Better Mental Health Outcomes for Young Foster Children

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Early childhood mental health initiatives exist throughout the literature. As highlighted in the previous section of this paper, earlier interventions have the ability to establish better mental health outcomes for young foster children, specifically under the age of six. According to Bass et al. (2004), early childhood development programs such as within a Chicago preschool displayed a lower rate of maltreatment for children at risk. As previously discussed, maltreatment and mental health are linked, thus their program has the ability to prevent mental health problems for younger children as well as diminish the exacerbation of mental health issues among those in foster care. These initiatives primarily target the interpersonal level of the ecological model.
A common program found among the literature was the use of early childhood home visiting. The basis for such programs includes promoting the “…safe growth and development of infants and children in at-risk families (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate, & Brown, 2006, p. 291). Home visiting programs, such as Canada’s Baby First program (Heaman et al., 2006) have a dual benefit of helping achieve positive health outcomes for parents and young children. According to the Evaluation of Ontario’s Healthy Babies, Healthy Children Program (HBHC) 2004, visited children scored higher on many developmental infant measures and parents had increased confidence in their own skills as well as a stronger connection with community services available to them. The focus on strength and positive aspects within these at risk families is noteworthy for the mental health wellbeing of both parent and young child hence, the possibility for preventing foster care placement. Although the evidence p...

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...(as discussed previously), attentiveness for the need of such an intervention is a step in the right direction. Furthermore, Wotherspoon, Laberge, and Pirie (2008) indicate that the “… rapid increase in the number of requests for a consultation from our child welfare partners…” (p. 391) demonstrates the positive benefits of their CMHC program. This program has built a relationship with Child Welfare and included opportunities for those workers to enhance their knowledge (Wotherspoon, Laberge, & Pirie, 2008) on child development, mental health and trauma implications. As highlighted in Bass’s et al. (2004) report, the policies and practices for child welfare agencies are varied between different states, hence their contribution towards alleviating and preventing mental health problems in young foster children is unbalanced and hard to measure in terms of success.

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