How to Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents

About the Authors
Acknowledgments

PART 1: Interviewing

Chapter 1: What You Need to Know Before You Begin Interviews

Chapter 2: First Contact: The Do’s and Don’ts

Chapter 3: What You Need To Know About Follow-Up Questions

Chapter 4: The Individual Interview

Chapter 5: Screening for Child Predators

Chapter 6: Using Health and Reference Information as a Screening Device

Chapter 7: Screening for Positive and Negative Parenting Attitudes

Chapter 8: Applying the Foster Parent Syndrome

Chapter 9: Understanding Your Legal Obligations

Chapter 10: How to Make Recommendations to a Supervisor

PART 2: Psychological Assessment

Chapter 11: The Power of the Question: When to Consult Psychologists During the Home Study Process

Chapter 12: Psychological Consultations: When Parents Have Mental Health Problems

Appendix
Glossary
References
Additional Reading
Index

James L. Dickerson is director of “You’ve Got a Friend,” a social work program funded by a federal grant awarded by the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities. He has nearly 10 years’ experience as a screener for adoptive and foster parent applicants, and he is coauthor of two books on adoption.

Mardi Allen, PhD, is a psychologist who counsels families in private practice, clinical liaison for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, president of Mental Health America of Central Mississippi, and a former president of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.

Daniel Pollack, MSSA (MSW), JD, is professor at Yeshiva University, School of Social Work, New York City, and a frequent expert witness in foster care and child welfare cases. He is author of several books of interest to social workers.

Social workers and other professions dealing with the placement of children in foster and adoptive care have an enormous responsibility as their decisions and recommendations have lifelong consequences both for the children concerned, as well as for the families in which the children are placed.

The book begins with some statistics on the outcomes of placements that should make practitioners very aware of the consequences of inadequate investigation, poor decision making with regard to placements and the follow up care of children.

Subsequent chapters contain very practical information, and suggestions about numerous aspects of the screening process for foster and adoptive care, inclusive of checklists, forms and practical exercises.

Although written in the context of the U.S. child care and protection system, the book has much to offer professional social workers working in other countries who are involved in assessing families for the placement and care of children.

Joan van Niekerk
Manager, Training and Advocacy, Childline South Africa

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As a lawyer who advises child serving agencies, I highly recommend this book. It is useful as a risk-management tool, as a guide for developing policies and procedures, and for evaluating the quality of existing agency practices. Its depth of detail is extraordinary and its organization makes it very easy to use. If I could I would make sure that every agency employee associated with the “screening process” had their own copy. This is a “must have” book and will likely set the practice standards for evaluating foster and adoptive parents.

Harvey Schweitzer
Schweitzer & Scherr, LLC