Even More Tenuous Connections: A Pastoral Theological Analysis of Foster Care During COVID-19

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the experience of foster children through the lens of four frameworks: attachment theory, systemic intersectional oppression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and silencing. These frameworks all illustrate the way in which foster children live in an environment of ‘tenuous connections.’ This article also proposes that COVID-19 has further exacerbated these tenuous connections and that while pastoral caregivers are capable of playing an essential role in providing stability and safety to foster children, it may be difficult for them to do so, due to the inherent instability of foster children's lives.