The effects of a health newsletter for foster parents on their perceptions of the behavior and development of foster children.

Foster children have a high prevalence of medical, emotional, development, and behavioral problems originating both with events leading up to placement and as a consequence of the placement itself. Foster parents are often inadequately trained to understand and help with these difficulties. This may result in the persistence or aggravation of problems, and thereby increase the risk of placement failure. Because of the high demands on foster parents, any such training that is offered may be poorly attended. Methods to better inform these parents delivered in their own home may be more practical and better accepted. Parents at Heart is a quarterly health newsletter mailed to foster parents that deals with topics relevant to foster children. A questionnaire administered before the first issue determined some characteristics of these parents and ascertained their attitudes about a series of child development situations and behavior problems. A questionnaire after the fourth issue of Parents at Hear showed that many of these attitudes were influenced by the material in the newsletter.