The Impact on Foster Care Children and Working with Their Families during and after COVID-19

Abstract

The purpose of this literature review is to inform and examine how foster children were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many children enter and exit the child welfare system every day, and this did not stop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were many challenges that ranged from providing adequate services, seeing youth in person, visiting youth in facilities and foster homes, biological parents exercising their rights to visitation, court proceedings, and not to mention the stress for all parties involved, such as the child(ren), biological parents, foster parents, social workers, and other qualified professionals. The child welfare professionals had to figure out how to lessen the impact of trauma by thinking outside of the box until the pandemic was closely controlled and the sense of normalcy was restored.