Keeping Foster and Kin Parents Supported and Trained
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to EIF’s terms of reference, and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the programme provider.
Keeping Foster and Kinship Parents Trained and Supported (KEEP) is a group-based programme for foster and kinship carers responsible for a child between the ages of 5 and 12 years with behavioural difficulties.
Foster carers attend 16 weekly sessions where they learn practical methods for developing a positive relationship with the children in their care and managing difficult child behaviour.
EIF Programme Assessment
Keeping Foster and Kin Parents Supported and Trained has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome, but we cannot be confident that the programme caused the improvement.
What does the evidence rating mean?
Level 2 indicates that the programme has evidence of improving a child outcome from a study involving at least 20 participants, representing 60% of the sample, using validated instruments.
This programme does not receive a rating of 3 as its best evidence is not from a rigorously conducted RCT or QED evaluation.
A rating of 2 indicates that a programme has a medium-low cost to set up and deliver, compared with other interventions reviewed by EIF. This is equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Child outcomes
According to the best available evidence for this programme's impact, it can achieve the following positive outcomes for children:
Preventing child maltreatment
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour
This programme also has evidence of supporting positive outcomes for couples, parents or families that may be relevant to a commissioning decision. Please see About the evidence for more detail.
Keeping Foster and Kin Parents Supported and Trained
Key programme characteristics
Who is it for?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to the following age-groups:
- Primary school
How is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to implementation through these delivery models:
- Group
Where is it delivered?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation in these settings:
- Community centre
The programme may also be delivered in these settings:
- Home
How is it targeted?
The best available evidence for this programme relates to its implementation as:
- Targeted selective
Where has it been implemented?
Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
UK provision
This programme has been implemented in the UK.
UK evaluation
This programme’s best evidence includes evaluation conducted in the UK.
Spotlight sets
EIF includes this programme in the following Spotlight sets:
- Parenting programmes with violence reduction outcomes
- Programmes for children with recognised or possible special education needs
Keeping Foster and Kin Parents Supported and Trained
About the programme
What happens during delivery?
How is it delivered?
- KEEP is delivered in 16 sessions of 1.5 hours’ duration each by two practitioners to groups of 7-10 foster carers.
What happens during the intervention?
- The primary aim of KEEP is to help foster and kinship carers learn effective strategies for managing unwanted child behaviour and emotional problems.
- These strategies include effective use of the 5:1 rule, meaning that carers should aim to positively reinforce the child at least five times for every one time they correct or discipline the child.
- The curriculum is heavily informed by social learning theory, but carers are helped to fit the techniques specifically to the child they are looking after.
- Carers are also given many opportunities to learn and practise non-harsh methods of discipline, including the use of time-out (Take a Break) and the removal of privileges.
- The facilitators use a mixed methods approach to delivering the content with a strong focus on carer participation.
What are the implementation requirements?
Who can deliver it?
- The two practitioners who deliver this programme are KEEP facilitators with QCF-6 level qualifications.
What are the training requirements?
- Practitioners have 37 hours of programme training.
- Booster training of practitioners is recommended.
How are the practitioners supervised?
- It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one programme developer supervisor (qualified to QCF 7/8 level) and one host-agency supervisor (qualified to QCF-6 level), with 37 hours of programme training.
What are the systems for maintaining fidelity?
Programme fidelity is maintained through the following processes:
- Training manual
- Other printed material
- Video or DVD training
- Face-to-face training
- Fidelity monitoring
- KEEP-Up sessions (2x per year).
Is there a licensing requirement?
There is no licence required to run this programme.
How does it work? (Theory of Change)
How does it work?
- Child behavioural problems are the primary reason for breakdowns in foster care placements.
- Child behavioural problems are rooted in maladaptive and ‘coercive’ parent/child interactions.
- Foster and kinship carers are trained to reduce children’s negative behaviour through the use of effective parenting practices.
- In the short term, children’s behaviour improves and foster carers experience less stress.
- In the longer term, children have greater placement stability and increased likelihood of reunification with their parents.
- Foster parents also receive greater personal satisfaction and are more likely to experience more positive placements in the future.
Intended outcomes
Supporting children's mental health and wellbeing
Enhancing school achievement & employment
Preventing substance abuse
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy
Contact details
Colin Waterman
Director (and Systemic Family Psychotherapist)
National Implementation Service
[email protected]
www.evidencebasedinterventions.org.uk
www.oslc.org
www.oslcdevelopments.org
Keeping Foster and Kin Parents Supported and Trained
About the evidence
KEEP has preliminary evidence from two pre-post studies conducted in the UK and USA. These studies identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes. Each study is rated as level 2 and so, the programme receives a level 2 rating overall.
Study 1
| Citation: | Warburton & Glynn. (2015) |
|---|---|
| Design: | Pre-post |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Sample: | 869 children (average age 8 years 8 months) |
| Timing: | Post-test |
| Child outcomes: | Improved child behaviour |
| Other outcomes: | Improved parental discipline style |
| Study rating: | 2 |
Warburton, J., Glynn, G. (2015). NIS Programme Report - KEEP Keeping Foster and Kinship Carers Trained and Supported. National Implementation Service.
