Prevalence,experiences, and characteristics of children and youth who enter foster care through voluntary placement agreements

A voluntary foster care placement (sometimes referred to as a voluntary placement agreement) is an agreement, entered into without court involvement, between a state or county child welfare agency and a child's parents to place a child into out-of-home placement. When a child enters foster care through this type of placement, state and federal programs that cover children who enter child welfare due to a court order become the custodians of the voluntarily-placed-child's placement, care, and supervision. In this cross-sectional, exploratory study, data from the Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS) was used to examine the characteristics and experiences of children who enter foster care through a voluntary foster care agreement, and to compare them with those of children who enter foster care through a court order. Findings indicate that children who are placed through a voluntary placement agreement differ from children who enter through a court order in their personal characteristics, as well as in their placement settings, length of placement, and manner of discharge from foster care. This study provides a baseline for future research into this area of child welfare practice.     

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Court Referred Pathways to Mental Health Services for Children in Foster Care

Racial/Ethnic disparity in placement patterns and service utilization among children in foster care has been documented in a variety of studies. This study examined the role of the court process in referring children in foster care to mental health services and tested for racial/ethnic differences in the patterns of referral and service use. Court records for 142 children ages 2–16, representing Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic racial/ethnic groups were reviewed. Results indicate that the court process does play a significant role in referring children to services. Significant differences by race and ethnicity in mental health service utilization prior to the child's protective placement, as well as service orders, and post-placement service use were identified. Caucasian youth were more likely to receive orders for psychotherapy and to have documented use of psychotherapy than were African American and Hispanic youth, even when the possible confounding effects of age and type of maltreatment were controlled. Implications for the effective delivery of supportive services to those children most in need are discussed.     

Community perceptions and foster care placement: A multi-level analysis

Signs of physical and social disorder in a community have the potential to influence the perceptions about community, which could, in turn, impact the decision making processes involved in child maltreatment investigations. While extant research has demonstrated a link between community context and child maltreatment rates, there is a dearth of research examining the potential relationship between social conditions in a community and the child welfare system's response to allegations of neglect. This study examined the relationship between child- and community-level characteristics and the decision to place a child in foster care. Two data sets were linked, one containing detailed observations of community conditions (e.g., cigarette and alcohol advertisements) and a second with individual child level information about child welfare investigations. Multilevel models allowed for the simultaneous understanding of child- and community-level characteristics. The results indicated strong associations between individual characteristics and foster care placement. The race or ethnicity of the child was a strong predictor of entry into foster care, and young children were much more likely to be placed in foster care than older children. Furthermore, community factors were also associated with placement into foster care. Specifically, the presence of litter and graffiti and the lack of security signage in a neighborhood appeared to impact the decision making process for foster care.     

Behavioral health service use and costs among children in foster care

This article compares behavioral health service use and cost for foster care versus nonfoster care children; children before, during, and after foster care placement; and successfully reunified versus nonsuccessfully reunified foster care children. Behavioral health service costs for children in foster care were higher than for children not in foster care. Children in foster care used more services during their foster care placement than before placement and after discharge. Nonsuccessfully reunified children received a significantly larger quantity of services than those successfully reunified.     

Race Matters: Child Protection and the Communication Process

It is well-known that, in the United States, African-American children are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system and that disparities in the provision of services exist. The debate over contributing factors to this overrepresentation and these disparities is ongoing as researchers seek explanations and practitioners pursue solutions. This qualitative inquiry finds that within the context of the child protection system and the juvenile court process, racial dynamics emerge between respondent parents and system representatives that may affect the process and, in turn, the outcomes for the thousands of children of color in the foster care system.     

