Long‐range evaluation of effects on foster parents of a foster parent skills training program

Abstract

The Foster Parent Skills Training Program (FPSTP) is a foster parent training program developed for delivery by agency based personnel, including foster parents, at the College of Human Development of The Pennsylvania State University. It has been used by an increasing number of Child Welfare agencies in the state since it was piloted in 1974. This broad dissemination has permitted repeated evaluation of its effects, which are consistently positive with different sub‐samples of both foster parents and agency paraprofessional trainers. This article will attempt to summarize a major portion of the evaluation results, namely effects on foster parents, in the context of changing developments in the program and its administration. A brief description of the program and its delivery system will be included.