Matching to prevent adoption disruption

The number of children being freed for adoption placement is increasing due to legislation. These children are frequently the victims of chaotic environments. Their exposure to adversity makes it more difficult for them to maintain long term placements. Suggestions are made toward the utilization of standardized instruments in the matching of adoptive parents and children to prevent adoption disruption.     

Placement stability in non-kinship foster care: variables associated with placement disruption

In Spain research has been conducted into the outcomes of foster care, although there is a need for further analysis, especially as regards the variables associated with placement disruption. In 2008 (T1) was collated information on all foster placements that were registered in three Spanish provinces. In 2014 (T2), data were gathered by reviewing the children's case notes and through interviews with the social worker responsible for each case. The resulting sample comprised 104 non-kinship foster children in long-term foster care who were being fostered in 86 families. The results obtained at T2 showed that the percentage of children who were still living with the same family (68.3%) was greater than the proportion of children whose circumstances had changed (31.7%). The social workers considered that placement disruption had occurred in 27 of the 33 cases. One of the main finding was placement disruption was associated with the older age at the time of being fostered and the emotional relationship quality between children and foster carers. A regression analysis showed that low levels of warmth and communication in the relationship between child and foster carers were shown to be a predictor of placement breakdown. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Examining rates and risk factors for post-order adoption disruption in England and Wales through survival analyses

PurposeThis paper reports findings from two research studies that set out to calculate the rate and predictors of post-order adoption disruption in England and Wales.MethodsAll available national level administrative data on adopted children in England and Wales were analysed, supplemented by national surveys adoption managers. Complete national datasets were available 12 years in England and for 11 years in Wales.ResultsOf the 36,749 and 2,317 adoptions considered, 565 in England and 35 in Wales had disrupted over the follow up period. Kaplan-Meier analyses indicate that cumulative post-order adoption disruption rates were 3.2% and 2.6% respectively for England and Wales. Cox regression models indicate that being older than four years adoptive placement, adoptive parents taking longer than a year to legalise the adoption, being a teenager and previous multiple placements in care were risk factors for post-order adoption disruption.ConclusionThe post order adoption disruption rate is low. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Risk factors for mental health diagnoses among children adopted from the public child welfare system

Children awaiting adoption through the child welfare system often have “special needs,” or characteristics that make securing an adoptive home for them challenging. A subset of these youth experiences significant psychiatric symptomatology, which may pose a problem for the stability of the adoptive placement. Clinicians and policymakers require information about precursors to mental health difficulties in order to plan effectively for the placement of these children.This study examines potential child and biological family risk factors for the presence of a DSM-IV mental health diagnosis among 368 children placed for adoption by a special needs adoption program between February 1997 and April 2005 using logistic regression within the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) framework. A significant proportion of the children and biological parents in our study experienced serious adversity prior to adoptive placement. Older age at adoptive placement, white race, male gender, having more than one placement, and a history of sexual abuse are significant predictors of the presence of a mental health diagnosis in the logistic regression model. Biological parent incarceration is significantly associated with the absence of a mental health diagnosis.Adoptive placement is a key transition for youth who have often experienced significant loss and trauma prior to placement. Support of the adoptive family and youth can be critical to ensuring placement stability and may be especially salient for youth with documented mental health diagnoses and corresponding behavioral problems, which put children at increased risk for placement disruption. More work is needed to understand the interplay of risk and protective factors for mental health difficulties among youth adopted from the child welfare system, including how these are affected by child welfare policies, informal procedures, and resources to produce varying outcomes for children in peril.     

Assessing Sibling Attachment in the Face of Placement Issues

With the advent of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 child welfare workers are faced with the task of placing sibling groups in potential adoptive homes shortly after their separation from biological families. At times, the number of children and/or their special needs present arguments against the conventional wisdom of maintaining the sibling group intact. This paper presents guidelines in the assessment of sibling attachment and in the decision-making process regarding placement.     

Integrating special-needs adoption with residential treatment.

Current estimates indicate that 76% of Iowa children whose parents' rights have been terminated and who are listed on the adoption exchange are older children with emotional/behavioral disabilities. Residential treatment can play a significant role in preparing difficult-to-place children (e.g., seven- to 14-year-olds with moderate to severe emotional or behavioral problems) for adoptive placement [Powers and Powell 1982]. The SATT model offers the opportunity to effectively manage the risks in adoptive placement for these children.     

