Foster care is the preferred type of out-of-home placement for children and youth when they are not able to live with their own parents. However, placement instability, and its effect on children's behavioral well-being, remains a major issue in foster care. Ten multilevel meta-analyses were performed to examine factors that can affect instability of foster care placement. We included 42 studies (published between 1990 and 2017) examining putative factors associated with placement instability, which yielded 293 effect sizes. Indications of publication bias were found, but the trim and fill procedure confirmed the main findings. Medium significant effects were found for child behavioral problems (r = 0.35), (non-)kinship care (r = 0.31), and quality parenting (r = 0.29). Smaller effects were found for age of the child (r = 0.25), placement with(out) siblings (r = 0.16), and history of maltreatment of the child before placement (r = 0.14). The effects were generally modest, but showed generalizability across continents and time. The findings can be used to improve interventions for the prevention of placement instability in foster care, and further investigations. 50%) experience a premature ending of their stay (e.g., Farmer,

Objectives Although the effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention for various populations is well-documented, research examining these effects for police officers is limited. This study aimed to increase knowledge on (1) the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention in police officers and (2) potential mechanisms of change by relating changes in facets of mindful awareness to changes in stress. Methods In the present study, we investigated the effects of a 6-session group-based mindfulness-based intervention in police officers (n = 82) on self-report measures, using a quasi-experimental design consisting of a within-group 6-week baseline period; pre-test, 6-week intervention; and post-test, 6-week follow-up. Multilevel analyses were used to test intervention effects. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed whether changes in facets of mindfulness were associated with changes in various types of stress. Results After the intervention, police officers significantly and substantially improved on stress (primary outcome), facets of mindful awareness (explanatory variables), and related secondary outcomes including somatic complaints, sleep disturbances, positive affect, happiness, and work ability, while in baseline period, outcome measures did not change. Effects remained significant or improved further during the follow-up period. Further, we found that increases in particularly the facets of mindful awareness of acting with awareness and non-judging were associated with reductions in stress. Conclusions Mindfulness-based intervention appears beneficial for police officers. Further, increases in both attention and acceptance skills such as acting with awareness and non-judging seem to be most important in explaining reductions of stress in police officers.

This study examined the role of placement and child characteristics in the unplanned termination of foster placements. Data were used from 169 foster children aged 0 to 20. Results showed that 35% of all foster placement terminations were unplanned. Outcomes of logistic regression analyses demonstrated that behavior problems, parenting stress and a non-Dutch ethnic background of the foster child increased the likelihood of a placement termination. Furthermore, risk accumulation contributed to unplanned terminations. The results indicate that supporting foster parents in managing problem behavior of the foster child and reducing parenting stress may be a key to an effective prevention of disrupted foster care placements.

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Peer support and counseling by professionals for donor-conceived offspring should be available for those who need it. The findings also support professional counseling for intended parents before treatment to improve parental support for donor-children.