ABSTRACT
Recent estimates indicate that there are between 500,000 and 750,000 children in foster care in the United States (Leslie et al., 2003; Rubin, Alessandrini, Feudtner & Localio, 2004; Simms, Dubowitz & Szilagyi, 2000). According to Fisher, Burraston and Pears (2005) there has been significant growth in the number of children placed in foster care with numbers more than doubling between the early 1980s and mid 1990s. During this period, the fastest growing portion of the foster care population was children under 6 years of age (GAO, 1994). Simms et al. (2000) also noted a significant increase in African American children entering foster care during this time period.
