Returning Children in Care to Their Families: Factors Associated with the Speed of Reunification

Abstract

Various factors influence children's tenure in protective care. The current study examined whether the speed of reunification with parents differs by reasons in care and social environment at intake. The effects of age and sex of the child and referral source were also examined. The study sample consists of 155 children aged 0-12 years from 92 families, who presented at Barnardos temporary care services in two metropolitan areas in Australia. Participants continuously entered the study over the 4 year study period from 1 Jan 2003 to 31 Dec 2008, the study window being 18 months since the intake. Drawing on event history analysis models two analyses were conducted: one focusing on the primary reason in care and another focusing on a risk typology based on the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale-Reunification (NCFAS-R). The risk typology developed through latent profile analysis grouped families with similar profiles of social environmental risks together. Children were reunified with their parents rapidly at the beginning until week 13 and the rate became slower but steady until the end of study period. Compared to children with parental health issues, children with parental substance abuse issues had 86% lower rate, children who experienced abuse/neglect had 83% lower rate of return, children from domestic violence situations or other issues had 73% lower rate of reunification with their parents. Compared to children with low risks in their social environment, children with high risks had 73% lower speed of reunification with their parents. The rate of reunification with parents was higher for older children whereas there was no difference on the speed of reunification by child's sex or the source of referral. The implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.Keywords Reunification . Out of home care . Foster care . Event history analysis . Latent profile analysis Child Ind Res (2011) 4:749-765

‘They didn't tell me anything; they just sent me home’: children's participation in the return home

“…; Kimberlin et al . ; Fernandez & Lee ; Lee et al . ) in nature during the reunification process as an important factor in the use of child protection measures to protect families.…”

“…Third, the scientific literature establishes the availability of support that is both formal (Rodrigo et al 2007;Cole & Caron 2010;Lietz et al 2011;Balsells et al 2014) and informal (Nickerson et al 2007;Kimberlin et al 2009;Fernandez & Lee 2011;Lee et al 2013) in nature during the reunification process as an important factor in the use of child protection measures to protect families. In this sense, some authors note the relative lack of formal support received by children and adolescents during the family's separation and the process of preparing for reunification (Fuentes-Peláez et al 2013).…”

Professional foster families in the reunification process—Polish experience

“…In Poland, similar to other countries, the main causes of a child being placed in a foster family are parenting and educational negligence (parental incapacity), alcohol and drugs, and a variety of physical and mental abuses (Brook & McDonald, 2009;Delfabbro et al, 2014;Fernandez & Lee, 2011;Gilbert et al, 2009;Oswald, Heil, & Goldbeck, 2010). Children placed in foster families, despite having endured suffering from their parents, usually want to have contact with them (McWey, Acock, & Porter, 2010).…”

“…On a global scale, research regarding the issue of reuniting children from foster care families with their biological families has frequently been undertaken with a very wide scope. Most frequently, researchers have focused on the following aspects: psychological effects of placing a child in foster care, relationships of children in foster care with their biological parents, relationships of children in foster care with their foster parents, relationships of foster parents with the biological parents, the impact of kinship between foster parents and the biological parents on the effectiveness of the reunification process, forms of support for biological parents from foster parents in the reunification process, including biological fathers in the reunification process and its impact on the effectiveness of reunification, factors affecting the effectiveness and permanence of reunification, factors causing absence of permanence of the reunification process, and forms of support for biological families following family reunification, foster parents' abilities to identify parents with potential for positive reintegration (Andersson, 1999;Barber & Delfabbro, 2009;Bellamy, 2008;Brook & McDonald, 2009;Connell et al, 2007;Delfabbro, Fernandez, McCormick, & Ketter, 2014;Doab, Fowler, & Dawson, 2015;Farmer & Wijedasa, 2013;Fernandez & Lee, 2011;Frame, Berrick, & Brodowski, 2000;Harward & DePanfilis, 2007;Landy & Munro, 1998;López, del Valle, Montserrat, & Bravo, 2012;Lutman & Farmer, 2013;Miller et al, 2006;Sanchirico & Jablonka, 2000;Sen & Broadhurst, 2011;Shaw, 2006;Terling, 1999;Vanderfaeillie et al, 2015).…”

A New Method of Assessing Judicial Workload in Juvenile Dependency Cases

“…Identifying factors that might contribute to delays in timely permanency for abuse and neglect victims has been a focus of many juvenile dependency researchers (e.g. Benedict & White, ; Courtney, ; Fernandez & Lee, ; Harris & Courtney, ). This focus comes from not only an effort to identify ways to improve outcomes for children and families, but also an interest in helping juvenile dependency courts meet their federal requirements and state goals in this area.…”