Family Placement Research Articles

Bullying Victimization and Out-of-Home Care: The Role of Personal and Social Resources?

Previous studies have indicated that youth in care may represent a high-risk group for bullying victimization. So far, research has focused primarily on problem behavior rather than on potential personal or social resources of youth in care, particularly in the context of bullying victimization. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether youth in care are more likely to experience bullying victimization. Furthermore, it was analyzed if personal and social resources were protective of bullying victimization and whether these associations were moderated by family placement while controlling for lifetime poly-victimization. An online survey was completed by n = 119 youth in care and n = 110 youth in biological families in Germany - with or without a social/biological caregiver. Overall, the results showed that youth in care were 7.41 times more likely to experience bullying victimization than youth in biological families. Personal and social resources did add to the explained variance of current bullying victimization beyond lifetime poly-victimization in the child’s report. In particular, low levels of child-reported parental support and school integration were associated with more bullying victimization. These associations were not moderated by family placement, indicating similar effects for both, youth in care and youth in biological families.

Pyrenicola (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura), new genus for Litoricola macrodactyla (Van Straelen, 1924) and Litoricola macrodactyla pyrenaica (Artal and Vía, 1989), and remarks on Coeloma (Milne-Edwards, 1865)

A new genus, Pyrenicola, is proposed to accommodate Xanthilites macrodactylus Van Straelen, 1924 from the Thanetian of Haute Garonne (France), and X. macrodactylus pyrenaicus Artal and Vía, 1989 from the Ypresian of Aragon (Spain), as well as clarify their relationships with the morphologically close Litoricola Woodward, 1873, where both are currently placed, and with Coeloma A. Milne-Edwards, 1865. As a result, Litoricola is herein revalidated as an available genus, different from Coeloma, of which it has frequently been considered either a subgenus or a synonym. Also, the subspecies Xanthilites macrodactylus pyrenaicus is elevated to full species rank as Pyrenicola pyrenaica n. comb. The familial placement of Pyrenicola n. gen., Litoricola and particularly of Coeloma, currently placed within Polybiinae Paulson, 1875 (Portunoidea Rafinesque, 1815) is revised. Consequently, a new placement of the three genera within Geryonidae Colosi, 1923, the most basal portunoid crabs, is herein proposed.

SOCIALIZATION OF THE CHILD IN THE CONDITIONS FAMILY-TYPE CHILDREN’S HOME

The article, based on the analysis of theory and practice, characterizes the features of a child’s socialization in the conditions of a family-type orphanage.The peculiarity of the modern stage of society’s development, the contradictions of social relations, the negative effects on the social development of the individual require a deep rethinking of the mission of institutions for the socialization of children in order to create favorable conditions for their social development in modern realities.Today, questions regarding the practical implementation of provisions declared in state documents that define family policy in Ukraine remain partially unresolved. In particular, alternative forms of social protection and family arrangement for orphans – forms of care for children who for certain reasons cannot live with their biological parents (establishment of custody and care, placement in foster families, family-type children’s homes, foster families, children’s institutions with living conditions close to family ones (National strategy for reforming the system of institutional care and upbringing of children for 2017–2026).In modern realities, in conditions of priority attention to each child, one of the important tasks of the state family policy is to solve the problem of orphanhood. First of all, the social phenomenon of orphanhood violates one of the basic rights of the child – the right to family upbringing and parental care, proclaimed by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.The system of state guardianship of orphans and children deprived of parental care, created for decades, was oriented towards collective forms of child rearing. As a result, the format of social education (in particular, in traditional orphanages) has acquired a number of negative features, first of all, regarding the process of child socialization: children who grow up outside the family adapt much worse in society, as a rule, find it difficult to navigate the role hierarchy social ties, etc.Ukrainian and foreign experience of caring for orphans and children deprived of parental care show that it is family forms of care that are the most effective in various aspects – educational, social, economic.The development of family forms of upbringing, solving the problem of child socialization in the conditions of a family-type orphanage are topical interdisciplinary tasks of the state’s modern social policy, the need for a civilized society and human morality. The identified vital arguments determine the need to find and implement alternative measures and innovative approaches in family policy and the social sphere, which is the subject of further research.

