Evin Richardson

The Road to Membership: The Role of Resilience in Seeking and Maintaining Membership in a Faith Community for Families of Children With Disabilities

The participation of children and adolescents with disabilities and their families in faith communities may be limited due to the various unique challenges that these families face. This qualitative study examines reports by 9 parents of their familys experiences in becoming members of a faith community while examining the role of family resilience throughout this process. Results indicate that parents who displayed resilient attitudes and behaviors were more likely to report positive experiences, a more positive outlook on negative experiences, and full membership in their faith community. Implications for faith communities and parents of children with a disability are shared.

Displacement, caregiving, and the ecological system of youth in foster care: a theoretical perspective

ABSTRACT Children involved in the child welfare (i.e., foster care) system are at a greater risk for numerous negative outcomes in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., lower educational attainment, higher risk for a criminal record). For children in foster care who experience placement disruption (i.e., removed from a foster home and placed in another nonpermanent placement), the risks significantly increase. Informed by the ecological systems model, the authors propose a theoretical perspective to explain the unique aspects of a foster child’s development and discuss how this framework informs child welfare practice and intervention for foster children at risk for placement disruption. This perspective has the potential to provide a framework that has implications for foster caregivers and child welfare professionals and to inform future policies.