Many children in non-kinship foster care maintain contact with their birth parents, although debate continues
about whether or not, or under what circumstances, it is beneficial to the child. In this scoping review we analyze
the findings of studies conducted over the past two decades that have specifically examined face-to-face contact
with birth parents for children in non-kinship foster care, our aim being to determine more clearly when it may
contribute positively to the child’s well-being. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR
guidelines and involved a search of nine electronic databases. A total of 21 studies met the criteria for inclu-
sion in the review, namely primary studies analyzing one or more aspects of these contact visits, written in
English or Spanish, and published during the period 1997–2022. In analyzing these studies we grouped their
findings according to four broad areas of interest: characteristics of contact visits, appraisal of visits by families
and professionals, relationship between contact and fostering outcomes, and impact of contact on children. The
four main conclusions we draw from the review are: a) surprisingly few studies have specifically examined the
effects of face-to-face contact with birth parents in non-kinship foster care; b) the findings to date are neither
conclusive nor generalizable, although they are not generally encouraging; c) under the right circumstances (e.g.,
adequate supervision, conducted in a context of emotional security for the child), contact can contribute to the
child’s well-being and increase the likelihood of family reunification; and d) more robust research is needed to
guide the development of interventions that can improve parent–child relationships and the quality of contact
visits
