Reentry into the foster care system after reunification

Placement Stability for Children Adjudicated as Dependent: A Survival Analysis of a State Database

“…The decrease in the hazard across time thus conveys that risk of reentry decreased markedly as time since removal increased. This decrease in risk is consistent with other studies that have found that risk of reentry is lower when discharge follows a longer rather than a shorter amount of time in placement (Courtney, 1995;McDonald et al, 2006;Shaw, 2006;Wells & Guo, 1999;Wulczyn, 1991;Yampolskaya et al, 2007).…”

“…In a New York sample, approximately one-third of children who were in care for 90 days or less later reentered care (Wulczyn, 1991); this reentry rate was higher than that of children who were in care longer. In a California study, Shaw (2006) found that the odds of reentry dropped steadily as time in care increased. In Shaw's study, children in care 3 months or less evidenced the highest odds of reentry.…”

Reunifying abused or neglected children: Decision-making and outcomes

“…Rates of re-entry to care are difficult to compare, as samples vary in terms of age, reasons for admission to care, time in care and length of follow-up. Studies from the USA have reported rates of re-entry ranging from 13-28%, (Barth, Weigensberg, Fisher, Fetrow, & Green, 2008;Courtney, 1995;Festinger, 1996;Goodman, 1997;Shaw, 2006;Wells & Guo, 1999;Wulczyn, 1991Wulczyn, , 2004. In Scandinavia, a Danish study found a re-entry rate of 22% within two years of reunification and cited a rate of 25% in Sweden over the same period (Ubbesen, Petersen, Mortensen, & Kristensen, 2012;Vinnerlung, Oman, & Gunnarson, 2004).…”

Qualitative Inquiry and Family Therapist Identity Construction Through Community-Based Child Welfare Practice

“…Children in foster care may require a flexible, multifaceted treatment approach that focuses on their specific needs and experiences (Morrison & Mishna, 2006). Further, services targeting the whole family are important to prevent later recidivism as family-level variables predict potential recidivism and reentry, and the child's connectedness to the biological family while in care predicts decreased rates of later reentry (Shaw, 2005).…”