Child, Family, and Case Characteristics Associated With Reentry Into Out-of-Home Care Among Children and Youth Involved With Child Protection Services

Abstract

Many children and youth with child protection services (CPS) involvement enter out-of-home care. The aims of this study were to examine rates of reentry and risk factors associated with reentry into out-of-home care among children and youth involved in the child protection (reported for abuse/neglect) and youth-in-conflict (reported for behavioral issues) programs. This study used administrative data from Colorado’s Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, which contains information on all children and youth who enter Colorado’s CPS. Of the 14,461 children and youth in the child protection program and 2,353 children and youth in the youth-in-conflict program, 14.7% and 35.1%, respectively, reentered into out-of-home care. Families’ prior history of CPS involvement and current CPS case characteristics better explained reentry into out-of-home care than child and family demographic characteristics alone. Understanding risk factors associated with reentry into out-of-home care is critical to inform the prevention of child maltreatment recurrence and ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and youth.

Factors associated with the family reintegration stability for children with a residential care experience in Ghana

“…However, not all family reintegration is stable, as some children re-enter care or become separated because of several risk factors. Child-related factors associated with unstable reintegration comprise children’s emotional and behavioral challenges and unhealthy relationships with parents (Akin et al, 2017; Brown et al, 2020; Font et al, 2018). According to several authors (Hébert et al, 2018; Mc Grath-Lone et al, 2017), reunification after a brief term in care rarely allows for resolving hazards at home, which contributes to re-entry into care.…”

Driving for Success in Family Reunification—Professionals’ Views on Intervention

“…The knowledge regarding the family reunification process is clearly insufficient, particularly in Portugal. An in-depth understanding of this process could increase the success of reunification and contribute to the well-being and protection of children; moreover, research on the family reunification process is often based on information collected from databases or children’s records [ 19 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. However, to further enrich professional practices, a comprehensive understanding of the reunification process is necessary, which also requires direct access to the perspectives of the professionals who work with children and their families within the foster care system [ 22 ].…”

“…The scientific literature has already identified several factors with a negative impact on the success of family reunification, which are frequently classified into three groups: child characteristics, family characteristics, and child welfare service characteristics. With regards to the child-related characteristics that have a negative impact on the success of reunification, the scientific literature highlights children’s emotional problems, externalizing behaviours, and mental health problems [ 21 , 29 , 30 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]; attachment issues [ 38 ]; special needs due to physical problems [ 29 , 35 ]; cognitive difficulties [ 21 ]; children’s exposure to illicit substances in the prenatal period [ 29 ]; and the age of the child, particularly infants, pre-teens, and adolescents [ 24 , 28 , 35 , 37 , 39 ].…”

“…As far as family-related factors are concerned, prior empirical research points to neglect as grounds for removal [ 24 , 29 , 36 , 40 ]; parents’ lack of motivation for family reunification [ 29 , 40 ]; unpredictable changes in the family composition or specific life circumstances [ 18 , 29 , 31 , 36 ]; parents’ history of substance abuse [ 28 , 29 , 35 ]; domestic violence and parents’ history of traumatic events [ 35 , 38 ]; low socioeconomic status [ 29 , 35 ]; lack of social support [ 29 ]; and the high number of early identified family risk factors [ 24 , 35 ]. Some authors have also underlined the existence of numerous children [ 29 , 35 ] and other siblings in foster care [ 29 , 30 ].…”

“…Concerning child-welfare-system-related factors, the empirical literature emphasizes the length of time in care [ 21 , 24 , 29 , 30 , 40 ]. Some empirical studies have revealed that overly short periods in foster care—less than six months—do not provide sufficient time for effective intervention [ 24 , 29 , 30 ]; furthermore, longer periods—over 12 months—present a risk factor for reunification, which increases the longer the child is in care [ 21 ].…”