Collaborative Community Partnership to Support Foster Families Caring for Medically Complex Children
Abstract
Background: Children in foster care experience disproportionate health challenges, particularly those with medical complexity or disabilities. Foster families often report unmet needs related to health literacy, access to care, and caregiver support. Recognizing these challenges, a university-community partnership was established with a state foster care foundation to assess current gaps and identify opportunities to strengthen health and resource support for foster families.
Purpose: To assess the needs of foster families caring for medically complex or disabled children and to collaboratively develop feasible, culturally competent strategies to address identified gaps in care and resources.
Methods: A community-based participatory approach was used to engage stakeholders across the foster care ecosystem, including foster parents, social workers, resource family consultants, cluster facilitators, and parent educators. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups and interviews then analyzed using thematic content analysis. Teams then designed evidence-informed interventions based on the identified themes.
Results: Seven focus groups/interviews representing foster parents, social workers, educators, and support staff identified four overarching themes: medical, educational, financial, and emotional or systemic gaps. Participants described challenges accessing consistent medical and dental care, navigating Medicaid coverage, and coordinating with assigned nurses. Limited respite options, transportation barriers, and unmet mental health needs further compounded family stress. Educational concerns included inadequate school-based support, lack of trauma-informed teaching, and limited access to practical health training such as CPR and first aid. In response, nursing student teams developed actionable interventions, such as family-inclusive CPR and First Aid training to enhance sibling health literacy.
Conclusion: This project demonstrates the power of academic-community collaboration. Nurses play a vital role in advocating for vulnerable children and families within community systems.
Notes
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References:
Chateauneuf, D., Poitras, K., Simard, M.-C., & Buisson, C. (2022). Placement stability: What role do the different types of family foster care play? Child Abuse & Neglect, 130, 105359-105359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105359
Gypen, L., West, D., Van Holen, F., & Vanderfaeillie, J. (2020). Birth children of foster carers: How do they experience the foster care placement. Child and Youth Services Review, 109, 104703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104703
Liming, K. W., Brook, J., & Akin, B. (2021). Cumulative adverse childhood experiences among children in foster care and the association with reunification: A survival analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 113, 104899-104899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104899
Martens, A. M., Leyenaar, J. K., & Mallory, L. A. (2020). Improvements to foster caregiver experiences in pediatric hospital-to-home Ttansitions. Academic pediatrics, 20(8), 1069-1070. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2020.06.010
Platt, C., & Gephart, S. M. (2022). Placement disruption of children with disabilities in foster care. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 66, 30-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2022.05.004
Sigma Membership
Iota Iota
Lead Author Affiliation
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Public and Community Health, Academic-Clinical Partnership, Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Foster Home Care, Foster Parents, Foster Child, Medically Fragile Child
Recommended Citation
Platt, Christine Rae; Martens, Sally Ann; Haltom, Nyah; Thomas, Michael; and Thatcher, Brandon, "Collaborative Community Partnership to Support Foster Families Caring for Medically Complex Children" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 75.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/75
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-07-27
Collaborative Community Partnership to Support Foster Families Caring for Medically Complex Children
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Background: Children in foster care experience disproportionate health challenges, particularly those with medical complexity or disabilities. Foster families often report unmet needs related to health literacy, access to care, and caregiver support. Recognizing these challenges, a university-community partnership was established with a state foster care foundation to assess current gaps and identify opportunities to strengthen health and resource support for foster families.
Purpose: To assess the needs of foster families caring for medically complex or disabled children and to collaboratively develop feasible, culturally competent strategies to address identified gaps in care and resources.
Methods: A community-based participatory approach was used to engage stakeholders across the foster care ecosystem, including foster parents, social workers, resource family consultants, cluster facilitators, and parent educators. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups and interviews then analyzed using thematic content analysis. Teams then designed evidence-informed interventions based on the identified themes.
Results: Seven focus groups/interviews representing foster parents, social workers, educators, and support staff identified four overarching themes: medical, educational, financial, and emotional or systemic gaps. Participants described challenges accessing consistent medical and dental care, navigating Medicaid coverage, and coordinating with assigned nurses. Limited respite options, transportation barriers, and unmet mental health needs further compounded family stress. Educational concerns included inadequate school-based support, lack of trauma-informed teaching, and limited access to practical health training such as CPR and first aid. In response, nursing student teams developed actionable interventions, such as family-inclusive CPR and First Aid training to enhance sibling health literacy.
Conclusion: This project demonstrates the power of academic-community collaboration. Nurses play a vital role in advocating for vulnerable children and families within community systems.
Description
We explored how a university-community partnership assessed unmet needs among foster families caring for medically complex children. Through focus groups and interviews, we collaborated with foster families to design practical, evidence-informed interventions to strengthen support systems demonstrating how academic-community collaboration enhances care for vulnerable children.