Resource Parent Programs are defined by the CEBC as programs that focus on the location, identification, recruitment, education, training, support, and retention of adults who are interested in being resource parents or who are already resource parents. A resource parent can be a relative (kinship), a nonrelated extended family member (NREFM), or a nonrelated foster parent. Since 2009, the CEBC has highlighted resource parent recruitment and training programs. In order to include resource parent programs that focus on identification, education, support, and retention, the CEBC revised and expanded this topic area in May 2018.
Target population: Potential and current resource parents
Services/types that fit: Interventions to locate new resource parents or to provide training and support for new or existing resource parents
Delivered by: Child welfare workers or trained paraprofessionals
In order to be included: Program must specifically target the location, identification, recruitment, education, training, support and/or retention of resource parents as a goal
In order to be rated: There must be research evidence (as specified by the Scientific Rating Scale) that examines outcomes such as improvement in resource parent recruitment or retention, the knowledge or skills of resource parents, or permanency, safety, and well-being outcomes for the children in their care.
Prospective adoptive parents and caregivers (e.g., grandparents and other relatives raising young children, foster parents, and adoptive parents) of ...
Prospective foster and adoptive parents and experienced foster parents; child welfare professionals who develop, support, and team with resource parents
Foster parents, or potential foster parents, of children and youth age 0-21 years who have experienced complex trauma or neglect ...
Why was this topic chosen by the Advisory Committee?
The Resource Parent Programs topic area is relevant to child welfare because child welfare relies on foster/resource families and relatives to care for children who have been removed from the homes of their parent(s) or guardian due to abuse and/or neglect. At a time, when many counties and states are finding an increase in the needs for families for foster children, there is a declining pool of families available. Without a sufficient pool of families available for placement, it is difficult to match a child's needs to a family who can provide for a child's particular needs and issues. Placement becomes an exercise in finding a bed for a child rather than finding a family that is trained and given the necessary support to care for children that have special needs due to the abuse or neglect they have experienced. The need to increase the pool of trained families for foster children is important for the field of child welfare. The Advisory Committee is interested in finding innovative and evidence-based strategies that have been effective in the recruitment, training, and support of families that care for foster children. Counties have used traditional methods for finding these resource families and need new strategies for finding and supporting foster/resource families.
Resource Parent Recruitment and Training Programs was one of new topic areas launched in 2009. John Orme, PhD was the topic expert and was involved in identifying and rating any of the programs with an original load date of March 2009 or earlier (as found on the bottom of the program's page on the CEBC). The topic area has grown over the years and in 2018, the topic area was revised and expanded. All of the Resource Parent Programs added since 2009 were identified by CEBC staff, the Scientific Panel, and/or the Advisory Committee. For these programs, Dr. Orme was not involved in identifying or rating them.
