Despite Encouraging Trends, Many Children Return To Foster Care After Reunification
As set out by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), states must meet specific standards based on child welfare outcome measures. Permanency is one key outcome, and when possible, reunification with families of origin is the preferred permanent placement for children. However, simply noting whether or not reunification has occurred is not enough; an analysis of reunification must include an examination of foster care reentries. One recent study examined all children who entered the California Child Welfare System for the first time in the years 1998 through 2002 (137,385 children), and were reunified with their families within twelve months of entry (45,154). Of these children, 13.33% (6,021 children) reentered foster care within twelve months of reunification.
Further examination of the characteristics of these children yielded some interesting results, including the finding that infants had the highest odds of reentry than any other age group. While speculative, this may be due to the difficulty for some to transition to the new parent role and the intense supervision and care than infants require. The authors suggest that respite care may help alleviate some of the stress of constant caregiving.
In addition, children who have been in the system for longer periods of time are less likely to reenter foster care. The authors emphasize that this finding by no means suggests that children should be kept in foster care for long periods of time, but does suggest that family interventions should be given a chance to be successful. Along these lines, post-reunification services should be available when children have been reunified with their families quickly (less than nine months). Again the authors emphasize the importance of not just the existence of family interventions, but also the integration of these interventions into the family’s everyday activities.
Other findings indicate that children reunified with their parents after being placed with relatives were the least likely to reenter foster care. Finally, and perhaps not surprisingly, the inclusion of drug/alcohol services in the case plan, an indication of parental drug/alcohol problems, dramatically increased the child’s odds of reentering the system.
It is important to note that since ASFA, the proportion of children reunifying with their families within one year has increased, and the proportion of children reentering foster care within twelve months of reunification has decreased. Despite these encouraging trends, however, 13% of the children in the present study returned to foster care. Thus, the factors that are associated with increased likelihood of reentry are important to take into consideration in order to have more favorable reunification outcomes.
Shaw, T. V. (2006). Reentry into the foster care system after reunification. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1375-1390.
