Foster Parents’ Experience of (Mis)attunement Within Compliance-Centered Systems

Summary

The Foster Parent FAN project uses focus groups with foster parents to explore how they experience attunement and misattunement within the child welfare system. Misattunement is characterized by feeling undervalued, misled, and isolated. Findings from these groups inform a tailored training based on the Facilitating Attuned Interactions (FAN) framework. Long-term goals for the study include strengthening collaborative, attuned relationships between foster parents and other adult stakeholders in child welfare. This project aims to reduce foster parent burnout and turnover as well as improve stability and well-being for youth in care. The Foster Parent FAN study is a collaboration between Loyola University Chicago’s Fostering Connections Training Institute, Erikson Institute and Northwestern University. It examines how a compliance-centered system can shift toward one that better supports the relational needs of foster parents and the children they care for.