Examination of 4,288 children in foster care analyzed reasons for placement, number of replacements, and duration of foster care. Findings revealed a positive relationship between replacement and children who come into foster care because of behavioral or emotional problems. (CL)

.001). Conclusion:: Improvements in outcomes related to continuity of care can be attained through staff training. The SAFE Home model of care is not cost-effective for first-time placements.Objective:: To evaluate the SAFE Homes (SH) program, a short-term group care program for children between 3 and 12 years of age who enter care for the first…

Results of two studies of social learning treatment indicate that this model of family intervention is an effective alternative to out-of-home placements with this population for approximately 50 percent of typical child protection services caseloads. The cost benefits of social learning treatments are discussed along with potentially useful…

The study examined the extent to which child neglect and family dysfunction have contributed to the need for hospitalization of asthmatic children. Using a measure of global functioning, psychologic morbidity is associated with medical neglect. (Author/DB)

In a study involving 16 cases of infants hospitalized for nonorganic failure to thrive, eight of whom were placed in foster homes and eight discharged home, mother-infant interactions in the group requiring foster care were clearly more dysfunctional than those in the discharged group. (Author/CL)

The study examined factors which influence custody change in cases of children who have been sexually abused in 180 cases of children hospitalized with a suspicion of having been sexually abused. Of the children with proven abuse (N=138), ultimately 40 percent had a custody change. (DB)

The use of polarity analysis in child abuse case management provides a way to identify interdependent polar opposites, their positive and negative consequences, and actions to manage them over time, rather than compete for one right solution. An example of polarity analysis is presented with the two poles being parental autonomy and the agency as…

Examination of the placement history of 172 abused and/or neglected children found that children had a more disrupted foster care placement history if they: (1) had severe behavior problems; (2) were very young when first removed from the natural home; or (3) had drug-addicted and/or alcoholic parents. (Author/DB)

Two cases of suspected sexual abuse of five-year-old children with syphilis are reported. Lack of confirmation of abuse by either child or in parental interviews led to closing of the cases by Child Protection Services and continued residence by the children in their original homes. (DB)

Selected characteristics of 290 reports of physical and sexual abuse and neglect in foster homes, group homes, residential treatment centers, and institutions are described. Physical abuse reports were most common, and neglect least common. Injuries occurred most frequently because of physical abuse, whereas sexual abuse reports were most likely…

Social workers (N=313) rated three vignettes illustrating cases of father-daughter sexual abuse for amount of responsibility borne by father, daughter, and mother. The more responsibility attributed to father and daughter and the less attributed to the mother, the more likely they were to recommend the father's incarceration. (Author/DB)

Analysis of records of dependency and criminal filings in 833 substantiated intrafamilial child abuse and neglect cases in 3 U.S. cities indicated that legal intervention was rare, with dependency filings and prosecutions in just 21% and 4% of the sample, respectively, although treatment plans and out-of-home placements occurred more frequently.…

The study examined children's protective service workers' decisions to remove sexually abused children from the family home relative to the following factors: nature of the abuse, severity of abuse, frequency of abuse, mothers' employment status, mothers' compliance with recommended treatment plan, and mothers' belief of the victim. (DB)

Victims (N=100, age 6-17) of intrafamilial sexual abuse were analyzed to study child and family demographics, abuse characteristics, and family response as determinants of immediate and later placement. Important determinants were maternal support and offender's residential status. At follow up, 73 percent of the children had been removed from the…

Children (n=110, ages 2-17) placed in foster care as a result of sexual abuse were found to have similar behavioral problems and other attributes as children placed for other reasons. Sexually abused children exited foster care for planned permanent living arrangements at a significantly faster rate than nonsexually abused children. (Author/JDD)