ABSTRACT

Despite the fact that family reunification remains the foremost permanency-planning goal for children in the child welfare system, reunification is not always successful and reentry into foster care after reunification is hardly a rare event due to parental unaddressed needs, stress, and lack of supports. This study explored a peer-delivered pre- and post-reunification support program for child welfare-involved families. Using qualitative focus groups and interviews, experiences of parents with the peer support services were examined. The findings suggested that the presence of a family coach with a shared experience remained a critical source of support for many parents, providing emotional, informational, instructional, and advocacy supports while cultivating the special feelings of connection, comfort, trust, and guidance. The efforts to ensure sustainable permanency outcomes should seriously consider the important role that family coaches play as supporters, guides, and trusted confidantes to a vulnerable population of parents in need of more comprehensive emotional and concrete services.

摘要

尽管家庭团聚仍然是儿童福利系统中儿童的首要永久性计划目标，但团聚并不总是成功的，由于父母未解决的需求，压力和缺乏支持，团聚后重返寄养并非难得的事。这项研究探索了一个由同伴提供的为涉及儿童福利的家庭提供的统一前后统一计划。使用定性焦点小组和访谈，检查了父母在同伴支持服务方面的经验。调查结果表明，有共同经验的家庭教练的存在仍然是许多父母获得支持的重要来源，他们提供情感，信息，指导和倡导支持，同时培养了联系，舒适，信任和指导的特殊感觉。