34 states reported that limited resources for recruitment made their foster family recruitment efforts moderately or very challenging.
31 states reported that inadequate access to services made it moderately or very challenging to retain foster families.

The following consensus recommendations of the State Advisory Council are intended to address these barriers.

Recommendations

Recruitment of Foster and Adoptive Families: Increased flexible federal funding should be provided to states for the following optional recruitment activities –

Planning of recruitment activities.
Public awareness campaigns that promote foster and adoptive parenting, including television, radio, print, social media, and Internet resources.
Engagement and partnerships with community-based organizations and other organizations that can address shortages of foster and adoptive parents, both overall and for subgroups of children and youth with high needs.
Child-specific recruitment of foster and adoptive parents.
Information sessions and training for prospective foster and adoptive parents.
Collecting data on recruitment efforts and outcomes, including the number, demographics, and characteristics of foster and adoptive families and the effectiveness of recruitment strategies.

Retention of Foster and Adoptive Families: Increased flexible federal funding should be provided to states for the following optional core family support services –

Foster and Adoptive Family Peer Support: Mentoring, coaching, assessment, crisis intervention, advice, referrals, and related support services provided by qualified and trained foster parents with the goal of improving foster parent retention, increasing placement stability, and enhancing child well-being. Peer support may include home visits, telephone support, in-person and online support groups, and peer kinship navigator programs, among other services.
Foster and Adopted Youth Peer Support: Support to youth in care provided by trained and qualified youth with lived experience in foster care.
Respite Care: Short-term care for foster or adopted children and youth to provide temporary relief to foster parents on a planned or emergency basis.
Communication and Training: Support for ongoing communication with and training of foster and adoptive parents and families.
Individualized Training: Support individualized in-service caregiver training focused on meeting the unique needs of foster and adoptive families caring for teens, sibling groups, medically fragile children, and youth with challenging behaviors.
24-hour Crisis Support: In-home crisis intervention services provided by qualified clinicians who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Agency Staff Support: Timely and responsive assistance from dedicated child welfare agency staff who work with foster or adoptive families through all phases of the fostering process, including home studies, training, placement matching and ongoing support.
Youth Development Activities: Tailored development activities that promote youth well-being, including summer camp, enrichment opportunities and extracurricular activities.
Individual and Family Counseling: Counseling provided by qualified clinicians to assist foster and adoptive caregivers, children, and youth in resolving conflicts, improving communication, and enhancing family functioning
Data Collection: Support for collecting data on foster and adoptive parent retention efforts, outcomes, disruptions, and effectiveness.