Legal problems of adoptive families in China

In the People's Republic of China, as in many other countries of the world, modern government policy in the field of family relations is focused on mobilizing the entire society to support families in raising children and supporting children left without parental care, including through placing children in foster care families. However, the legislation in the area of placement of children left without parental care is not perfect and requires a subjective assessment in terms of its compliance with the interests of children’s rights. This form of placement for children without parental care, like a foster family, has made in Chinese legislation relatively recently and is important for protecting the rights and interests of children without parental care. At the same time, the existing legislative rules ensuring the placement of children left without parental care in foster families are not perfect. Thus, the legal problems of placing children without parental care in foster families, related both to the restrictive framework that is imposed on the children themselves who are subject to placement in foster families, and the restrictive framework that is established for the foster families themselves (the age limit of parents, the number of children who can be raised in one foster family) deserve special attention. The article focuses on the legal problems of placing children without parental care in foster families. An analysis of existing problems has shown that there is an urgent need to modernize legislative norms related to placement in foster families in order to ensure the best and comprehensive interests of children, rather than maintaining the approach according to which the family becomes part of the bureaucratic and traditional framework, making it the last link in the implementation of state politicians.

Foster Care Leads to Lower Irritability Among Adolescents with a History of Early Psychosocial Deprivation.

Irritability reflects a propensity for frustration and anger, and is a transdiagnostic symptom of both externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. While early adverse experiences are associated with higher levels of irritability, experiences of early psychosocial deprivation and whether family-based placements can mitigate the impact on subsequent irritability, remain underexplored. The current study examined irritability in 107 16-year-olds with a history of institutional care from a randomized controlled trial of foster care as an alternative to institutional care and 49 community comparison children. At age 16 years, irritability was assessed using parent- and self-report forms of the Affective Reactivity Index. Compared to community adolescents, those with a history of institutional care exhibited significantly elevated irritability levels. Among those who experienced institutional care, those randomized to foster care had lower levels of irritability compared to participants randomized to the care-as-usual group, and this effect persists after controlling for baseline negative emotionality. These findings suggest a causal link between high-quality foster care and lower irritability following psychosocial deprivation. Additionally, longer duration in institutional care and non-family placement at age 16 years were associated with higher levels of irritability, highlighting the role of caregiving in explaining variation in irritability in adolescence. Policies that support long-term, high-quality family placements for children without regular caregivers should be prioritized.

Personal Resources, Well-Being, Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms of Youth in Out-Of-Home Care

Abstract: Background: Many youth living in out-of-home care have higher rates of mental health problems and more negative developmental outcomes than youth who live in their biological families. Aims: While previous studies have focused primarily on risk factors that increase the likelihood of behavioral problems, this study focuses on resources that contribute to positive development. Method: As part of the EMPOWERYOU research project, youth aged 11–18 years living in out-of-home care ( n = 79, living in foster and adoptive families and residential groups) and living with their biological families ( n = 71) participated in an online survey. Youth reported on their personal resources, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and well-being. Results: Youth in out-of-home care reported significantly fewer personal resources, less well-being, and more internalizing and especially externalizing symptoms than youth growing up in their biological families. Path analysis results showed that high self-esteem and high self-control were associated with less externalizing symptoms. Lower empathy/perspective-taking and more self-esteem were associated with less internalizing symptoms. More optimism was associated with increased well-being. These relationships were independent of family placement as there was no moderating effect for placement type. Limitations: Potential limitations arise from focusing solely on self-report and using of a cross-sectional design. Conclusion: The results highlight the relevance of promoting the personal resources of youth in out-of-home care. Since the path analysis did not reveal moderation by family placement, possible interventions do not need to be specified for them, but (already existing) effective interventions can be used.

Placement stability and family support after government-mandated rapid return: A two-year follow-up

During the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple governments around the world implemented directives that mandated residential care providers to rapidly reunite thousands of children and youth with their families. Organizations were faced with expedited timelines for the reunification process, limited ability to prepare children and families, and restricted capacity to support and monitor families in-person due to lockdown measures. As such, there was significant concern regarding stability of placements, and well-being of the children and families affected by the abrupt and unprepared reunification process. This study examined data from 16 non-government organizations (NGOs) impacted by rapid return mandates in six nations (Kenya, Uganda, India, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mexico). NGOs were serving 15,978 children in residential care at the time of the mandates. NGOs had an average of 21.87 days ( SD = 9.87) to return children to families. Most NGOs felt children and families were inadequately prepared for reunification. After two years, NGOs were in contact with 90% of the children who had been rapidly returned. Of those children, 56% remained in their family placement. Families who received more types of family strengthening services were more likely to remain intact. Concerningly, 2 years following the rapid return mandates, the NGOs in this study were collectively serving a higher number of children in residential care than prior to rapid return mandates. This suggests that rapid return mandates did not seem to decrease the number of children in residential care long-term. Data-informed recommendations for practice are discussed.

