Helping foster parents cope with separation, loss, and grief

Major changes in planning for children in foster care have resulted in significant changes in the roles of and expectations for foster parents, accompanied by even less attention to the issues of foster families' grief and loss. This article focuses on (1) the many ways foster parents encounter loss and grief on a continuous basis; (2) factors that affect the intensity of the loss and the healthy expression and resolution of grief; (3) problems that can result when the grief of foster parents is not adequately addressed; and (4) ways in which professionals can be helpful to these caregivers around loss and grief.