Creating Compassionate Foster Care ─ Lessons of Hope from Children and Families in Crisis

Mann, a foster parent with training in infant mental health, and Kretchmar-Hendricks, a professor of developmental psychology, relate the stories of children and families Mann and her husband worked with. They developed an approach to foster care, The Children's Ark, which allows birth parents to reside, under supervision, with their children during evaluation and treatment, focusing on children's best interests and the needs of their parents, while educating professionals who are responsible for custodial decisions. The book details the stories of children and families the Manns worked with and what Mann and the staff at The Children's Ark learned about what families need, how they identified positive change, and how to redesign approaches to foster care to respond with compassion and better outcomes. Kretchmar provides research and theory sections in each chapter. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Janet Mann is a former foster parent and founder and director of The Children's Ark foster home in Spokane, Washington. Janet has advanced training in Infant Mental Health and is certified in Circle of Security Assessment and Treatment Planning.Molly Kretchmar-Hendricks, PhD, is a professor of developmental psychology at Gonzaga University in Washington state, with specialized expertise in attachment theory. Molly was a research affiliate on the Circle of Security Intervention Program.