Timely Intervention Matters: Supporting the Mental Health of Children in Foster Care

Forever Families Blog

Being a kid is hard. They are constantly growing and learning new things day by day. They crave independence, and want to be grown up so they can do what they want, not realizing that in life big people often face bigger challenges than small children with small problems. This may typically be true, until you look through the eyes of a foster child. Challenges that foster children face are often incomparable to what many people face in a lifetime.

A child enters foster care because they are abused or neglected. They are removed from their parent or caregiver and placed in the care of another person or family, sometimes with a relative and sometimes with a licensed foster family. The child then experiences many losses including their home, daily interaction with their parent or caregiver and sometimes siblings, maybe a pet, many if not all of their belongings, friends in the neighborhood, and often changing schools in a new community. Try to imagine waking up one day and having a completely new life, different from everything you have ever known.

Breaking Down the Stigma

There is a stigma that foster children are "bad kids." As Fostering Hope explains on their website about stereotypes and myths about foster care, "kids in foster care have experienced unthinkable rejection. They often end up in foster care by no choice or action of their own. They've been neglected or abused by those who are supposed to love them unconditionally. This trauma can, and often does, manifest itself in bad behavior. But bad behavior resulting from trauma is not a reflection on the person, nor is it irreversible. With the right relationships, understanding of trauma, and guidance, these kids can do amazing things."

"With the right relationships, understanding of trauma, and guidance, these kids can do amazing things."

The Power of Early Intervention

Timely intervention has proven to be effective in assisting children overcome some of these challenges in multiple studies. One of the requirements for children in care include developmental screenings upon entering care, which has proven to improve detection of developmental delays in young children in foster care.

According to a study from sciencedirect.com entitled "Timely identification of mental health problems in two foster care medical homes," the study shows a very high proportion of the foster care population having a mental health problem identified and documented, and these needs being identified upon entry or soon after entry into the foster care system. The same study shows that two foster care medical homes had high rates of identifying and treating mental health problems early in the course of foster care placement.

Research Finding: "Allocating resources to young foster children, before strong behavioral patterns have been established and prior to school entry, has the potential to mitigate many long-term risks and to be cost-effective, reducing the future consumption of mental health, substance abuse treatment, special education, and ultimately juvenile justice system services." — The Early Intervention Foster Care Program: Permanent Placement Outcomes from a Randomized Trial

Creating Stability Through Placement

Another important way to combat these challenges is having a stable placement. In order to achieve this, foster parents are required to complete trainings, placement matching through assessing foster parent ability to meet particular and unique needs, availability of services to the families and children, and further innovative practices that can be state- or agency-specific.

Examples of innovative practices include:

  • Enlisting faith-based organizations in particular areas of need
  • Developing trauma-informed parenting practices
  • Providing wraparound services readily available
  • Implementing crisis intervention support

Therapeutic and Mental Health Interventions

Therapeutic and mental health interventions are widely utilized throughout child welfare to assist with coping and managing challenges. According to "Mental Health Interventions for Children in Foster Care: A Systematic Review," the interventions address outcomes across behavioral, internalizing, cognitive and academic, and physiological domains, amongst others.

Abrams publication by the American Psychological Association confirms that nearly 400,000 children and teens are in the US foster care system with up to 80% of them meeting the criteria for a significant mental health issue.

Overall, the challenges that children in foster care face are incredibly difficult and not easy to overcome. With timely identification, intervention and treatment; a stable placement; and implementation of mental health interventions, studies have shown a reduction in negative behaviors and mental health issues. We may not be able to prevent foster children from entering care, but we can certainly help them to alleviate and work through the many challenges that being in foster care brings these children.

Research & Resources