Foster Parents' Perceptions of Barriers to Accessing Substance Abuse Treatment for Foster Youth

• Main Author: Harrington, Tiffany Sabrina
• Format: Others
• Published: CSUSB ScholarWorks 2016
• Subjects: substance abuse; foster youth; foster parents; Social Work
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/375; https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1398&context=etd

As Counties continue to grow and the need for foster parent’s increases, resources become scarce. In San Bernardino County, Juvenile drug court is no longer offered, which has led to fewer resources for foster parents in need of substance abuse treatment services. Without access to juvenile drug court, foster youth are often in need of substance abuse treatment services after they have been placed, as part of rehabilitation and success. Substance abuse issues are often found at the initial interaction of children and family services, and foster youth agencies; however, for ongoing treatment, there are few resources. The purpose of this study focused on foster parent’s perceptions of barriers to accessing substance abuse treatment for foster youth. In order to create solutions and break these barriers, it was important to find out where the problem may have started. Data consisted of questionnaires given to San Bernardino County licensed foster parents who have had placement within the last two years. Given the information that was found, it was concluded that there are limited resources for foster parent caregivers, and having found this information has allowed for San Bernardino County Children and Family Services to ensure the barriers that limited access can be broken.