Novel insight into lepidopteran phylogenetics from the mitochondrial genome of the apple fruit moth of the family Argyresthiidae

BackgroundThe order Lepidoptera has an abundance of species, including both agriculturally beneficial and detrimental insects. Molecular data has been used to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of major subdivisions in Lepidoptera, which has enhanced our understanding of the evolutionary relationships at the family and superfamily levels. However, the phylogenetic placement of many superfamilies and/or families in this order is still unknown. In this study, we determine the systematic status of the family Argyresthiidae within Lepidoptera and explore its phylogenetic affinities and implications for the evolution of the order. We describe the first mitochondrial (mt) genome from a member of Argyresthiidae, the apple fruit moth Argyresthia conjugella. The insect is an important pest on apples in Fennoscandia, as it switches hosts when the main host fails to produce crops.ResultsThe mt genome of A. conjugella contains 16,044 bp and encodes all 37 genes commonly found in insect mt genomes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and a large control region (1101 bp). The nucleotide composition was extremely AT-rich (82%). All detected PCGs (13) began with an ATN codon and terminated with a TAA stop codon, except the start codon in cox1 is ATT. All 22 tRNAs had cloverleaf secondary structures, except trnS1, where one of the dihydrouridine (DHU) arms is missing, reflecting potential differences in gene expression. When compared to the mt genomes of 507 other Lepidoptera representing 18 superfamilies and 42 families, phylogenomic analyses found that A. conjugella had the closest relationship with the Plutellidae family (Yponomeutoidea-super family). We also detected a sister relationship between Yponomeutoidea and the superfamily Tineidae.ConclusionsOur results underline the potential importance of mt genomes in comparative genomic analyses of Lepidoptera species and provide valuable evolutionary insight across the tree of Lepidoptera species.

Interrupting a cycle of placement instability with short-term residential care: Trauma-informed family-like relational practice in one specialist unit

Continuous caring relationships are crucial to the wellbeing of children living in out-of-home care, with the family environment of long-term foster care usually the preferred placement for achieving relational permanence. Some children, however, experience a cycle of instability with the impact of placement disruption exacerbating emotional and behavioural difficulties and thereby undermining subsequent foster relationships. This paper reports on a service evaluation of a residential facility specialising in short-term placements for children who have experienced disruption, with the aim of interrupting the cycle of placement instability. Overview of 34 children’s placement trajectories show that most were enabled to re-enter foster care and of those who are now aged over 18 years ( n = 29), over half ( n = 16) remained in family placements until adulthood. For four children, detailed individualised assessment indicated residential care as the most appropriate option for avoiding future disruption. The paper gives cause for optimism that relationships in the residential setting have the potential to build emotional resilience and capacity for connection. There is paucity of information on how residential staff achieve these relationships in practice. Focus groups and interviews with ten staff and managers illuminate relational practices in the residential setting that are simultaneously family-like and trauma-informed.

Coastal oribatid mites (Acari) from New Zealand: new morphological, ecological, and developmental data

ABSTRACTThree species of oribatid mites associated with tidal rocks and mangroves were collected on Waiheke Island, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. One of the species was a yet undescribed member of the genus Indopacifica, collected in algae growing on roots of green button mangrove Conocarpus erectus. Here, we provide a description of Indopacifica impedimenta sp. n, including its juvenile stages, and discuss its distribution and differences from congenerics. The second species collected was Fortuynia elamellata, which was found in algae growing on intertidal rocks. Here, we provide supplementary morphological data on adult and juvenile stages and discuss their distribution and ecology. The third species found was Sellnickia caudata, collected from the same mangrove as Indopacifica impedimenta n. sp. However, S. caudata occurred only on leaves and twigs of the mangrove plants, which are not regularly flooded. We provide supplementary morphological data and SEM images of adults and a description of juvenile stages for this species. We also discuss the family placement of Sellnickia and provide barcode sequences for all species studied herein.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8D74FD5A-27EE-48A9-8780-C1E6B1115629

