An Evaluation of Self-Assessed Caregiver Readiness to Foster and Adopt After Participating in the National Training and Development Curriculum.

Abstract

Purpose: The self-assessment is a component of the National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC) used by resource (i.e. foster, adoptive, and kinship) parents to understand strengths and areas of potential growth associated with successful parenting. This outcome evaluation assesses changes in caregiver self-assessment results after receiving the NTDC classroom-based training.

Materials and methods: Resource parents from six U.S. states completed the self-assessment at baseline before the NTDC classroom-based training and 90 days after completing the training. Regression analyses were conducted for 20 training competencies and 14 parenting characteristics, controlling for demographic and caregiver characteristics and using propensity-score weights to account for potential bias from attrition between completion of the self-assessment at baseline and follow-up. The number of participant responses in the analytic sample varied across the training competencies and parenting characteristics, with an average of n = 321 responses per construct.

Results: All training competencies and parenting characteristics observed statistically significant improvements in participant scores from baseline to follow-up, with average training competency scores improving by 11% and parenting characteristic scores by 5%.

Discussion: These results suggest that the NTDC classroom-based curriculum may help caregivers to develop knowledge and skills in content areas related to effective parenting.

Conclusion: The NTDC self-assessment seems to function as intended for participants to understand areas of strength and potential growth in a variety of training competencies and parenting characteristics associated with effective parenting.