Mental health needs and therapeutic service utilization of young children in foster care in Germany

Abstract

Although children in foster care often need therapeutic help, the ways to initiate therapeutic services for them is not regulated in Germany. The objective of this cross-sectional study is to identify factors associated with therapeutic service utilization in young children in foster care in Germany. Additionally, it explores predictors of foster parents’ perceived need for therapeutic help for the child. Foster parents of 286 children aged 3–7 years completed questionnaires about children's mental health, child and placement characteristics. Logistic regression models tested the impact of these factors on therapeutic service utilization and foster parents’ perceived need for child therapy s..