Ethnic Variations in the Two-Year Living Arrangements of Prenatally Drug-Exposed and Comparison Children Placed at Birth

ABSTRACT

This study reports on the outcomes of foster home placements of 1,038 African American, Latino, and White infants, prenatally exposed to drugs, removed from their mothers' custody at birth and placed in foster care and the outcomes of a comparison group of 203 infants similarly removed, but not known to have been drug-exposed. Twenty-four months after placement, slightly more than half of the White drug-exposed infants were still under court supervision, and two thirds of the African American and Hispanic infants. A similar situation existed for the comparison group, but the ethnic distributions were reversed. Although African American children predominated in the proportion that were in kinship care, the largest proportion of both Latino and White children were in kinship care. Policy and practice implications are discussed in terms of enhancing placement outcomes for prenatally drug-exposed infants in general and in terms of encouraging placement options that may vary depending upon the ethnicity of the child and the child's kinship ties.     

African American males in foster care and the risk of delinquency: the value of social bonds and permanence

Juvenile delinquency remains a significant problem for child welfare systems throughout the United States. Victims of child abuse and neglect are more likely relative to children in the general population to engage in delinquency (Ryan & Testa, 2005; Widom, 1989). Although the magnitude of this relationship is not fully understood (Zingraff, Leiter, Myers, & Johnsen, 1993), the risk of delinquency is particularly high for African American males, adolescents, and children in substitute care settings. Unfortunately little is known about the factors that connect the experiences of maltreatment and delinquency. This lack of knowledge makes it nearly impossible to decrease the risk of delinquency for children in foster care. To improve the understanding of juvenile delinquency in the child welfare system, the current study tests aspects of social control theory within the context of foster care. We focus specifically on the effects of foster parent-foster child attachment, commitment, and permanence. The results indicate that strong levels of attachment decrease the risk of delinquency for youth in foster care. Involvement with religious organizations also decreases the risk of delinquency. In contrast, perceptions of placement instability, placement with relatives, and school suspensions are associated with an increased risk of delinquency.     

Parental substance abuse and the development of children in family foster care

To determine the impact of parental substance abuse on children, the cognitive skills and behavior ratings of 268 school-age children placed in family foster care were examined. As a group, the children in family foster care presented with low average cognitive skills and made significant improvement in cognitive functioning during placement. The children with prenatal exposure to drugs scored significantly lower in cognitive skills at the beginning of placement but made significantly more progress than the other children during placement. Behavior ratings by the foster parents and teachers revealed that 29% of the children had scores in the significant range, and the children exposed prenatally to drugs had a higher incidence of behavior problems at school compared to family foster care peers. Recommendations for further study of these factors and for enhancing outcomes for children in care are provided.     

"Reasonable efforts": toward implementation in permanency planning

The "reasonable efforts" criterion for provision of services to the families of children in foster care and to the families of children at risk of entering foster care is designed to provide for external, and presumably more objective, monitoring by a court of the quantity and quality of these services. A standard of "reasonable effort" applicable to all cases in the two populations of concern is both impractical and probably unethical. Legally there must be a case-by-case determination of "reasonable efforts" that will weigh the unique elements of each case. It is hoped that the working guideline proposed here will provide a basis in child welfare practice for minimizing potentially great variations in court decisions. The guideline begins with a list of problems, verified via an adversarial review, as to why the child(ren) entered foster care or is at risk of doing so, followed by the establishment of the relevance of proffered services to those problems, followed by documentation of a sustained effort to facilitate the use of those services.     

Crisis nursery effects on child placement after foster care

The results of a study of the relationship between receiving crisis nursery services and the placement outcomes for young children leaving the child welfare system in Illinois are reported in this paper. The placement outcomes for children leaving foster care whose families received crisis nursery support prior to the children's placement in foster care is compared to the placement outcomes for children whose families received only foster care services. The children in two samples were identified by matching crisis nursery children's data from FY 2006 with children's data in the Illinois Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System and Children Youth and Services Information System databases. After children served by crisis nursery and foster care services were identified, a comparison group of children with like-characteristics whose families received only foster care services was identified using propensity score matching. The children were followed until their out-of-home placement was terminated or until June 30, 2009. The placement outcomes and the length of stay were compared for the two groups. Using logistical regression analysis the results showed that children whose families received crisis nursery services prior to foster care placement were twice as likely to be reunited with their biological families (birth or extended family members) when compared to children whose families received only foster care services. The difference in the length-of-stay in foster care was not statistically significant when the two groups were compared. This preliminary study using administrative data shows that receiving crisis nursery services may have positive effects on the children's ultimate placement outcome after foster care. Additional research is needed to further explore the relationship between placement outcome and crisis nursery services.     

