Placement instability is often associated with a number of negative outcomes for children. To gain state level contextual knowledge of factors associated with placement stability/instability, logistic regression was applied to selected variables from the New Mexico Adoption and Foster Care Administrative Reporting System dataset. Predictors…

National survey data were used to assess whether child welfare agency ties to behavioral health care providers improved placement stability for adolescents served by both systems. Adolescents initially at home who were later removed tended to have fewer moves when child welfare and behavioral health were in the same larger agency. Joint training…

This paper will provide information on a recent Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) conducted by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network on Using Trauma-Informed Child Welfare Practice to Improve Foster Care Placement Stability. Information on this particular BSC will be provided, followed by initial findings gathered from an evaluation of…

There is limited research assessing the effectiveness of family engagement for improving permanency for children. An important challenge is that randomized designs are not feasible for evaluating these practices because effective implementation of family engagement requires systemic change. Findings from a national evaluation are presented to…

Little is known about the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adult alumni of foster care and its demographic and contextual correlates. This is one of the first studies to report on racial/ethnic and gender differences and the influence of foster care experiences (i.e., revictimization during foster care, placement change rate,…

The Vulnerable Infants Program of Rhode Island (VIP-RI) was established as a care coordination program to promote permanency for substance-exposed newborns in the child welfare system. Goals of VIP-RI were to optimize parents' opportunities for reunification and increase the efficacy of social service systems involved with families affected by…

Recent federal legislation strengthens children's and families' rights to family-centered practice by increasing the responsibility of child welfare agencies to identify and engage extended family members in providing care and support to children placed out of the home. Preliminary results from an experimental study of a federally funded family…

Youth in foster care face significant life challenges that make it more likely that they will face negative outcomes (i.e., school failure, homelessness, and incarceration). While the reason(s) for out-of-home placement (i.e., family violence, abuse, neglect and/or abandonment) provide some context for negative outcomes, such negative outcomes…

According to international human rights treaties, what rights do family members, parents, and children have in family engagement in child welfare decision-making? A sociolegal analytical approach produces a typology of rights, then applies the typology to eight countries' approaches to family engagement to show that strong bundles of rights are…

This article presents a synthesis of what is known about the educational experiences of youth living in residential group care based on a literature review that highlights both the experiences of the youth themselves and the operational context of residential group care in Ontario as it pertains to educational performance. The author argues that…

Attempts to address racial disproportionality in child welfare must include a focus on the benefits and challenges facing children in kinship care. African American children not only are overrepresented in the child welfare system, but also are placed disproportionately in kinship foster care. Using a sample of 18 African American adolescents ages…

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which agency and nonagency supportive resources contributed to the stability and well-being of 34 newly adoptive families over 3-years. Results revealed significant pre- to postadoption declines in families' contact and satisfaction with formal and informal helping resources. Greater…

As the health, social, and developmental needs of infants in foster care become more complex, foster families are challenged to develop specialized knowledge to effectively address these needs. The goal of this qualitative research study was to identify the process of becoming a foster family and providing family foster caregiving within the…

Every state requires a home study before the placement of foster children for adoption. This article examines the history of home studies, presents results from expert interviews on the changing processes and purposes of home studies, and explores current challenges for the field. The article also introduces the Structured Analysis Family…

Studies have found that certain racial groups, particularly the children of African American families, are placed in foster care at a higher rate than children of other races. These families are also sometimes found to be afforded fewer services that might prevent these removals, relative to families of other races. It is unclear why this is so.…