Building Support for Foster Caregivers with Pyramidal Training

Abstract

Foster parents frequently cite inadequate training and a lack of social support as sources of stress when fostering a child, particularly when youth engage in challenging behaviors (Bergsund et al., 2020; Hebert & Kulkin, 2018). One potential way of mediating this is through pyramidal training, or the train-the-trainer model, which has a significant evidence-base demonstrating its efficacy as a competency-based approach to training, particularly when paired with behavioral skills training (BST; Andzik & Cannella-Malone, 2017; Pančocha & Kingsdorf, 2021). Though not behavior analytic, the Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) has been shown to significantly improve outcomes for foster families by teaching caregivers to identify and meet the needs of children who have experienced relational trauma (Crawley et al., 2019; Purvis et al., 2015). As such, this study investigated the effects of pyramidal training with BST on the (1) procedural integrity of foster parents’ implementation of the TBRI corrective principle (i.e., differential reinforcement of alternative behavior [DRA]), (2) procedural integrity of foster parents’ training another caregiver to implement DRA using BST, and (3) the procedural integrity of secondary caregivers’ implementation of DRA. Results indicated that pyramidal training with BST is an effective intervention to build larger networks of support while enhancing the skills available to foster caregivers. Though this study did not evaluate the outcomes of TBRI pyramidal training on foster children, this initial investigation indicates the utility of interdisciplinary collaboration to improve the wellbeing of foster parents and the children in their homes.