Predictors of exit type and length of stay in non-kinship family foster care — The German experience

Abstract

This paper examines factors influencing length of stay in non-kinship family foster care. It also examines the effects of different covariates on the likelihood of four post-care exit types being reached (reunification, independence, foster family, and institutional care), using a multinomial regression. The data forming the basis for the analysis are official statistics of the German child and youth welfare service relating to two exit cohorts for the years 2005 and 2006, an overall total of 9995 cases. Age at entry to non-kinship family foster care was in the range 0 to 21 years. Where children had been in the younger age groups at entry, and in instances of parental loss of custody, the length of stay (LOS) in non-kinship family foster care increases significantly. A shorter LOS can be observed mainly in instances of non-German children, children of unmarried parents, return to a single parent responsible for upbringing, and where there had been prior home-based care. The effects of the independent variables differ according to exit type. The likelihood of reunification with the family of origin or with relatives is smaller than with other exit types if the custody rights have in the past been withdrawn, the child has already been placed out-of-home prior to the current care spell, or with longer LOS.