Caregivers Focus Group on foster and kinship caregiver supports in Alberta

PolicyWise for Children & Families is conducting online focus groups with current foster and kinship caregivers in Alberta on behalf of Alberta Children’s Services (Government of Alberta).

The purpose is to learn more about supports and services offered that are designed to support foster and kinship caregivers in Alberta. This is about supports and services for you as a caregiver, not supports for the child(ren)/youth you care for.

We know you receive supports from your kinship or foster care worker, support worker, and your child’s caseworker, but these are not the supports we’re asking about. For this focus group, we want to hear about your experiences with the ‘extra’ supports provided to you. For example, social supports and mental health services.

The information you share with us will help inform recommendations to improve caregiver supports in Alberta.

Eligibility: We are looking for current foster and kinship caregivers in Alberta to participate in the focus groups. We want to hear from you even if you have never used any extra supports. Diverse experiences are welcomed and valued.

Focus groups will take approximately 60-90 minutes and will be held on:

Option 1: Wednesday July 13th, 10am-11:30am

Option 2: Tuesday, July 19th, 1:30-3:00pm

Option 3: Monday, July 25th, 5:30-7:00pm

Focus groups will be held on Zoom. You will need access to a computer with Internet. Instructions for joining the event will be provided after registration.

Confidentiality: All information collected will be kept confidential, meaning it will only be accessed by researchers on the project and will only be used for this project’s purpose. The summary of findings will be presented in aggregate form (themes of the conversation across the different focus groups) so no single person or organization will be identifiable. Please also be respectful of other participants and maintain confidentiality of what others share within this group.