Foster Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Prevalence, Length of Stay, and Placement Patterns

Child Protective Custody Placement for Children with Developmental Disorders

“…They often require more intense educational intervention, rehabilitative therapies, and more coordinated medical care than children without DD. 11 We found that children with DD, compared with those without DD, were less likely to be in kinship care and more likely to be in nonrelative foster care and congregate care. In our sample, children with DD also had significantly longer placements in protective custody compared with those without DD (168 or more days on average).…”

“…We examined covariates and potential confounders for the association of DD with placement type, LOS, and placement changes. Covariates were chosen on the basis of their association with protective custody and placement patterns in previous studies and included age, 3,11,16,22 minoritized status, 1,11 biological sex as documented in the EHR, 16 and lifetime mental health diagnoses. 16 In addition, there is known variation in DD prevalence based on biological sex.…”

“…In addition, youth with ID experienced significantly longer lengths of stay in protective custody compared with the general population, 13,18 as do children without autism. 11 Research specific to youth in protective custody with DD (beyond ID and ASD) regarding length of stay (LOS) and placement stability is needed.…”

“…4 Child protection agencies were not legally required to report the disability status of children until 2010, child welfare records frequently lack diagnostic information regarding health, including disability status, 5 and caseworkers often have insufficient training in properly identifying disabilities. 3 Research about the experience of children with DD in protective custody has frequently relied on sources to identify DD that have specific limitations including special education records 2,6 (which likely underestimate true DD rates), 7 caregiver report 8 (who often have limited knowledge of children's health needs and diagnoses), 9 and Medicaid Claims data 10,11 (which do not accurately capture all children in foster care). 12 Other studies have failed to distinguish mental health diagnoses from DD, combining both under the umbrella term of "disability," thereby obscuring the role of developmental problems.…”

Children with Autism in Foster Care

“…The estimated number of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in foster care nationally ranges from 28 % to more than 50 % (Lightfoot et al 2011;Ringeisen et al 2008). These youth, including youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), are at much greater risk for poor outcomes and greater lengths of stay in the foster care system (Bilaver and Havlicek 2013). One important contributor to poor outcomes is that individuals in foster care have increased exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as being abused, repeatedly witnessing violence against others, or other forms of trauma.…”