“We are kind of their parents”: Child welfare workers’ perspective on sexuality education for foster youth

•Youth in the child welfare system are at risk for pregnancy and STIs.•Sexual reproductive health information should be communicated to foster youth.•Focus groups identified themes for supporting foster youths’ sexual reproductive health.•Child welfare workers and foster parents see benefits from receiving training. Adolescents and young adults placed in our child welfare system are at an increased risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections due to their likelihood to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex and sex with multiple partners. They receive unclear and inconsistent messages about sexual and reproductive health and lack access to reproductive health services and programs. Focus groups (N = 3) comprised of child welfare workers and foster parents were conducted to capture the issues relevant to addressing the sexual reproductive health needs of youth in out-of-home care. Participants indicated that they generally did not receive sufficient training, if any, yet were expected to address sexual reproductive health issues with youth. The responses were organized into three themes that should be considered when developing training interventions: (1) how to communicate with youth about sexual reproductive health; (2) defining adults’ roles and activities in assisting youth; and, (3) discussions about their values about sex and sexual activity. The results of this study point to a need for child welfare workers and foster parents to receive concrete practice skills regarding how to address the sexual reproductive health needs of youth.