Effects of kinship care on behavioral problems by child age: A propensity score analysis

When a child must be removed from the family home, placement with a relative is often sought because kinship care is the least restrictive and most family-like out-of-home placement. Although kinship care has become a preferred option in most U.S. child welfare systems, this preference is often based on “soft evidence” rather than rigorous evaluation of the risks and benefits of kinship care. Therefore, an evaluation of the impact of kinship care on child behavioral problems is needed to guide child welfare practice and policy. In addition, given that children of different ages and in different developmental stages are likely to have varying placement experiences, the evaluation of kinship care should explore the effect of kinship care on child behavioral problems across age groups. To fill these knowledge gaps, we compare the behavioral problems of 584 children in kinship care with those of 470 children in non-kinship care. Moreover, we examine the impact of kinship care on behavioral problems in 2 age groups: younger children (0 to 5 years) and older children (6 to 17.5 years). The analysis uses data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, and applies propensity score methods to account for selection bias. Results show that older children in kinship care had significant lower levels of externalizing, internalizing, and total behavior problems. However, for younger children, the effects of kinship care on child behavioral problems did not reach statistical significance. The implications for practice, research and policy are discussed.     

Identification of risk factors for psychological disturbance in adopted children

A postal survey explored the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in 97 adopted children using Achenbach's Child Behaviour Checklist. Possible predictors of high problem scores were sought in the pre-placement history and in aspects of the adoptive placement. The adopted children studied had significantly higher problem scores than a non-clinic population. Problem scores were significantly higher in children with a history of pre-placement abuse. Abused children also had significantly more placements prior to adoption and were older at adoption. Racial congruence of adopted family, sex of child and ethnicity did not affect problem scores. Sibling contact was positively associated with high problem scores. The findings have important implications for adoption policy and the management of intractable child abuse and require further more detailed investigation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of family structure on the adjustment of adopted children.

Psychological and academic adjustments were assessed in a group of 130 adopted children (six to 12 years of age) living in five different family constellations: only children, children with younger adopted siblings only, children with younger biological siblings only, children with older adopted siblings only, and children with older biological siblings only. Few differences were found from one cluster to another, suggesting that family structure, while complicating the dynamics of adoptive family life, plays a minor role in adoption adjustment.     

Predictors of foster care exits to permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption

Although foster care is intended to be temporary, and policy explicitly requires permanency outcomes, many children experience lengthy stays and exit foster care without a permanent family. This study sought to identify which child and placement characteristics were important predictors of exit to three types of permanency outcomes: reunification, guardianship, and adoption. A sample of 3351 children who entered foster care in 2006 was observed for 30 to 42 months. Permanency outcomes were analyzed using competing risks survival analysis. Children exited foster care to different types of permanency at different rates and frequencies. Reunification occurred most quickly and frequently. Guardianship was second in terms of median duration but third in frequency. Adoption was the second most common exit but had the longest median duration. One in four children remained in foster care or exited without permanency. While patterns varied by type of permanency, three major categories of important predictors were identified: 1) demographic characteristics of age at entry and race, 2) clinical needs related to children's disabilities and mental health problems, and 3) continuity and connections represented by kin placements, sibling placements, early stability, and absence of runaway events. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.     

Factors Affecting Attachment in International Adoptees at 6 Months Post Adoption

This pilot study examined the effect of five child and maternal factors on the attachment security of international adoptees at 6 months post adoption. Results from the sample of 22 adoptive mother-infant dyads showed that age at adoption, developmental status, length and quality of preadoption care, and maternal attachment representations were not significant predictors of child attachment status. The number of preadoption placements and the child's stress level did significantly predict attachment status, accounting for approximately 40% of the variance in attachment security. Number of preadoption placements uniquely contributed 14% of that variance (p = .007) while stress level uniquely contributed 12% (p = .01). Children who had fewer preadoption placements had higher attachment security; similarly, children who had lower stress levels had higher attachment security. Results suggest that consistency of preadoption care was more important than its length or quality. Further, the relationship between stress level and attachment security raises the possibility that a lower stress level functions as a protective factor for the developing attachment with the adoptive mother.     

Timeliness in the Adoptive Placement of Photolisted Children

ABSTRACT

This study uses information from the New York State (NYS) Adoption Photolisting Service, the Blue Books, to determine the characteristics of the hardest-to-place children, factors related to timeliness in the adoptive placement of listed children, and the efficacy of photolisting updates in impacting placement probabilities. The data for this study consist of computerized records on all children photolisted in NYS from 1976 to 1997. Results indicate that children experiencing significant delays in placement are more likely to be male, black, older at first listing, have mild or severe psychological problems or multiple problems requiring total care and to have strong emotional ties to nonadopting adults in their lives. Members of sibling groups listed in the Blue Books are placed more quickly. Even after controlling for time dependency and unobserved heterogeneity, results indicate that updating a photolisting has no significant impact on increasing a child's probability of placement. Implications of study findings for administrative practice are discussed.     

Explaining the disparity in placement instability among African-American and white children in child welfare: A Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition

African-American children in the child welfare system are at disproportionate risk of adverse experiences including placement instability. This article compares placement instability among African-American and white children in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and identifies mechanisms underlying racial disparities using a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. The type of initial out-of-home placements contributes significantly to the racial gap in placement instability. However a large amount of racial disparity remains unexplained. Additional factors, not captured by these analyses, apparently explain African-American's increased risk of placement instability. Predictors of placement instability differ between racial groups. Among African-Americans, older age, initial placement in a setting other than kinship care, and having a higher externalizing CBCL score at baseline are associated with greater instability. Among white children, however, only initial placement in a foster care setting predicted placement instability.     

