This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org/
This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cachildwelfareclearinghouse.org/
Child Welfare Outcomes: Permanency and child/family well-being.
Type of Maltreatment: Not specified
Target Population: 4 to 12-year-old children in foster or kinship care placements
Brief Description:
Project Keep has been rated by the CEBC in the area of Placement Stabilization. The objective of Project Keep (Keeping Foster and Kin Parents Supported and Trained) is to give parents effective tools for dealing with their child's externalizing and other behavioral and emotional problems and to support them in the implementation of those tools. Curriculum topics include framing the foster/kin parents' role as that of key agents of change with opportunities to alter the life course trajectories of the children placed with them. Foster/kin parents are taught methods for encouraging child cooperation, using behavioral contingencies and effective limit setting, and balancing encouragement and limits. There are also sessions on dealing with difficult problem behaviors including covert behaviors, promoting school success, encouraging positive peer relationships, and strategies for managing stress brought on by providing foster care. There is an emphasis on active learning methods; illustrations of primary concepts are presented via role-plays and videotapes.
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Project Keep was designed to be conducted in a group.
Project Keep has not been tested for use in a group setting.
The recommended group size is: 7-10 foster/kin parents
Recommended intensity: One 90-minute meeting per week plus one 10-minute telephone call per week for foster/kin parents
Recommended duration: 16 weeks
Project Keep includes a homework component.
Description: Home practice assignments help parents implement behavior management methods discussed and practiced in the groups.
Project Keep is typically conducted in a(n): Community Agency.
Project Keep was designed with a Parent Component.
Project Keep addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms: Child externalizing problems, mental health problems and problems in school and with peer group.
Project Keep was not designed with a Child Component.
Project Keep was not developed for children with developmental delays.
Project Keep has not been tested for children with developmental delays.
Project Keep was not designed for specific racial/ethnic/cultural groups.
Project Keep was not tested in specific racial/ethnic/cultural groups.
There is a manual that describes how to implement this program.
There is training available for Project Keep.
Training contact: Patricia Chamberlain, pattic@oslc.org
Number of days/hours: 1.5 years of consultation, including training the trainers so the site can train new staff. Initial training takes 5 days and then involves weekly telephone supervision for 12 months.
Training is obtained: Year long training and consultation
There currently are not additional qualified resources for training.
The typical resources for implementing Project Keep are: Ability to video tape the group using digital format video, group room, and video setup for the group (instructional tapes are used in some sessions).
The intervention is delivered by paraprofessional staff who are well trained and supervised weekly. All sessions are videotaped and tapes are reviewed prior to the supervision. Paraprofessionals with bachelor’s degree and good interpersonal skills are qualified. Supervisors are master’s level clinicians who have been trained in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care.
Chamberlain, P., Moreland, S., and Reid, K. (1992). Enhanced services and stipends for foster parents: Effects on retention rates and outcomes for children. Child Welfare, 71(5):387-401.
72 foster families from 3 counties in Oregon were randomly assigned to intervention and 2 control conditions. The intervention consisted of enhanced training for parents in the form of group sessions, behavior management techniques, and telephone support. Intervention parents also received an additional monthly stipend. One comparison group received the stipend only and the control group received care as usual. Families were assessed at 3 weeks, and at 3, 6, and 9 months. Assessments included the Parent Daily Report (of problem behaviors, dropout rates, a staff impression survey rating parents' skills and personal strengths and stable foster placements versus removal to restricted group care. (18 children were returned to their families, but the decision was not based on factors related to their foster condition.) Intervention parents reported lower rates of child problem behaviors, had fewer placement disruptions and fewer foster parents dropped out of providing care.
Chamberlain, P., Price, J. M., Reid, J. B., Landsverk, J., Fisher, P.A., & Stoolmiller, M. (2006). Who disrupts from placement in foster and kinship care? Child Abuse and Neglect, 30, 409-424.
This study only used children from the control group (foster care as usual). Children with fewer that 6 problem behaviors per day were less likely to disrupt from care than those with 6 or more and increases in behaviors were related to liner increases in the probability to disrupt. One outcome paper is submitted but not yet in press. A second and third are in preparation; will be submitted by December 2006.
Chamberlain, P., Price, J. M., Reid, J. B., Landsverk, J., Fisher, P.A., & Stoolmiller, M. (2006). Who disrupts from placement in foster and kinship care? Child Abuse and Neglect, 30, 409-424.
Chamberlain, P., Moreland, S., and Reid, K. (1992). Enhanced services and stipends for foster parents: Effects on retention rates and outcomes for children. Child Welfare, 71(5):387-401.
Contact name: Patricia Chamberlain Ph.D.
Affiliation/Agency: Oregon Social Learning Center, Center for Research to Practice
Email: pattic@oslc.org
Phone: 541-485-2711
Fax: 541-485-7087