The Diana Screen is Endorsed by the Family Focused Treatment Association 

 

There are over 400,000 children in foster care in the United States. Many of these children are survivors of abuse and the path that leads a child to foster care is almost always a difficult one. These children need special protection against additional harm.

 

Statistics on Abuse in Foster Care

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• A Johns Hopkins University study found the rate of sexual abuse within the foster care system to be more than four times as high as in the general population

 

• In group home settings, the Johns Hopkins study found the rate of sexual abuse to be more than 28 times that of the general population

 

The majority of foster parents are loving, caring individuals who open their homes and hearts to children in need. But there are other adults who represent a danger to children. 

 

These people:

• May be sexually attracted to children

• May have a poor understanding of adult-child sexual boundaries

• May give permission to individuals in the above categories. These permission givers notice inappropriate behavior and boundary violations but do not report them and do nothing to prevent the incidents they witness

 

Consequences of Failing to Adequately Screen Potential Foster Parents

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• Immeasurable long-term trauma for the abused

• In 2010, an ex-foster child who took his former foster parent to court was awarded $30 million in damages. The private foster family agency that awarded the foster parent his license was found to be negligent and liable for 75 percent of the abuse

 

The Diana Screen  Solution

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The Diana Screen  is a risk management screen that helps keep children in foster care settings safe from sexual boundary violations and sexual abuse. Implementing The Diana Screen , as an additional stage in screening potential foster parents and individuals who will come into contact with children, provides an added layer of protection for the children you place and your agency.

 

The Diana Screen :

• Helps identify the safest foster parents to care for children and teens

• Helps identify individuals who fail to recognize sexual boundaries between adults and children

• Is administered on a computer

• Requires only 5 minutes of staff set-up time

• Results available the same day

 

Whether you are the CEO, administrator, or social worker, we know that protecting children is important to you and that selecting the individuals who will care for foster children is an integral part of that process. The Diana Screen  allows you to incorporate an evidence-based, scientifically validated screen into that process with minimum time commitment by staff.

 

For more information about The Diana Screen  or Abel Screening's line of Child Protection Products, please Contact Us or call at 404.874.4772. 

 

For a list of sources supporting the information on this page, go to References.