Foster family assessment: The assessor's perspective - A qualitative study.

Children in foster care are more likely to exhibit emotional, behavioral, social, and developmental problems. Accordingly, foster families should provide them with a safe family environment that promotes their development. Therefore, to ensure that foster families adequately meet children's needs, it is crucial for youth protection services to properly assess prospective foster family applicants.

Placement stability: What role do the different types of family foster care play?

Background: Placement stability is a major concern after a child enters foster care. Several studies have focused on the different factors associated with the risk of moving the child. However, the role and effect of the type of family foster care is less clear.

Contact with biological parents following placement in foster care: Associations with preschool child externalizing behavior.

Externalizing behavior problems are a salient issue in the context of child protection services, where associations with placement stability and caregiving behavior have been documented. Moreover, although research on the association between contact with biological parents and foster child externalizing behavior problems is scarce and has yielded mixed results, several studies have shown links between the two variables. The purpose of this study is to determine the association of face-to-face contact with biological parents and externalized behaviors, while taking into account placement instability and foster parent interactive sensitivity.

Neuromotor functions in Inuit preschool children exposed to Pb, PCBs, and Hg.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of prenatal and postnatal chronic exposure to mercury (Hg), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead (Pb) on the neuromotor development of preschool children. The study population consisted of 110 preschool Inuit children from Nunavik (Canada). Blood Hg, PCBs and Pb concentrations were measured at birth (cord blood) and at the time of testing.