A new Cretaceous orthopteran family of the Caelifera (order: Orthoptera) from Burmese amber of northern Myanmar

A new family of short horned grasshoppers, Burmecaelidae fam. nov., is described on the basis of a new species: Burmecaelinus armis fam., gen. et sp. nov. While any extant species can clearly be sorted into the Tridactylidea and Acrididea, the new fossil species presented here does not clearly match any of the two groups. The metafemora of the new family are apparently saltatorial and greatly inflated along its entire length, which is similar to extant and Mesozoic Tridactylidae and Ripipterygidae. In contrast, the compound eyes are elongated and protrude from the head dorsally; the elongated area of the pronotum does not cover the abdomen. Although the morphology of the hind legs is shared with Tridactyloidea, the shape of the head and abdomen are more similar to Tetrigoidea and Eumastacoidea. We suggest two hypotheses: (1) the new family emerged at the basis of the superfamilies Tridactyloidea and Acridoidea early in Caeliferan evolution, or alternatively (2) the new family emerged within Tridactyloidea, between the families Tridactylidae and Ripipterygidae. The new family may have emerged when these families split. The phylogenetic placement of the new family needs to be further evaluated in the future based on more specimens.

Foster care in Portugal: outcomes, needs, and challenges for deinstitutionalization

This paper assesses evidence of and challenges to the development of the foster care system in Portugal. It describes the evolution of the social policy adopted in the Portu­guese child placement system, highlighting family placement in foster care, followed by an overview of the main institutional actors in the protection system and the supports provided to family carers. Then, based on available research developed in Portugal, a portrait of the experiences lived by foster families and children placed in foster care is presented, reveal­ing children and carers’ opinions about well-being and personal development, education and leaving care process, foster care and residential care, and participation in decision-making. The analysis adopted identify the intensity and singularity of relationships in foster care, and the impact it has on children’s and foster families life’s. They reveal an intense, unique experi­ence that is unmatched by other educational and affective relationships established between adults and children. The article discusses implications for policies and practices, by consid­ering the need for a shift from residential to family care to achieve a better balance in the system and move closer to international statements of good practices.

Phylogeny, ancestral ranges and reclassification of sand dollars

Classification of the Class Echinoidea is under significant revision in light of emerging molecular phylogenetic evidence. In particular, the sister-group relationships within the superorder Luminacea (Echinoidea: Irregularia) have been considerably updated. However, the placement of many families remains largely unresolved due to a series of incongruent evidence obtained from morphological, paleontological, and genetic data for the majority of extant representatives. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships of 25 taxa, belonging to eleven luminacean families. We proposed three new superfamilies: Astriclypeoidea, Mellitoidea, and Taiwanasteroidea (including Dendrasteridae, Taiwanasteridae, Scutellidae, and Echinarachniidae), instead of the currently recognized superfamily Scutelloidea Gray, 1825. In light of the new data obtained from ten additional species, the historical biogeography reconstructed shows that the tropical western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans are the cradle for early sand dollar diversification. Hothouse conditions during the late Cretaceous and early Paleogene were coupled with diversification events of major clades of sand dollars. We also demonstrate that Taiwan fauna can play a key role in terms of understanding the major Cenozoic migration and dispersal events in the evolutionary history of Luminacea.

Juridical Study on Abuse of Authority in Corruption Crimes: Analysis of Law No. 19 of 2019 concerning the Corruption Eradication Commission

