@article{ref1,
title="Children and youth in out-of-home care: what can predict an initial change in placement?",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="2019",
author="Jedwab, Merav and Xu, Yanfeng and Keyser, Daniel and Shaw, Terry V.",
volume="93",
number="",
pages="55-65",
abstract="BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of children placed in out of-home care experience placement disruptions in the United States. Placement instability has deleterious effects on children's well-being. <br><br>OBJECTIVES: (a) To measure the time-to-initial placement change in different types of settings, including non-relative foster homes, kinship care, residential treatment centers (RTC), group homes and other types of settings; and (b) To identify predictors of the initial placement change. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Data were obtained from the State Automated Child Welfare Information System operated by the child welfare agency in a Mid-Atlantic state. The sample included 4177 children who entered into the foster care and were followed over three years. <br><br>METHOD: Descriptive, bivariate, and survival Cox regression models were conducted. <br><br>RESULTS: More than half (53%) of the children had experienced placement change within 3 years. The mean length for an initial change in placement was longer for children in RTC and kinship care compared to children in foster and group homes, and other placements (χ2 = 322.31, p < 0.001). Several factors significantly increased the likelihood of an initial change, including: older children (p < 0.001, HR = 1.01), children with behavioral problems (p < 0.001, HR = 1.26), parental substance abuse (p < 0.05, HR = 1.12), and cases in which the parents voluntarily gave up their parental rights (p < 0.05, HR = 1.12). The type of placement also increased the risk for placement change. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Providing early interventions and services to these children and their families is essential to increase placement stability.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.04.009",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.04.009"
}