Running Head: BIOLOGICAL PARENTS VISITATION EFFECTS ON FOSTER CHILD

Biological Parents Visitation Effects on Foster Children

Mary Glass
Wayne State University

BIOLOGICAL PARENTS VISITATION EFFECTS ON FOSTER CHILD

Biological Parents Visitation Effects on Foster Child

Many studies have shown that children need to know their biological parents, even if
those parents are not capable of providing a safe environment and the ability to ensure the wellbeing of the child (McWey, Acock, & Porter, 2010). Knowing the parents can provide a child
with a basis of where they belong and fit into the world. People seem to have an uncontrollable
desire to know where they came from to provide them with the security and assurance that they
can make decision for themselves. If a child is removed from the biological parent for neglect or
abuse, does continued exposure to biological parents help or hinder a foster childs mental health
development?
Method
To determine whether a foster child mental health is affected by visitation with their
parent(s), I plan on administering a survey to foster parents. The survey will include questions
regarding the childs external and internal behavior before and after visits. The measurement tool
will also include questions about the current age of the child, when and why the child was placed
into the foster care system, and what is the childs permanency goal. The better understand the
affects the parents visit may have on the child, I have also added questions about if the child
visits both parents or just one and how often and how long does the child visit with the parent(s).
Finally I added, an opinion question about how the foster parent thought the child was doing
overall in their home.
Agency
Foster Care Review Boards are held throughout the state of Michigan. There are 30
review boards comprised of local area residents. The review board is managed by the State Court
Administrative Office of the Michigan Supreme Court Their task is to review randomly chosen
foster children cases to ensure the best interest of the child are being met, . After the board

BIOLOGICAL PARENTS VISITATION EFFECTS ON FOSTER CHILD

reviews the case and meets with the child, their caseworker, biological and foster parents, judge,
lawyer, and anyone else that has a connection with the child being reviewed, suggestions may be
made to specific parties to improve the childs well-being and permanency placement. Since the
review board consist of local residents of various professions, they often provide useful resources
and insight to the other participants at the meeting. The client population is any foster child from
infant to 18 years old. The overall goal is to either have the child return to their biological
parents, be adopted, or learning independent living skills to be a productive member of society.
By surveying the Foster Care Review Board members throughout the state, data can be compiled
to determine whether previous cases have shown that a childs mental health state in improving
when contact with parents increases.
By administering the survey, I anticipate I will conclude that regular visits with the foster
childs biological parent will improve or at the very least maintain the childs mental health. I
suspect the foster parent will have to endure some emotional and behavioral issue as the child
processes the visitation time before, after and during the visit (McWey, Acock, & Porter, 2010).
However, the visitation time results could be beneficial to the child.

References
McWey, L. M., Acock, A., & Porter, B. E. (2010). The impact of continued contact with
biological parents upon the mental health of children in foster care. Children and Youth
Services Review, 1338-1345.

BIOLOGICAL PARENTS VISITATION EFFECTS ON FOSTER CHILD