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General Information

...for information about KEEP...

KEEP - Keeping foster and kinship carers supported and trained - is a group training programme developed by Dr Patricia Chamberlain and colleagues (Chamberlain, Price, Reid and Landsverk, 2008). The programme is designed for mainstream non-related foster carers and kinship (or family and friends) carers and utilises the same principles and theoretical underpinnings of Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (Chamberlain 2003) but without the whole team approach.

KEEP groups are delivered by two trained facilitators. Sessions are 90 minutes long and run over 16 or 20 weeks depending on the specific programme. The programme aims to increase the parenting skills of foster and kinship carers, decrease the number of placement disruptions, improve child outcomes and increase the number of positive placement changes (e.g. reunification, adoption).

KEEP aims to accomplish these goals by:

  • Promoting the idea that foster carers can serve as key agents of change for children
  • Strengthening foster carer’s confidence and skills so they can change their child’s behaviours using positive approaches
  • Helping foster carers use effective parent management strategies and providing them with support to do so

You can find all the information you need about KEEP by using the main menu navigation bar.

You'll find basic information about:  

  • the KEEP programmes 
  • how to set up an KEEP programme in your local authority or agency
  • training for facilitators and foster carers  
  • national and programme events
  • the research evidence for KEEP and the outcome measures used