Measuring the willingness to foster children with emotional and behavioral problems

Many children in foster care have emotional or behavioral problems or are at risk for these problems. It is important to identify parents willing to foster children with these problems in order to ensure placement, care, stability and well-being of such children. This study presents a new 40-item self-report measure of the willingness of parents to foster children with emotional and behavioral problems, and two 20-item parallel forms of this measure. In addition, this study presents evidence of reliability and validity of scores derived from these measures with a national sample of 297 foster mothers. Coefficient alpha for these measures was .92 or greater, indicating excellent internal consistency reliability. Scores from these measures were unrelated to demographic characteristics, providing evidence of discriminant validity. In addition, scores from these measures were higher for foster mothers licensed to provide treatment foster care than for mothers only licensed to provide regular foster care, providing support for known groups validity. Finally, support for construct validity is provided by the fact that foster mothers with higher scores on these measures had fostered longer, were fostering more children at the time of this study, and had fewer children removed from their home at their request.     

Foster care in India: An exploratory survey of the community perceptions and prospects for implementation of foster care in a developing nation: A study in Udaipur,Rajasthan, India

This study was conducted in order to assess the prospects for implementing foster care as an alternative to the dominant system of institutional care available to orphaned and abandoned children in India. 653 families in urban Udaipur participated in a mixed-methods based assessment of receptivity to foster and adoptive care. The majority of those who responded reported receptivity to the idea of foster care as an alternative to institutional care. However, analyses demonstrated that respondents also perceived barriers to implementing systematic foster care, particularly with regard to family recruitment due to problems securing family and community support for participation. The results are discussed in light of governmental calls for non-governmental organization and other stakeholders to institute alternatives to foster and adoptive care. The results of this study have applied significance for organizations and practitioners seeking to implement care alternatives for orphan and abandoned children in India.     

Interjurisdictional placement of children in foster care

As the population of children in foster care has increased and more children are freed for adoption, foster and adoptive families are needed in ever increasing numbers. One avenue for expanding the pool of families is through placement of children with families in other counties and states. This article considers the policy and practice implications of interjurisdictional placement in the context of foster care, adoption, and kinship care and suggests directions for interjurisdictional adoption practice and policy.     

From foster care to juvenile justice: Exploring characteristics of youth in three cities

Children placed in foster care are at risk for becoming involved with the juvenile justice system. This study documents the rates at which children involved with foster care enter the juvenile justice system (crossover or dually involved), and the factors associated with this risk. We utilize multiple birth cohorts and prospective, longitudinal data from birth to maturity separately in three major American cities. Analyses consider integrated administrative records from multiple birth cohorts representing populations in Cook County (Chicago; N = 26,003), Cuyahoga County (Cleveland; N = 10,284), and New York City (N = 13,065). Crossover rates ranged from 7 to 24%. African American males, and children who experienced congregate care were at highest risk for juvenile justice involvement. Older age at first foster care placement signaled progressively greater risk, as did more foster care spells for those first placed as infants. We discuss findings in terms of developmental theory, and as actionable intelligence to inform prevention, practice, and policy.     

Perspectives: Former foster youth refining the definition of placement moves

Research has demonstrated that children who experience numerous moves in foster care are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems and less likely to achieve reunification or permanency. However, current knowledge about how placement move transitions impact children is extremely limited.This study used qualitative methods to explore how former foster youth define a placement move. Results indicated that placement moves can be defined by: 1) Time and relationships; 2) Packing and leaving; 3) Loss of property; 4) Returning home; 5) Type of placement; and 6) Decision-making process. An alternative definition of a placement move is offered and implications for child welfare policy, research and practice are provided.     