Request acess by contacting
[email protected]
Roberts, R., Glynn, G., & Waterman, C. (2016). “We know it works but does it last?” The implementation of the KEEP foster and kinship carer training programme in England. Adoption & Fostering, 40(3), 247-263.
Available at
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0308575916657956
Rowan H. (2017). KEEP Update Day Audit. National Implementation Service.
Request access by contacting
[email protected]
Study Design and Sample
This study is a pre-post study, conducted in the UK. The study included a sample of 849 children and KEEP carers who received the standard KEEP programme.
The children in the sample were on average 8 years 8 months old, and in the vast majority of cases there were behavioural concerns. In terms of ethnicity, 82.3% of the children were White, 7.2% were Black British/Black Other, 3.9% were Asian British/Asian Other, and 7.6% were of mixed heritage.
Measures
- Child behaviour problems were measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (carer report).
- Parental discipline styles were measured using the Parenting Scale (carer report).
Findings
At post-test this study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes, including:
- Child behaviour (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; carer report)
- Parental discipline style (Parenting Scale; scale).
Study 2
| Citation: | Greeno et al., (2016) |
|---|---|
| Design: | Pre-post |
| Country: | United States |
| Sample: | 65 children (average age 7 years 7 months) |
| Timing: | Post-test |
| Child outcomes: |
Improved placement stability
Improved child behaviour |
| Other outcomes: | None measured |
| Study rating: | 2 |
Greeno, Elizabeth J., Mathew C. Uretsky, Bethany R. Lee, Jessica E. Moore, Richard P. Barth, and Terry V. Shaw. (2016) Replication of the KEEP Foster and Kinship Parent Training Program for Youth with Externalizing Behaviors. Children and Youth Services Review 61 (February 1, 2016): 75–82.
Study Design and Sample
This study is a pre-post study, conducted in the USA. The study included a sample of 65 children and KEEP carers who received the standard KEEP programme.
The children in the sample were on average 7 years 7 months old. In terms of ethnicity, 48% of children were Black, 32% were White, 17% were classified as Other, and 3% were of unknown ethnicity.
Measures
- Child behaviour problems were measured using the Child Behaviour Checklist (carer report).
- Placement stability and permanency were assessed using state administrative data (administrative data).
Findings
This study identified statistically significant positive impact on a number of child and parent outcomes, including:
- Child behaviour on the Child Behaviour Checklist (carer report)
- Placement stability (administrative data).
Other studies
The following studies were identified for this programme but did not count towards the programme's overall evidence rating. A programme receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Greeno, E. J., Lee, B. R., Uretsky, M. C., Moore, J. E., Barth, R. P., & Shaw, T. V. (2015). Effects of a foster parent training intervention on child behavior, caregiver stress, and parenting style. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(6): 1991-2000 - This reference refers to a quasi-experimental design, conducted in the USA.
Price, J. M., Chamberlain, P., Landsverk, J., Reid, J., Leve, L., & Laurent, H. (2008). Effects of a Foster Parent Training Intervention on Placement Changes of Children in Foster Care. Child Maltreatment, 13(1): 64–75 - This reference refers to a randomised control trial, conducted in the USA.
Chamberlain, P., Price, J., Leve, L.D., Laurent, H., Landsverk, J.A., & Reid, J.B. (2008). Prevention of behaviour problems for children in foster care: outcomes and mediation effects. Prevention Science, 9: 17-27 - This reference refers to a randomised control trial, conducted in the USA.
Chamberlain, P., Price, J., Reid, J., & Landsverk, J. (2008). Cascading Implementation of a Foster and Kinship Parent Intervention. Child Welfare, 87(5): 27–48 - This reference refers to a randomised control trial, conducted in the USA.
DeGarmo, D.S., Chamberlain, P., Leve, L.D., Price, J. (2009). Foster Parent Intervention Engagement Moderating Child Behavior Problems and Placement Disruption. Research on Social Work Practice, 19(4): 423-433 - This reference refers to a randomised control trial, conducted in the USA.
Price, J. M., Roesch, S., & Walsh, N. E. (2012). Effectiveness of the KEEP foster parent intervention during an implementation trial. Children and Youth Services Review, 34: 2487–2494 - This reference refers to a quasi-experimental design, conducted in the USA.
Knibbs, S., Mollidor, C., & Bierman, R. (2016). “KEEP Standard Evaluation Research Report: October 2016,” October 2016. http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/27834/1/DFE-RR530-KEEP_Standard_training_programme_for_foster_and_kinship_carers.pdf - This reference refers to a quasi-experimental design, conducted in the UK.
Chamberlain, P., Moreland, S. & Reid, K. (1992). Enhanced Services and Stipends for Foster Parents: Effects on Retention Rates and Outcomes for Children. Child Welfare, 71(5): 387–401 - This reference refers to a randomised control trial, conducted in the USA.
Leathers, S.J., Spielfogel, J.E., McMeel, L.S., Atkins, M.S. (2011). Use of a Parent Management Training Intervention with Urban Foster Parents: A Pilot Study. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(7): 1270-1279 - This reference refers to a quasi-experimental design, conducted in the USA.
Published April 2024