ABSTRACT
Foster children are academically at risk because of abuse, neglect, and family disruptions. The purpose of this paper is to present the skills foster parents use to address the academic problems and educational needs of the children placed in their homes. Apart from identifying skills used to address academic problems, information concerning how the foster parents’ sense of self-efficacy impacted their skill sets in addressing the academic problems and educational needs of their foster children is presented. Six areas are important: inspiration from others, internal resources, religion/spirituality, meeting foster child’s educational needs, interaction with others, and psychosocial resources. The training programs for prospective foster parents do not adequately equip them with the necessary competencies to address the academic problems of foster children. Training program an related materials and manuals must be include a component addressing the educational needs of the children in foster care and clarification of the accountability for monitoring the child’s academic progress. The development of a collaborative relationship among concerned adults, specifically foster parents, caseworkers, and school personnel it is necessary and a critical factor in helping foster parents to address the educational problems and academic needs of foster children.
Keywords
Educational Caregivers, Training and Development, Foster Care, Child Advocacy, Academic Risk, Foster Parenting