Child adult relationship enhancement (CARE): A brief, skills-building training for foster caregivers to increase positive parenting practices

Foster caregivers are tasked with developing good relationships with children and managing child behavior; however, these caregivers often do not have access to evidence-based interventions typically designed for custodial parents and children with behavioral and/or traumatic symptoms in the clinical range. This study examined the feasibility and impact of a novel six-hour training, Child Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE), on caregiver behavior compared to standard training used by foster care agencies. Thirty-one foster caregivers (90% female) were randomly assigned to CARE training (n = 15) or standard training (n = 16). In comparison to the standard training, foster caregivers who received CARE training demonstrated significant improvement in parenting behavior as measured by the Dyadic Parent Child Interactive Coding System one month later and reported fewer anxiety symptoms in their children as measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children three months later. Conclusions These preliminary findings from this randomized controlled trial suggest that CARE can be delivered in the context of existing mandated foster care training programs, with some evidence that CARE training enhances positive parenting behavior and assists with decreasing anxiety symptoms in youth in the foster care system. •Training for foster caregivers often lacks child relationship-building skills.•Compared to standard training, CARE training resulted in improved parenting skills.•Findings suggest CARE may be a worthwhile complement to mandated trainings.