Eradication of Corruption Crimes is a series of activities to prevent and eradicate the occurrence of criminal acts of corruption through efforts to coordinate, supervise, monitor, investigate, investigate, prosecute, examine before courts, with community participation in accordance with statutory provisions. Corruption is a criminal act which if violated will be sanctioned, traced from the point of view of life and appears as a bad cultural image of the Indonesian nation. Corruption crimes are all negative activities related to embezzlement of funds, bribery and all forms of gratuities that are contrary to law, norms and customs. Traditionally, people can say that Indonesia's identity is corruption. This image is not completely wrong. Because the reality of the complexity of corruption is felt to be not merely a legal issue, but actually a violation of economic and social rights that has an impact on the life of the nation. Talking about corruption will indeed find the fact that corruption involves moral aspects, traits and circumstances that are not good, positions in government agencies or apparatus, misappropriation of power or authority in office due to gifts, economic and political factors, as well as placement of families or groups into officialdom under the authority of the position. In this research, the formulation of the problem is how the juridical review of the crime of abuse of authority in corruption is viewed from Law no. 19 of 2019 and what is the mechanism for filling the positions of the supervisory board of the Corruption Eradication Commission according to Law no. 19 of 2019 also has normative and juridical research methods that are associated with laws and all opinions of legal experts as well as the placement of families or groups into officialdom under the authority of his position. In this research, the formulation of the problem is how the juridical review of the crime of abuse of authority in corruption is viewed from Law no. 19 of 2019 and what is the mechanism for filling the positions of the supervisory board of the Corruption Eradication Commission according to Law no. 19 of 2019 also has normative and juridical research methods that are associated with laws and all opinions of legal experts as well as the placement of families or groups into officialdom under the authority of his position. In this research, the formulation of the problem is how the juridical review of the crime of abuse of authority in corruption is viewed from Law no. 19 of 2019 and what is the mechanism for filling the positions of the supervisory board of the Corruption Eradication Commission according to Law no. 19 of 2019 also has normative and juridical research methods that are associated with laws and all opinions of legal experts.

Shared placement in nonmarital families: An initial look

AbstractObjectiveWe aim to examine the prevalence of shared placement in nonmarital cases, and we then consider whether and how nonmarital shared placement cases differ from sole mother cases across a variety of case characteristics and child support outcomes.BackgroundIn recent decades, shared placement has become increasingly common after divorce, but less is known about the prevalence of shared placement in nonmarital cases. Shared placement may have important implications for families, and little is known about its prevalence in cases of unmarried parents or about characteristics of nonmarital families that have shared placement arrangements.MethodLeveraging unique administrative data on more than 6,000 nonmarital court cases, we examine the prevalence of shared placement, case characteristics of shared placement compared with sole placement cases, and child support measures by placement type. We use multivariate regression and bivariate analyses.ResultsAlthough sole mother placement remains the norm, data indicate an increase in shared placement arrangements in recent cohorts of nonmarital cases. We find parents with shared placement arrangements tend to be slightly more advantaged across several measures. On average, shared placement cases have lower child support orders and payments and substantively higher compliance rates in the year after petition.ConclusionShared placement is increasing in nonmarital cases in recent years. Nonmarital families who have shared placement arrangements differ in important ways from families with sole mother custody.ImplicationsFindings suggest the importance of expanding the relevant shared placement literature and policy discussion to consider nonmarital cases in addition to divorce cases.

Shared Family Care: Out-of-Home Care Programs for Serving Parents and Children Together

ABSTRACT Helping children and parents remain together, despite significant parent or child problems, is a key objective of child welfare services. One option is to place whole families together into out-of-home settings. We searched peer-reviewed and gray literature and solicited input from international networks to identify the range of family placement programs available. We identified three key types of “shared family care.” Shared Family Foster Care (SFFC) involves sharing of care and intensive modeling of effective parenting by a host family that engages in mentoring of the parent and parenting of the child. Shared Residential Care (SRC) programs involve sharing of care and intensive modeling of effective parenting by professional staff as they engage parents and children in what had often been child-only residential programs. Family Residential Treatment Programs (FRT) also place parents and children in residence together. FRT programs are often aligned with inpatient treatment units. Active programs that illustrate each type are described. Through this typology and detailed information of currently active shared family care programs, policymakers and program designers can consider which kinds of programs have the most potential for implementation and sustainability.

