The Social Needs of Children in Foster Care - Research Proposal Example

LINKING FOSTER HOMES TO THE SOCIAL NEEDS OF CHILDREN UNDER THEM. WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL NEEDS OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE? by Student’s Name       Code+ Course Name Professor’s Name University Name City Date Introduction An increased number of children spent most of their time under foster care each year. Abuse and neglect from their parents are the mains reasons that force the children to move into foster homes ( Baumrucker et al 2012, p.6). 35% to 60% percent of children entering foster care have a wide array of social and health needs. Social and behavioral are common among a large portion of these children. The painful experiences in their past as well as the trauma that follows separation from their parents may impact the mental health as well as the development of these children. This in turn affects their social activities and how they interact with other members of the family and the society in general. It is thus necessary for their social needs to be analyzed and addressed. This research seeks to explore the link between the foster homes and the social needs of children under their care. The research problem Pinpointing the exact social needs of children under social care is hard given the complex nature of the factors that come into play. The traumatizing experiences in their past as well as the need to adjust to new environment and people around them makes them have a wide array of social needs. Not only do they need quality healthcare, but they also need quality education as well as emotional support from the foster family and the society as a whole. Given the complex nature of their social needs and how they relate to each other, the research problem addressed by this study is to investigate how the social needs of the children under foster care can be met. The aims of the study To find out the various social needs of children under foster care To point out how these social needs can be addressed To investigate how foster homes and the society in general contributes in meeting these social needs Literature review Past research has focused on the general needs of children in foster home. These studies have emphasized the importance of meeting the health and educational needs of children under foster care. Bass et al (2004) point out that the healthy needs of these children can be met through prevention of neglect, abuse and entry into foster care. They argue that most of the children who enter into the foster care system have already been exposed to factors that might hinder their health and behavioral development. Lips (2007) states that foster children score poorly in standardized scores and higher in tardiness, absenteeism and dropout rates. His focus is on the educational needs of foster children where he argues that improving their educational needs will go a great way in addressing other unique needs. A number of researchers have sought to find out the various social needs of foster children Children under foster parents are vulnerable and have a wide range of social needs (Bruskas 2008, p.77). This fragile group of children is exposed to greater vulnerability as a result of the unstable conditions in foster homes and emotional and physical wounds from previous experiences (Harden 2004, p.45). Factors which led to the removal of children from their biological parents include neglect, sexual as well as physical abuse. These events are traumatic and usually impact the current and future development, social and health needs of the children. Most of the children in foster care have poor mental, educational and development outcomes. Additionally, most of them would find it hard to move from foster care into young adulthood Newton, (Litrownik and Landsverk 2000, p 55). This challenge would in turn result into these young adults making the wrong choices that would impact their health as well as social life. The children in foster care who have a history of neglect or abuse develop a feeling of fear and confusion. This in turn may result into posttraumatic stress disorders (Racusin et al 2005, p 54). It thus follows that children exposed to negligence, poverty as well abuse require mental health and counseling services during their integration into the foster homes. Burn et al (2004, p 77) undertook a study to find out the prevalence of mental health problems among children in foster homes and found out that nearly half of the children showed signs of mental disturbance. The frequent moves from one foster home to another impacts the children’s education outcomes (Zetlin & Weinberg 2004, p 22). These frequent moves will make them miss most of the school days and adapting to new school environment would prove quite challenging. Their comfort levels as well as educational impacts may be impacted in the long run. Harden (2004, p 13) points out that past studies have shown that children under foster care have more social needs than those who are under the care of their biological parents. She argues that children growing up in foster homes are vulnerable to a number of poor developmental outcomes and therefore need specialized social and mental support. These vulnerabilities come about as a result of substance exposure, genetic factors and physical health issues. Foster care also an impact on the emotional and social wellbeing of the children. Children under foster tend to be more emotionally compromised than those under the care of their biological parents. Foster children are more likely to have detached or insecure relationships with their peers and the foster family. Additionally, they have poor social skills, higher rates of depressions, lower adaptative functioning and tend to be more aggressive and impulsive. It thus follows that they are in greater need of counseling as well as mental support services. Walsh and Mattingly (2011, p.23) argue that younger children are adopted more frequently than older children. Most of the children out of home care