Placement Breakdown Research Articles

The Special Youth Carer Program: An Innovative Program for At-Risk Adolescents in Foster Care

Placement instability is a pervasive and long-standing problem which adversely affects outcomes for many young people in foster care. The Special Youth Carer(SYC) program, developed in South Australia in response to the needs of at-risk adolescents, is an innovative model aimed at reducing placement instability and promoting positive behavior change. Based primarily upon the Treatment Foster Care (TFC) model, SYC incorporates an additional defining feature: in the event of a placement breakdown, it is the carer and not the young person who leaves the home. This report includes a description of the program, an overview of outcomes for eight of the first program participants who were monitored over a 12-month period, and interviews with two carers who experienced the breakdown of an SYC placement. Positive behavioral change was reported for most participants, and there were some noteworthy improvements in placement stability.

Breakdown of teenage placements in Swedish foster and residential care

ABSTRACTThis article deals with the problem of breakdown in different types of out‐of‐home care (foster care/residential care) for Swedish teenagers. How often are such placements prematurely terminated against the wishes and intentions of child welfare authorities? Which factors appear to increase or decrease the risk of placement breakdown? The sample consists of a national cohort of 776 youths who started 922 placements during 1991. Every placement was followed in municipal case files for a maximum period of five years. Between 30 and 37% of all placements were prematurely terminated, the exact figure depending on whether a narrow or wide definition of breakdown was applied. The lowest rates of breakdown were found in kinship care and secure units, the highest in non‐kinship foster homes. Teenagers who display antisocial behaviour and/or have mental health problems constitute a high‐risk category for most types of out‐of‐home care, but especially in non‐kinship foster homes. Risk factors in relation to breakdown were analysed in the four main forms of Swedish out‐of‐home care separately (foster homes, privately/publicly run residential care and secure units). The analysis pointed out that risk factors are not the same in all types of care, but antisocial behaviour at time of placement increased the risk in most forms of care.Prior research indicates that placement breakdown is a major problem of child welfare in other countries, and this study found that Sweden is no exception.

Disrupted adolescents in foster care: Their perspectives on placement breakdown

Placement breakdown has long been recognised as a serious problem in foster care, particularly for young people whose behaviour is seen as disruptive. This qualitative study conducted in South Australia examined recent unplanned placement changes (n=14) from the perspective of the young people involved Participants were eligible for the study if their social worker attributed their most recent placement move to carer request on the grounds of problem behaviour. There was a high level of agreement between participants and social workers on the problem behaviours, but a divergence of views on the reasons for the move. Participants' contextualising of their behaviour highlighted the complexity of the processes underlying placement disruption. The dominant theme to emerge from this study was the unhappiness of participants. Other problem areas noted were apparent lack of placement options, and exclusion of young people from placement decisions.

Deprivation 2 3

The author describes her experience of setting up a therapeutic service for 'looked-after children' in a social services department, and the change of approach from a focus on individual therapy 8 to consultation and liaison with the network. The idea that children in the 'care system' suffer a triple deprivation when the 'double deprivation', as described by Henry (1974), is compounded by organizational difficulties, is explored. Material is presented of work with foster-parents which helped to prevent placement breakdown. The ways in which disturbing emotional states of clients are re-enacted within the organization are discussed. The author suggests that the paralysis in a social services system, which can lead to 'drift', resembles the 'collapse of strategy' of babies displaying a 'disorganized/disoriented' attachment response to a frightened or frightening mother. The need for a 'secure base' for social workers and their managers is stressed if they are to provide the same for their clients.

Success and failure in community placements for people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour: An analysis of key variables

Previous research has demonstrated clearly that people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour are at increased risk of admission and re-admission to long-term institutional care. Research has also suggested that service variables may moderate this process and also impact on the effectiveness of clinical interventions for challenging behaviour in community settings. The present study used a natural group comparison design to study differences in the individual and service characteristics of two groups of people with learning disability and challenging behaviour, one of which was successfully maintained in the community and one which experienced placement breakdown. Few behavioural or psychiatric differences were observed, although the breakdown group were significantly more able. People in the breakdown group were significantly more likely to come from service settings which were rated as having less than optimal resource utilisation and internal organisation. Carers in the breakdown group were also significantly less likely to have received training in emergency management techniques. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Abused children and foster care—the need for specialist resources