Comparing the health status of low-income children in and out of foster care

Children in foster care face poverty, family dysfunction, neglect, and abuse, with high rates of chronic health, emotional, and developmental problems. This study compared the overall health status of a group of children entering foster care with a group of Medicaid-eligible children living with their parents, matched for age and gender. It identified significantly more health and developmental problems in children in foster care than in the comparison group. Possible contributors to the higher percentage of problems among foster care children may be that the foster children have more problems related to the underlying risk factors resulting in placement, or that the foster care physicians conducted a more comprehensive assessment or had lower clinical thresholds. Further research is necessary to identify and treat the problems of this high-risk group.     

Running away from child welfare placements: Justice system entry risk

A growing body of research indicates that running away from foster care increases the probability of subsequent involvement in the juvenile and/or adult justice system, especially for males. Using administrative data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, this study examined the characteristics and behavior of a sample of 371 child welfare youth in Wayne County who ran away from foster care with a propensity scored matched sample of youth who did not run away. Youth were followed in administrative records of the MDHHS and justice system for eight years. The correlates of involvement in the juvenile and/or the adult justice systems included age at first child welfare placement, years in placement, number of placements, total length of time in residential care, running away from placement, as well as gender and legal status. Overall, 42% had at least one juvenile and/or adult conviction. Running away from foster care had the largest effect on subsequent justice system contact.     

Administrative case reviews: Improving outcomes for children in out-of-home care

For nearly three decades foster care review has been required and practiced in the United States. It is well established that foster care review was designed with the intent to reduce the time children spend in foster care and increase permanent placements for children. This article presents that foster care review, as practiced in Colorado, is a social work intervention and quantitative results of this study demonstrate that as an intervention, timely administrative case review is an effective social work intervention related to improving child welfare outcomes for the children and families served in Colorado. The major findings show that timely administrative case review and increased levels of review attendance (mother, father, Guardian ad litem's, and foster parents) are predictors of the child welfare outcomes of permanency and length of time in out-of-home care. Bivariate results indicate a median length of stay approximately 10.76 months longer for children who do not consistently receive timely case reviews. Additionally, the results show that timely care review moderates the underlying casework process related to caseworker contacts, demonstrating that a child's length of stay differs depending on the level of timely case review. In essence, the administrative case review process in Colorado is effectively achieving its goal and is an effective intervention for improving the lives of children in foster care.     

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.     

Early care and education arrangements and young children's risk of foster placement: Findings from a National Child Welfare Sample

A primary goal of the U.S. child welfare system (CWS) is to maintain children investigated for maltreatment in their parents' homes whenever safely possible. This study explores the possibility that early care and education (ECE) services (e.g., child care, preschool, day care) can help the CWS achieve this goal by using a nationally representative sample of children referred to CWS for suspected maltreatment to measure the relationship between ECE receipt and the likelihood that 0–5 year olds in the CWS will be placed in foster care approximately 18 months later. Specifically, logistic regression analyses explore the relationship between: (1) regular ECE participation (yes/no), and (2) type of ECE arrangement (Head Start, other center- or home-based ECE, family/friend/relative ECE, other ECE, and multiple types of ECE) and foster placement risk. After controlling for multiple socio-demographic characteristics and foster placement risk factors, children who received ECE (yes/no) were no less likely to be placed in foster care than children who received no ECE. However, when exploring type of ECE arrangement, children who received Head Start were 93% less likely to be placed in foster care than children with no ECE. Children who participated in multiple types of ECE were almost seven times more likely to be placed in foster care than children with no ECE. These results suggest that Head Start may help maltreated children avoid foster placement and that experiencing multiple types of ECE is a risk factor for foster placement. It is recommended that caseworkers routinely assess the ECE service history and needs of families with young children who come in contact with the CWS, paying attention to the type and number of ECE services used.