develop emotional problems. Additionally, they point out that most of the children under foster care have emotional problems that develop as a result of the traumatizing experiences they have had in the past. Children under foster care and who have emotional problems have less chances of being reunited with their biological parents. Methodology This research will utilize a mixed approach. Both the qualitative and quantitative approaches would be utilized. This would go a great way in reducing the limitations presented by each of the methods. The quantitative approach is objective, structured and reliable. However, it has two main limitations which are missing out on validity and being over systematic. Quantitative research involves surveying of large groups of people and utilization of structured questionnaires. The research design of any given study describes the main approach that a researcher utilizes to get the answers to their research questions (Polit & Beck 2010, p.53). A researcher has to select the most appropriate survey design in order to meet the objectives and aims of the study to meet the aims and objectives of the study (Parahoo 2006, p. 22). The quantitative approach comes about from the belief that human phenomena as well variables in their behavior can be studied objectively (Parahoo 2006, p 25). For that reason, the quantitative approach has been pointed out as the most appropriate research method to be utilized in this study. Quantitative survey utilizes a fixed design which arranges in advance the research question as well as the detailed methods of data collection and analysis (Robson 2007, p.27). To support this methodology, the study will utilize the social constructive theory which focuses on the social environment of learning. Social constructivism places great importance on the context and culture in understanding various phenomenon within the society. Knowledge can then be created through this understanding (Lock and Strong 2010, p 123). By providing the necessary learning tools to the foster children, their social needs can be identified. Through social constructivism, the children in foster care can be successfully integrated into the higher levels of the society (Witkin 2012, p 78). Through this approach, they will be able to continuously learn how to be successful members of the society. The theory assumes that learning is a social behavior and takes place through engagement in social activities. Additionally, it assumes that human activity is responsible for reality. The last assumption is that knowledge is a human product. Qualitative research is regarded as subjective, unreliable and structured. It is considered by many researchers as being more valid and provides more reliable data. Anderson (2010, p 141) states that qualitative research is of great importance, especially to policy makers, since it gives a description of the setting where the policies are to be implemented. He points out that qualitative studies “involve the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data that are not easily reduced to numbers.” Qualitative research is characterized by a number of traits such as asking why, how and under what circumstances, having a holistic view of a social phenomenon, and being iterative as opposed to fixed (Priscilla et al 2010, p. 14). In this study, quantitative data would be important in identifying the social trends and needs of foster children in their respective homes. The trends of the wider population that makes up the foster children will be analyzed to find out their common social needs. On the other hand, qualitative data will be necessary in evaluating the personal experiences and needs of the children in foster homes. This approach will also enable the analysis and evaluation other issues that affect the social well being of the children under foster care. The combination of two different methodologies in a study is referred to as triangulation. One topic is analyzed using a series of methods that contrast each other. The use of triangulation enables the researcher to overcome the disadvantages presented by one single method ( Densin 1989, p 234). The study will first utilize the qualitative approach to find out the general experiences and needs of the children under foster care. The data derived from the qualitative study be will be utilized to guide the quantitative study and establishing the survey questions. Secondary data will also be utilized in guiding the quantitative survey. Evidence from studies conducted earlier would make it possible for an explanatory design to be developed. This would enable the researcher to get familiar with a problem and get an insight into the problem for future investigation. Apart from making it possible for new ideas and assumptions to be developed, an explanatory design makes it possible for more research problems to be developed. In addition to that, it enables a research evaluate whether future studies in the area would be feasible or not. The secondary sources to be used would include journals, secondary books as well as online databases. After the secondary data has been validated, it would be evaluated by setting up the data set variables together with the definitions and explanation of each variable. The data set variables would then be utilized to place the collected data in a tabular form. After that, the highlighted points would be analyzed further. Methods In order to identify the general themes that need to be analyzed, focus based interviews would be conducted. Face to face interviews will be conducted to find out the general trends and social experiences of the children under foster care. The researchers will encourage topics that would dwell on the social satisfaction of the children as well as the social challenges that they face. Utilization of focus groups would make it possible for the researcher to get an understanding of the different social needs that different groups of foster children have and gives those being interviewed the courage to air out their views and