Effects of a therapeutic playgroup intervention on the social competence and executive functioning of young children in foster care

This study examined the effectiveness of the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) intervention to increase foster children's school readiness. Data were collected from 24 children living in out of home care referred to the KITS program by their caseworkers. Children were randomly assigned to the KITS intervention (n = 11) or comparison conditions (n = 13). Children in the intervention condition participated in 7 weeks of twice weekly, 2-hour therapeutic playgroups. The curriculum-based playgroup provided children with repeated exposure to and practice with the social and self-regulatory demands of kindergarten environments within a highly structured and feedback intensive setting. The aim of this intervention study was two-fold: (a) to examine the effects of a therapeutic playgroup (KITS) on the social competence, executive functions and general behavior of maltreated 4 to 6 year old children living in out-of-home care, and (b) to examine the effects of the intervention on the classroom functioning and social behavior of these children following the transition to kindergarten, first or second grade. Due to the small sample size for this study, the power was often limited, making it extremely difficult to detect differences at conventional levels of significance. Instead, trends in mean differences were often examined. Results show that there was a significant effect of treatment on general problem behavior for the Externalizing Behavior Scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1991). Although there were no significant effects on social competence or executive functioning, mean trends indicate that the skills of the younger intervention group (i.e., social independence, social cooperation, social interaction, social turn-taking, and auditory attention) increased while the skills of the younger comparison children either remained the same or deteriorated over time. Given that the majority of the treatment effects occurred in the younger age groups, the treatment appears to have been more effective for children just entering school. Findings from this study highlight the possible role that effective instruction, supported practice, and reinforcement play in the development of important school readiness skills for children in substitute care.