The Importance Of Family Engagement In Home

To develop the topic a general search using Summon, Capella University’s online library search engine, to identify possible gaps in research pertaining family engagement in foster (i.e. foster care, family engagement, model of family engagement, parental engagement, child welfare, foster children…). From the word search, 80 articles have been obtained thus far relating to the identified research topic. From the literature review, themes were identified, definitions of keys words and phrases were developed and a gap in research was found.
Achieving permanency begins with planning as soon as a child comes into foster care (Macdonal, 2015). Permanency planning is “a systematic process of taking prompt, decisive, goal-directed action to maintain children safely in their own homes or place them permanently with another family” ((Macdonal, 2015). Foster …show more content…
Family engagement is partnering with families as members of the child welfare team in the decision-making process to meet the needs of their children (“Family partnership meetings…,” 2013; Bryan, & Henry, 2012). For instance, studies have suggested that family engagement increases biological family members’ participation leading to reunification (Crampton, Usher, Wildfire, Webster, & Cuccaro-Alamin, 2011; Caring Connections, 2010). However, a common theme found in the literature review is the lack of family engagement between child welfare agencies and foster parents resulting in placement disruptions (Stott, & Gustavsson, 2010; Taylor, & McQuillan, 2014; Rock, Michelson, Thomson, & Day, 2015). There have not been a lot of studies on family engagement between foster parents and biological parents. Unfortunately, studies has shown that pre-service training curriculums do not properly prepare foster parents to work in a collaborative manner as members of the child welfare team (Dorsey et al., 2008; Christenson, & McMurtry, 2007; Cooley, & Petren,