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Mental health assessment of infants in foster care

Judith Silver1, Sheryl Dicker

  • 1Starting Young Program, Department of Psychology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Silverj@email.chop.edu

Child Welfare
|April 22, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Infants in foster care face significant emotional and behavioral risks. This guide offers practice guidelines for mental health evaluations, considering legal aspects and foster care

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Social Work

Background:

  • Infants in foster care are disproportionately affected by emotional and behavioral challenges.
  • Adverse early life experiences and complex system involvement impact infant mental health.
  • Existing assessment methods may not fully address the unique context of foster care.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present practice guidelines for infant mental health evaluations.
  • To address the specific needs of infants within the foster care system.
  • To integrate legal requirements and systemic factors into evaluations.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on infant mental health and foster care.
  • Analysis of legal frameworks impacting child welfare.
  • Development of a comprehensive evaluation framework.

Main Results:

  • Guidelines emphasize considering pre-placement adversities.
  • Framework incorporates multi-system involvement (e.g., legal, social services).
  • Recommendations for culturally sensitive and trauma-informed assessments.

Conclusions:

  • Standardized practice guidelines are crucial for accurate infant mental health assessment in foster care.
  • Evaluations must be holistic, acknowledging the child's history and environment.
  • Adherence to these guidelines can improve outcomes for vulnerable infants.

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