Stability at School
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Students in Foster Care
Abstract
Children in foster care are a vulnerable population facing adversity in the form of trauma and attachment issues. This at-risk group may benefit from special consideration in school systems, as educational achievement— and lack thereof—is tied to life trajectories. School may be the only stable area in a foster child’s life, and school staff members have the potential to have a lasting positive impact on foster children. The author proposes a relational treatment approach, utilizing trauma-informed practices through an attachment theory framework, to address the needs of fostered students (fostered students referring to students who are residing in foster care placements) in the school setting. A trauma-informed approach may assist these students as they navigate their academic environments, and an attachment theory framework is vital to the therapeutic relationship with foster children. School-based mental health professionals have the opportunity to become a secure base for fostered students, as well as assist these children in the development of healthy relationships. The author posits that providing healthy and secure relationships for fostered children is a prerequisite for academic achievement, and without attention to the relational trauma foster children have experienced school personnel cannot expect academic growth. A trauma-informed approach puts the need for safe and stable relationships first and foremost. This paper includes a review of the literature and a case example to illustrate how this approach was utilized in an urban school.
References
Ainsworth, M. D. (1964). Patterns of attachment behavior shown by the infant interaction with his mother. Merrill-Palmer quarterly of behavior and development, 10(1), 51-58.
Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1 Attachment (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books.
Bowlby, J. (1960). Separation Anxiety. The International journal of psycho-analysis, 41, 89.
Berardi, A., & Morton, B. M. (2017). Maximizing academic success for foster students: A trauma-informed approach. The Journal of At-Risk Issues, 20(1), 10-16.
Cappella, E., Jackson, D., Bilal, C., Hamre, B., & Soule`, C. (2011). Bridging mental health and education in urban elementary schools: Participatory research to inform intervention development. School Pyschology Review, 40(4), 486-508.
Children
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/afcarsreport24.pdf
Children
Clemens, E. V., Helm, H. M., Myers, K., Thomas, C., & Tis, M. (2017). The voices of youth formerly in foster care: Perspectives on educational attainment gaps. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 65-77.
Conradi, L., Agosti, J., Tullberg, E., Richardson, L., Langan, H., Ko, S., & Wilson, C. (2011). Promising practices and strategies for using trauma-informed child welfare practice to improve foster care placement stability: a breakthrough series collaborative. Child
Welfare, 90(6), 207-225.
Day, A. G., Somers, C., Darden, J. S., & Yoon, J. (2014). Using cross-system communication to promote educational well-being for foster children: Recommendations for a national research, practice, and policy agenda. Children & Schools, 37(1), 54-62.
DeNard, C., Garcia, A., & Circo, E. (2017). Caseworker perspectives on mental health disparities among racial/ethnic minority youth in child welfare. Journal of Social Service Research, 43(4), 470-486.
Dregan, A. & Gulliford, M. C. (2011). Foster care, residential care, and public care placement patterns are associated with adult life trajectories: Population-based cohort study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 1517-1526.
Duffy, M. (2010). Writing about clients: Developing composite case material and its rationale. Counseling and Values, 54(2), 135-153.
Eckenrode, J., Smith, E., McCarthy, M., & Dineen, M. (2014). Income inequality and child maltreatment in the United States. Pediatrics, 133(3), 454-461.
ESSA (2015). Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub.L. No. 114-95 S. 114 Stat. 1177 (2015-2016).
Forsman, H., Br
Garcia, A. R., Kim, M., & DeNard, C. (2016). Context Matters: The state of racial disparities in mental health services among youth reported to child welfare in 1999 and 2009. Children and Youth Services Review, 66, 101-108.
Hughes, D. (2004). An attachment-based treatment of maltreated children and young people. Attachment & Human Development, 6(3), 263-278.
Jankowska, A. M., Lewandowska-Walter, A., Chalupa, A. A., Jonak, J., Duszynski, R., & Mazurkiewicz, N. (2015). Understanding the relationships between attachment styles, locus of control, school maladaptation, and depression symptoms among students in foster care. School Psychology Forum 9(1), 44-58.
Kolko, D. J., Hurlburt, M. S., Zhang, J., Barth, R. P., Leslie, L. K., & Burns, B. J. (2010). Posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents referred for child welfare investigation: A national sample of in-home and out-of-home care. Child Maltreatment,
(1), 48-63.
Miller, S. E. (2011). Fostering attachment in the face of systemic disruption: Clinical treatment with children in foster care and the Adoption and Safe Families Act. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 81(1), 62-80.
National Association of Social Workers. (2012). NASW Standards for School Social Work Services. Retrieved from: https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=eLUS2JLweG8%3d&portalid=0
Nadeem, E., & Ringle, V. (2013). De-adoption of an evidence-based trauma intervention in schools: A retrospective report from an urban school district. School Mental Health, 8(1), 132-143.
O'Higgins, A., Sebba, J., & Gardner, F. (2017). What are the factors associated with educational achievement for children in kinship or foster care: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 198-220.
O
O
Pears, K., Kim, H., & Fisher, P. (2016). Decreasing risk factors for later alcohol use and antisocial behaviors in children in foster care by increasing early promotive factors. Children and Youth Services Review, 65, 156-165.
Pears, K., Kim, H., Fisher, P., & Yoerger, K. (2013). Early school engagement and late elementary outcomes for maltreated children in foster care. Developmental psychology, 49(12), 2201-2211.
President
Transforming mental health care in America. Retrieved from:
https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/mentalhealthcommission/reports/FinalReport/Full
Report-05.htm
Romano, E., Babchishin, L., Marquis, R., & Frechette, S. (2015). Childhood maltreatment and educational outcomes. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16(4), 418-437.
Scherr, T. (2007). Educational experiences of children in foster care: Meta-analyses of special education, retention, and discipline rates. School Psychology International, 28(4), 419-436.
Sperry, L., & Pies, R. (2010). Writing about clients: Ethical considerations and options. Counseling and Values, 54(2), 88-102.
Treisman, K. (2016). Working with relational and developmental trauma in children and adolescents. Routledge.
Trout, A. L., Hagaman, J., Casey, K., Reid, R., & Epstein, M. H. (2007). The academic status of children and youth in out-of-home care: A review of the literature. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 979-994.
U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Non-regulatory guidance: Ensuring educational stability for children in foster care. Retrieved from:
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/edhhsfostercarenonregulatorguide.pdf
Weist, M. & Paternite, C. (2006). Building an interconnected policy-training-practice-research agenda to advance school mental health. Education and Treatment of Children, 173-196.
Wright, T. (2014). Too scared to learn. Young Children, 69(5), 88-93.
Zinskie, C. D. & Rea, D. W. (2016). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): What it means for educators of students at risk. National Youth At-Risk Journal, 2(1), 1.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a