Novelty and phylogenetic affinities of a new family of tapeworms (Cestoda: Rhinebothriidea) from endangered sawfish and guitarfish

The parasites of hosts of conservation concern are often poorly known. This is the case with the iconic group of elasmobranchs known as the sawfish of the genus Pristis, all four species of which are considered as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN, Switzerland). Examination of cestodes from three species of sawfish (Pristis pristis, Pristis clavata, and Pristis zijsron) in Australia and one of their close relatives, the also critically endangered widenose guitarfish, Glaucostegus obtusus, in India, collected over the past 25 years, yielded four new species of tapeworms which are described herein. All four belong to the previously monotypic Mixobothrium; the diagnosis of the genus is revised to accommodate the new species. Among the new taxa is a species that had been included in previous molecular phylogenies but whose identity and affinities within the order Rhinebothriidea, and thus also its familial placement, were unclear. This species exhibits the morphological features of Mixobothrium and thus its identity is, at long last, revealed. Sequence data generated for the 28S rDNA gene for three of the new species, as well as an additional new but yet undescribed species from Pristis pectinata from Florida (USA), confirms the uniqueness of this group among the rhinebothriideans. The new family Mixobothriidae is established to house these taxa. The members of this family differ from all but one of the five other families of rhinebothriideans in lacking apical suckers on their bothridia. They are also distinctive in that their bothridia are divided into three regions. The anterior and posterior regions have similar locular configurations to one another and differ from the locular configuration of the middle region. As a consequence, the bothridia are symmetrical along both their vertical and horizontal axes. We predict that a focus on species of guitarfish in the genus Glaucostegus will be the most productive approach for discovering additional diversity in this family of cestodes.

An Eocene fossil scarab beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) from Tanzania

A fossil scarabaeoid (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) Mahengea mckayi new genus, new species – the only well-preserved insect fossil and one of only a few insects found at the site – is described from an otherwise rich Eocene (~ 45.6 mya) maar Lagerstätte at Mahenge in central northern Tanzania. Numerous fossil fishes and plants have been recovered from this site and described. The dearth of insect fossils is surprising considering their richness in other deposits of similar origin and age. We suggest that the rich fish fauna present in the oxygen-rich parts of the water in the former volcanic crater lake may have scavenged most of the terrestrial insects that fell into the water. Although the fossil described here is undoubtedly that of a member of the Scarabaeoidea, the family placement remains unsure. Significance: We describe the first Eocene fossil scarab from Africa. It is one of only a few scarab fossils from the continent and one of the best-preserved insect (invertebrate) fossils from the deposit.

Nomenclatural and taxonomic changes in parasitic isopods (Isopoda: Epicaridea), including two new families and note on the questionable association between monogeneans and bopyrids

Several long-standing taxonomic and nomenclatural problems in bopyroid and cryptoniscoid isopods are addressed. Within Bopyroidea we propose five new synonomies, three new combinations, a correction of the spelling of one species and a replacement name for another. In addition, the likely erroneous conclusion that a monogenean is an associate of bopyrids is discussed. Within Cryptoniscoidea, we determined the familial placement of three genera that were previously designated as incertae sedis (Capitoniscus Bourdon, 1972 and Carocryptus Schultz, 1977) or of doubtful affiliation (Cumoechus Hansen, 1916). In total, five species of cryptoniscoids are placed into two new families (Capitoniscidae n. fam. and Cumoechidae n. fam.), each containing at least one species known from both female and cryptoniscus larvae/paedomorphic male stages. Finally, the status of two cryptoniscoid genera is addressed: Gorgoniscus Grygier, 1981 is placed in Hemioniscidae, and Leponiscus Giard, 1887, is synonymized with Hemioniscus Buccholz, 1866.

A taxonomic revision of Keraunea, including three new species and its phylogenetic realignment with Ehretiaceae (Boraginales).

Keraunea is an enigmatic genus of lianescent shrubs endemic to Brazil and found within the Caatinga and Mata Atlântica phytogeographic regions. When first published, Keraunea was included in the Convolvulaceae and there has been considerable recent disagreement about its true family placement on the Angiosperm tree of life. Based on further assessment of morphology and a new comprehensively-sampled combined phylogenetic analysis of nuclear and plastid genes from recently published DNA sequence data, we settle the position of the genus within the Ehretiaceae as sister to the Australian genus Halgania Gaudich. and provide an expanded family description. We recognize five species within Keraunea, three of them newly described here: K.brasiliensis Cheek & Simão-Bianchini, K.bullata Moonlight & D.B.O.S.Cardoso, sp. nov., K.capixaba Lombardi, K.confusa Moonlight & D.B.O.S.Cardoso, sp. nov. and K.velutina Moonlight & D.B.O.S.Cardoso, sp. nov. We also provide a full taxonomic revision of the genus, including a key, descriptions, map of geographical distribution and provisional IUCN threat assessments for all species.