Date

12-4-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Kelly Gorbett

Keywords

Foster care, non-profit support, trauma reduction

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Most foster parents feel they do not receive adequate emotional support, funding, and preparation for their foster children in their care, which can lead to turnover, placement disruptions, and additional unnecessary caregiver changes for foster children. Attachment Theory explains children need consistent, warm, and loving caregiver relationships for healthy emotional, cognitive, and social development (Bowlby, 2018). For children in foster care, these relationships are already disrupted, therefore intervention for foster parent resiliency must be analyzed. The Bible calls Christians to care for the orphans, which leaves a large responsibility on Christians to care for those in foster care. There is little research that analyzes the support given to foster parents by religious organizations. Through semi-structured interviews, this qualitative study analyzed the experience foster parents had with a specific religious nonprofit and how they feel they were supported physically and emotionally. The study consisted of ten participants that were at least eighteen years of age, a current or former foster parent, and have received services from the specific nonprofit. The semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded for thematical analysis. The results of the study indicated that the nonprofit’s practices allowed foster parents the ability to accept a placement, smoothed the transition into placement, and allowed for a more long-term and stable placement. The results of the study can be replicated and utilized by other foster care agencies in hopes to increase the physical and emotional support felt by foster parents and children.

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