Foster children placed with or separated from siblings: Outcomes based on a national sample

This study examines a range of outcomes for children in foster care who have siblings, using a large, national U.S. database. Three types of sibling placements are defined: split (child has no siblings in the home), splintered (at least one sibling in the home), and together (all siblings in the home). The study analyzes records (n = 1701) from the National Study of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, including Child Protective Services (CPS) and Long-term Foster Care (LTFC) samples. It contributes to the literature in its inclusive definition of siblings, use of three categories for sibling placement status, and use of outcome measures that include the perceptions of foster children. The study reports limited significant findings. Neither foster parents' nor youths' reports of behavioral problems differ by sibling placement status. As rated by teachers, academic performance in the group placed together exceeds that in both of the other groups. For children in kinship homes, teachers also reported less problematic internalizing and externalizing behavior for the splintered and together groups than for the split group. Children in the splintered group also responded more favorably than those in the split group to questions of closeness to the primary caregiver and liking the people in the foster family.     

The moderating effect between strengths and placement on children's needs in out-of-home care: A follow-up study

The negative impact of childhood maltreatment, which can often extend well into adulthood, consistently appears to be ameliorated if victimized children possess several resiliencies or strengths. However, little is known about how vulnerable children's outcomes are affected by different levels of strengths across different out-of-home placement settings. Hence, this study examined the association of two factors — children's strengths and placement type, with outcomes at two time-points during out-of-home care. The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool was used to assess the outcomes of 285 children placed in residential homes or foster care in Singapore. Multiple regressions were conducted on CANS domain scores to evaluate whether level of baseline strengths and placement type predicted outcomes at two time-points after controlling for race, prior placements, age, gender, interpersonal trauma, and baseline needs scores. Results indicate that relative to residential care, foster care children are reported to be younger, with lower baseline needs, more prior placements, fewer baseline strengths and suffered fewer types of interpersonal trauma. After controlling for covariates, higher baseline strengths significantly predicted lower baseline needs of children across 3 of 4 CANS domains, regardless of placement settings. However, at reassessment 1 year later, there were significant interactions between strengths and placement type, whereby baseline strengths significantly predicted lower life functioning needs only in foster care. To conclude, in both residential and foster care, the protective effects of high strengths against child maltreatment were similarly apparent at baseline, despite clear differences in children's profiles across placement types. Over time, these initial benefits appeared to persist somewhat for children in foster care but seemed to diminish in more restrictive, residential settings and this warrants further investigation on children with more similar profiles. Nonetheless, it is clear that the continual development of children's strengths should be prioritized in case planning.     

Proceed With Caution? Parents' Union Dissolution and Children's Educational Achievement

Using high‐quality Norwegian register data on 49,879 children from 23,655 families, the authors estimated sibling fixed‐effects models to explore whether children who are younger at the time of a parental union dissolution perform less well academically, as measured by their grades at age 16, than their older siblings who have spent more time living with both biological parents. Results from a baseline model suggest a positive age gradient that is consistent with findings in some of the extant family structure literature. Once birth order is taken into account, the gradient reverses. When analyses also control for grade inflation by adding year of birth to the model, only those children who experience a dissolution just prior to receiving their grades appear relatively disadvantaged. The results illustrate the need to specify and interpret sibling fixed‐effects model with great care.     

Relationship of risk assessment to placement characteristics in a statewide child welfare population

Risk assessments allow child and youth services to identify children who are at risk for maltreatment (e.g., abuse, neglect) and help determine the restrictiveness of placements or need for services among youth entering a child welfare system. Despite the use of instruments by many agencies within the U.S. to determine the appropriate placements for youth, research has shown that placement decisions are often influenced by factors such as gender, age, and severity of social–emotional and behavior problems. This study examined ratings of risk across multiple domains using a structured assessment tool used by caseworkers in the Rhode Island child welfare system. The relationship between ratings of risk and placement restrictiveness was also examined. Risk levels varied across placement settings. Multivariate analyses revealed that lower caseworker ratings of parent risk and higher ratings of youth risk were associated with more restrictive placements for youth. Implications for the child welfare system are discussed.     

Displacement,caregiving, and the ecological system of youth in foster care: a theoretical perspective

Children involved in the child welfare (i.e., foster care) system are at a greater risk for numerous negative outcomes in adolescence and adulthood (e.g., lower educational attainment, higher risk for a criminal record). For children in foster care who experience placement disruption (i.e., removed from a foster home and placed in another nonpermanent placement), the risks significantly increase. Informed by the ecological systems model, the authors propose a theoretical perspective to explain the unique aspects of a foster child’s development and discuss how this framework informs child welfare practice and intervention for foster children at risk for placement disruption. This perspective has the potential to provide a framework that has implications for foster caregivers and child welfare professionals and to inform future policies.