Understanding and Improving Foster Parent and Kinship Care Recruitment and Retention in North Carolina

The Pitt County Department of Social Services faces complex and persistent challenges, including a 100% staff turnover rate and a lack of personnel to identify and recruit kinship and fictive kin homes (n=19). These challenges contribute to a significant reliance on foster care placements, with 196 children currently in the foster system. This situation not only creates instability for children and jeopardizes their well-being but also generates substantial societal costs. To address these issues, the School of Social Work at East Carolina University will collaborate with the Pitt County Department of Social Services to:1) Identify challenges in recruiting and retaining parents for licensed foster care, kinship, and fictive kin homes from both structural and individual perspectives, focusing on child welfare workers and current and prospective foster parents. 2)Develop strategies to maximize the recruitment and retention of licensed foster care and kinship care parents. To achieve these objectives, we will employ a mixed-methods approach, utilizing administrative child welfare data and conducting focus groups. The findings from this study will foster meaningful collaboration and are expected to lead to improved child welfare outcomes in Pitt County.

Scholars @ ECU