COVID-19 Effects on Foster Families and Foster Children

Abstract

By Devan Gilmore, Social Work

Advisor: Gary Dick

Presentation ID: 134

Abstract: COVID-19 has impacted everyone's lives around the world, but this study will dive into how it has impacted foster parents and foster children specifically. Foster children have an increased difficulty in school already with face-to-face contact and an increased difficulty now with virtual learning. Foster children's daily routines have been completely flipped upside down and now cannot hang out with friends or even see their families in many cases. Foster parents are also struggling with behavioral issues with the foster children and trying to work their stay-at-home jobs while helping the foster child(ren) with virtual learning. COVID-19 has created many thoughts and opinions and it is in hope that this study will uncover some of those by interviewing foster parents who had foster children in their home during the COVID-19 pandemic and using statistical data to show the change in foster child placement into a foster home during the 2020 pandemic compared to 2019 when COVID-19 was not around.