| Description |
Foster youth, upon leaving the care of state foster care systems, suffer disproportionately from poor economic, health and social outcomes than their peers. Mentoring is a method that has been brought over from the business world to help improve outcomes for these youth, but it has proven to not be enough. Outcomes for this population are still disproportionately low. Until the economic climate of our country improves to the point of being able to fund larger and more targeted programs, we must work to improve what is already available. To improve the role of a mentor, performance coaching techniques, tools again borrowed from the world of business, were introduced to foster parents who already hold a natural mentoring role. They were taught critical inquiry skills with the youth in their home in order to promote goal setting and problem solving skills. This study looked at the feasibility and value perceived in this process. While challenges presented themselves in the form of time, adequate training, and immediate vs. long term behavior modification, parents who successfully implemented coaching methods saw remarkable improvements in the behavior of their teenage foster youth. |
