Foster Care Case Study

Conducting outreach through home/placement visits and community agencies to foster engagement, rather than relying solely on referrals from schools or professionals is important when engaging with this population. As foster care youths are often in unstable housing, being flexible and going to where the youth is at rather than waiting for referrals is a more proactive approach. Over the last two decades, the ethnicity of foster children has shifted dramatically. By 2000, minority populations accounted for 70% of California’s foster care cases; a 54% increase from 1983 (Marsenich, 2002). Thus, clinicians need to remain culturally competent when engaging with diverse clients. Clinicians must take special care to address issues related to cultural marginalization and trust when recruiting group members. For example, when engaging in a community of Latino immigrant population, groups and worksheets need to be conducted in Spanish. In order to build trust with immigrant communities and youths, providing information in …show more content…
Many of the youths have been bounced from one adult to another, and their lack of continuous attachment to one caregiver lead to insecure feelings about the world outside themselves. Thus, building rapport and creating a safe environment is crucial when engaging with the population. Furthermore, incidences of emotional, behavioral, and developmental problems among foster care children are three to six times greater than the average child (Marsenich, 2002). Therefore, it is critical that clinicians demonstrate empathy and patience when engaging with youths that exhibit disruptive behaviors. Often times, trauma symptoms are manifested as problem behavior. Instead of pointing out negative behavior during the beginning phases, it is important to emphasize the strengths of the individual and remain