Child Care Placement Outcomes

Abstract

In spite of recent emphasis on foster family care and reductions in residential provision for children, little is known about changes in placement patterns. Nor have national data been available on the outcomes of the various types of foster family placement nor how these compare with other forms of care. The Child Care Placement Outcomes Project (conducted in six local authorities) sought to obtain basic information on the numbers and types of children going into all types of placement and outcome of these placements. Some of the information obtained was unexpected. The survey also threw up several important issues for child care researchers — in particular the difficulties and dangers of making comparisons. This paper presents some of the survey findings but concentrates on illustrating issues.