# Practices of Foster Caregivers and the Developmental Outcomes of Youth in Foster Care: A Multi-Method Investigation

> **NIH NIH K08** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $168,818

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Youth in foster care have unique experiences and significantly higher trauma load which greatly increase their
risk for a range of negative social, behavioral, academic, physical and mental health outcomes. However, despite
documentation of many negative outcomes associated with child welfare involvement, there remains
heterogeneity in outcomes from foster placement. Most research concludes that foster care is not a cause of
worsened outcomes, and that supportive and stable foster care environments have the potential to improve child
wellbeing in the short and long term. Given this, more research is warranted to understand the risk and protective
factors present for foster youth which may be modified through the foster care environment and caregiving.
Understanding what differs from child and caregiver perspective, between those who experience better and
worse outcomes, is critical for understanding how to increase likelihood of positive development following foster
care placement. The overarching goals of this K08 proposal are threefold. First, the study aims to use existing
large-scale longitudinal data collected on youth in the child welfare system to explore critical risk and resilience
factors for youth in foster care and whether these are moderated by transracial placement. Second, this study
aims to document the parenting practices used by foster parents, their thoughts on the trainings they receive,
and their perception of the impact this has on their foster child's functioning. Third, this study will interview key
stakeholders (e.g. child welfare workers and foster parents) to assess the current barriers and facilitators of
current foster parent trainings, as well as their perception of topics covered and gaps in training, in order to inform
future intervention adaptation or development.
 To achieve these aims, the candidate and multidisciplinary mentorship team have developed a comprehensive
training plan that delineates a series of training and research goals. These goals will incorporate training in
quantitative and qualitative research methods, as well as intervention development and evaluation. The training
and resultant findings will capitalize on existing expertise and provide additional, focused training to allow for the
development of a multimodal research program that will position the PI to lead future federally funded
multidisciplinary studies with translational implications for populations of youth who experience trauma and/or
parental separation. The proposed research represents an important contribution towards advancing our
understanding of the risk and protective factors present for youth in foster care, and how to support foster parents
through parenting intervention in order to improve adjustment outcomes for foster youth. The institutional
environment is ideal for the candidate's goal of developing an independent research line that ultimately aims to
improve the psychosocial outcomes for youth who exp...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10887102
- **Project number:** 1K08HD112700-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anna Waters Wright
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $168,818
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10887102

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10887102, Practices of Foster Caregivers and the Developmental Outcomes of Youth in Foster Care: A Multi-Method Investigation (1K08HD112700-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10887102. Licensed CC0.

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