AbstractEstimates vary on how many abused and neglected children are admitted to care and how many children in care are there because of abuse and neglect. Nevertheless, it is important to examine their special needs and the problems they present to carers. Although research findings are difficult to interpret, there is enough evidence to show that abused and neglected children in care have special needs in three particular areas: education, health and social behaviour. The evidence is available from research into children in care and research into child maltreatment. Children in care run the risk of disrupted educational careers; abused and neglected children have additional problems in school. Many children in care have a patchy and neglected medical history; abused and neglected children are seriously at risk of further ill‐health. Abused and neglected children have been shown to have behaviour problems that jeopardize their relationships with peers and adults; they run the risk of placement breakdown. Foster care of abused and neglected children is a specialist and demanding task, requiring knowledge of, and sensitivity to special needs. Because many abused and neglected children return to their parents, foster carers also need to include the natural family in their task. High expectations of these foster carers, however, should not lead to exploitation but rather an enhancing of fostering assessment, preparation, support and training.

Foster care: The protection and training of carers' children

AbstractOne of the risk factors in foster placement breakdown is the presence of the carers' own children. A project is described through which carers' children express their feelings and conflicts and present a demand for a review of foster care, to be seen as care by families, not only parents. Many children in care have a powerful psychological impact on their carers, and the impact on other children in the household is underestimated and poorly understood. There is a confusion of role between carers' children and children who are fostered—on the one hand, the former are peers, and on the other, considerable demands of patience and understanding are made on them. This understanding, and perhaps also fear of allegations, may make them prematurely adult and distort aspects of their own development. The need for further research into the direct experience of foster care is highlighted and a training model of preparation for carers and their children is described, based on direct work with adolescents.

Prediction and Decision Making in Child Welfare

Use of computer-based statistical models to support decision making may reduce the subjectivity and uncertainty in this process of more acceptable levels. Multivariate procedures capture the collective experience of many workers by integrating information from a large number of variables and cases. Once a predictive model has been developed and validated, the profile of new cases can be compared to cases already on the data base. The probability of critical case events such as admission tocare, occurence of abuse, and placement breakdown can be identified. Such capabilities could also be incorporated into the development of computerized information systems. This would faciliate case planning and a more equitable and effective match between client needs and resource utilization.

Foster Home Breakdown.

At a time when fostering has become a cornerstone of social work policy, with 40,000 children placed in foster homes, this book highlights the personal tragedy that occurs when relationships between children and their foster parents break down. It provides the first detailed examination of placement breakdown in 20 years, a period in which major developments have occurred regarding services for deprived children. The book presents research findings on a range of foster placements - planned long-term, short-term and intermediate fosterings - in three contrasting social work agencies. Detailed information was gathered on over 530 foster placements, and the features of successful and unsuccessful fosterings are identified. In particular, the impact on placement outcome of three themes is explored: the early rearing histories of children; the maintenance of children's social networks; and placement-related factors. In addition, the authors offer a more intensive study of ten placements in which foster home breakdown occurred, and discuss the perspectives of all participants - social workers, foster parents, natural parents, teachers and children. Case-study material of two children provides illustration of the research findings. The maintenance of children's social networks - with natural parents, siblings and peers - is shown to be especially important for successful fostering. Finally, the authors consider the future development of foster care, and advocate the further development of a more specialist, professional approach.

Promoting Stability in Foster Care

For the child in residential care who, for whatever reason will not be returning to the natural family, long term foster placement is often seen as a means of providing a suitable alternative family environment. The formation of mutually satisfying emotional ties within a family setting is recognised as being an important ingredient is the healthy psychological development of a child. However, the high rate of foster placement breakdown attests to the fact that these ties are not easily formed.In South Australia, at any one time, approximately 2,300 children are known to be living apart from their parents. Some 1,500 of these children are in foster care. A 1982 Department for Community Welfare survey of a 50% sample of children who had been in continuous foster care for more than three years revealed that, while 60%of the sample had experienced only one foster placement, 24% had experienced three or more foster placements. Figures are similar In the United States where analysis of eleven foster care studies revealed that some 23% of children had three or more placements. (Westman, 1979).