opinions. In-depth interviews will follow the focus group discussion. This will enable the researcher to get more data on more specific issues. A small number of respondents from the focus groups would be selected general statements and issues raised during the focus group discussions. The collected data from the qualitative study will bring to the table the main issues that need further analysis. The different social needs of the foster children will be categorized into different groups (health, education, emotional and behavioral support services and companionship). The data collected though the qualitative research would facilitate the formulation of the survey design to be employed in the quantitative study. Building from the qualitative study, a survey would be conducted to find out the beliefs, facts knowledge, behaviors as well as values of the population under study. The main aim of conducting the quantitative study would be to enable the findings of the study to be generalized beyond one particular context. Bryman (2004, p 76) points out that conducting surveys gives a better understanding of the phenomenon under study, which in our case is the social needs of children under foster care. The survey will collect information that would useful in answering the research question and would enable the monitoring of the changes in the social needs of foster children over time. The research will utilize a small sample size in its qualitative technique. On the other hand, the quantitative design will achieve a larger sample size. 50 children from different foster homes and 50 foster parents will be interviewed in this study. A pretest survey involving 10 children and 10 foster parents will be conducted. Its aim would be to enable the researcher estimate the time the survey would take, find out the competency level of the poll and point out the surveyor quality. Participants would be randomly selected after which a signed consent from the guardians would be obtained. Eligible participants in this study are those whose signed consent would be received. Holloway and Wheeler (2010, p 78) point out that the number of participants in any quantitative study will depend on a number of factors key among them being availability of the necessary resources, type of the main research question as well as the total number of researchers being involved in the study. Schneider et al (2007, p 34) argues that the quality of data should be considered when determining the number of participants that should be involved in a study. In addition to that, they are of the opinion that the appropriate number of participants in a study should be between 8 and 15. However, it should be noted that there are no standard rules established with regard to the most effective number of participants in any given qualitative study. Data analysis The study will utilize both the thematic and narrative approaches in its data analysis. Data collected from the focus groups will be analyzed through the narrative approach. Analysts who utilize this approach argue that it is important for the narrative aspect of social data collection to be retained during its analysis (Elliott 2005, p 34). Data from public and policy documents as well as other studies will be analyzed and compared to this study’s findings. There are four different approaches to narrative analysis namely, dialogic analysis, structural analysis, thematic analysis and visual analysis (Reissman 2008, p 66). Thematic analysis offers a theoretically flexible and accessible way of analyzing qualitative data. Data will be identified, analyzed and reported in relation to the main patterns. When utilizing thematic analysis, a number of choices that need to be discussed and explicitly considered have to be made (Berger and Luckmann 2012, p.56) . The different themes in this analysis captures the importance of the data with regard to the research question (Guest, MacQueen and Namey 2012, p.57), which in our case is what is the social needs of children under foster care?. The correlation between different variables would be identified using the bivariate analysis while the univariate analysis would aid the researcher in identifying trends, variations and the description of the variable (De Vaus 2002, p 212). Ethical issues Broom (2006, p 151) argues that is important for high ethical standards to be maintained in any social research. This is because it ensures that researchers and participants are protected. In addition to that, it ensures the retrieval of high quality data and makes it possible for future studies to have access to the participants within the community. Resnick (2011, p 22) points out that it is important for research studies to adhere to ethical norms since it plays a vital role in promoting the study’s objective. This duty will put into consideration the important ethical issues that govern social research which include confidentiality, honesty, non – discrimination and protection of participants. With regard to confidentiality, all the information obtained from the participants would be kept confidential. All personal records as well as communications will be kept confidential. The study will also be open to new ideas and criticism. The data, results and ideas from this study will be open to sharing. With regard to non-discrimination, the study will avoid discrimination on the basis of sex, age, gender and ethnicity. Reference list Anderson, C. 2010. Presenting and evaluating qualitative research. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 74(8). Anderson, V. 2004.Research methods in human resource management. 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Witkin, S. (2012). Social construction and social work practice. 1st ed. New York: Columbia University Press. Bass, S., Shields, M. and Behrman, R. (2004). Children, families, and foster care: Analysis and recommendations. The future of children, pp.5--29. Lips, D. (2007). Foster care children need better educational opportunities. Heritage Foundation, June 5, 2007, http://tinyurl. com/danlips. Read More