Extract

Background and study aims Children who are taken into care do far better if they are placed with a foster family than if they are raised in children’s homes, and the longer they stay with one family, the better their prospects for the future become. However, these children can be quite difficult to manage as a result of the often traumatic events they have experienced and the disruption to their lives. Although foster carers are supported by the Local Authority, many report that they need additional help and resources in order to cope, and in some cases the placement breaks down and the child must be found an alternative home. This is distressing for both carers and children, and makes it less likely that subsequent placements will succeed. It was in response to this urgent need that the Fostering Changes Programme was developed by The Fostering and Adoption Team at the Maudsley Children’s Department in South London. Fostering Changes is a training programme specially designed for foster carers to help them to manage difficult behaviour and improve their relationships with the children they look after. It focuses on children up to the age of 12, and is run for groups of around 10 carers at a time. This programme has been running in several Local Authorities around London, and found to be very successful. Over the past couple of years we have been improving the programme by adding topics as a result of what foster carers have told us that they most need help with. For example, they say that children falling behind at school worries them a lot, so we have introduced ways of supporting learning at home, and information about how to access additional resources at school. Children’s challenging behaviour has also been a cause for concern, so we have added a lot more information about understanding how fostered children’s early relationships and experiences influence their later behaviour, and how to recognise and be able to manage this when it occurs. Foster carers who have done the course say that it has given them a lot more confidence in dealing with the challenges they face, and that they have seen real positive changes in the children they are looking after. The purpose of doing a study of the course, is to provide scientific evidence that it really works, which is necessary in order to get funding for the programme to continue. Who can participate? Foster carers of any age who are registered with a Local Authority, and who currently have a child or children in placement, one of whom is aged 2 to 12. Because the training is very practical, it is important that the child is likely to stay in the placement for the period of the training. This is because we ask carers to put into practice what they have learned on the course when they go home. They then report back to the group about how successful the new strategies have been, or what problems they encountered when trying to put them into practice. The course is relevant to children with a wide range of abilities, including those with learning or attention problems, or those with developmental problems such as autism. What does the study involve? The study involves recruiting a group of foster carers, and randomly allocating half of them to the training course, while the other half are on a waiting list to receive the training later. At the end of the training we compare both groups to see whether the ones who have had the training report greater improvements that the ones on the waiting list. This is to make sure that it really is the training that makes the difference, and not just because the child has settled into their placement during that time, and become more manageable as a result. Foster carers who agree to take part are visited at home, interviewed about their foster child or children, and asked to fill in some questionnaires. This visit takes about an hour and a half. Their foster children do not need to be present at the interview as they will not be directly involved. After three months, all the carers will be asked to complete the same questionnaires again so that we can assess what has changed in the interim. They are also asked to contribute their views about the course, and suggestions for improvement. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? Not provided at time of registration. Where is the study run from? The study is part of a series of trials of parenting interventions run by the National Academy for Parenting Research at King’s College, London (UK). When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? April 2010 to March 2012. Who is funding the study? The Department for Education (UK). Who is the main contact? Jackie Briskman [email protected]

Inclusion criteria

• Conduct disorder; antisocial behaviour; attachment problems; educational under-achievement in children under care

Links

• ictrp
• isrctn