Grief and Loss in Foster Care

Credit hours:

2.50

Course Summary

Placement in care often brings complicated feelings of shame, relief, or guilt for children and youth. In order to effectively serve and provide for their needs, we need to help children and youth recognize their grief and meet them where they are in their grieving process. Through this module, you will gain knowledge and tools to help children and youth cope with feelings of grief and ambiguous loss.

In this course, you can expect to learn:

Information about ambiguous loss and complicated grief
Unique challenges children and youth in care may face through the grieving process
The ways grief and trauma can manifest in a child or youth's behaviors
Strategies children and youth can use to cope with ambiguous loss and/or grief

Step 1

Watch the following video "Best Practices for Grief: Foster Care Placement." This video is a part of a series examining grief and loss experiences of children and teens, and was selected because of its valuable introduction to the grief children and youth may experience due to being part of the foster care system.

Step 2

The effects of grief that children and youth in foster care experience vary based on their developmental age. Review the following article published by Fostering Perspectives, "The Effects of Grief and Loss on Children in Foster Care" to learn what grief signs to be aware of for all children and youth.

Step 3

Review the following article "Ambiguous Loss Haunts Foster and Adopted Children" to learn about the inevitable loss a child or youth experiences during their foster care (sometimes repeatedly) and how incredibly difficult this type of grief is to process.

Step 4

Gregory Manning discusses the difference between a traditional and non-traditional loss and how the profound loss and trauma a child or young person in foster care may experience manifests and impacts their behaviors in the following video "Grief and Loss for Youth in Foster Care & Adoption."

Step 5

Watch Matthew's video which reflects the trauma, grief, and loss he dealt with throughout his foster care experience.

Step 6

Review "What Young People Can Do: Healing From Loss," a simple form to help guide and validate a young person healing from loss.

Step 7

Share the "Bill of Rights for Grieving Youth in Foster Care" tool with your child. These rights reflect the values, dreams, and aspirations of current and former foster youth suffering from tremendous loss and can be helpful to a grieving young person and/or a young person who has not yet begun the grieving process.

Step 8

Join the discussion in the comments below to answer the following question:

How can you help young people in your care suffering from grief and loss?

Step 9

Finished the module? If you are logged in as a subscribed user, take the quiz to earn your Continuing Education Credit hours and certificate!

Course Discussion

1 year 3 weeks ago

djhoffman3005 said:

stay calm and understanding when they are acting out grief ..help them find constructive ways to express that grief

1 year 1 month ago

BEnove said:

Help them to process the emotions that they are feeling and be there to listen and support them over time.

MsPorter said:

Always be there when they need you to be without judgment and sometimes you don't need to say anything at all.

1 year 3 months ago

Amber said:

Be understanding and allow children to grieve in their own way.

1 year 4 months ago

cory.vinson1 said:

Helping the recognize the emotions they are feeling and help model healthy ways to cope with grief and loss. Understanding that their grief may always be there but being support when they need it.

vernazurc22 said:

Understanding their losses and anticipating every different way of grieving or mourning will help support a child.

1 year 5 months ago

jonathan_harrell said:

I think it is important to both give appropriate space and time for the child to grieve as well as support them in that grief. The wounds that come from trauma may take a long time to heal, and depending on the person and the trauma may never heal.

1 year 6 months ago

Logiudicece said:

I think one of the most important things to remember is that being placed in foster care or a new foster home is a big change and it will take time to adjust. It is important to recognize behaviors, that would otherwise be considered normal acting out, as signs of grief and to help the child work through them rather than see them as a bad person or punish them.

G.Brown said:

Allowing them to grieve and letting them know you are there

shortyd1107 said:

Have kids talk about their feelings, create a "loss-box", and encourage involvement with biofamily whenever safe

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