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Early care and education arrangements and young children's risk of foster placement: findings from a National Child Welfare Sample
- Authors:
- KLEIN Sacha, FRIES Lauren, EMMONS Mary M.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 83, 2017, pp.168-178.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
A primary goal of the U.S. child welfare system (CWS) is to maintain children investigated for maltreatment in their parents' homes whenever safely possible. This study explores the possibility that early care and education (ECE) services (e.g., child care, preschool, day care) can help the CWS achieve this goal by using a nationally representative sample of children referred to CWS for suspected maltreatment to measure the relationship between ECE receipt and the likelihood that 0–5 year olds in the CWS will be placed in foster care approximately 18 months later. Specifically, logistic regression analyses explore the relationship between: (1) regular ECE participation (yes/no), and (2) type of ECE arrangement (Head Start, other centre- or home-based ECE, family/friend/relative ECE, other ECE, and multiple types of ECE) and foster placement risk. After controlling for multiple socio-demographic characteristics and foster placement risk factors, children who received ECE (yes/no) were no less likely to be placed in foster care than children who received no ECE. However, when exploring type of ECE arrangement, children who received Head Start were 93% less likely to be placed in foster care than children with no ECE. Children who participated in multiple types of ECE were almost seven times more likely to be placed in foster care than children with no ECE. These results suggest that Head Start may help maltreated children avoid foster placement and that experiencing multiple types of ECE is a risk factor for foster placement. It is recommended that caseworkers routinely assess the ECE service history and needs of families with young children who come in contact with the CWS, paying attention to the type and number of ECE services used. (Edited publisher abstract)
Are foster children's schools of origin always best? school quality in birth vs. foster parent neighbourhoods
- Authors:
- FRIES Lauren, KLEIN Sacha, BALLANTYNE Molly
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Social Work, 21(3), 2016, p.317–327.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Research has documented that foster children have high rates of school mobility, and it is widely believed that this contributes to their poor educational outcomes. Recent US policies address this by attempting to minimise schools transfers for foster children; however, these policies have largely ignored the issue of school quality. The current study uses descriptive statistics and mixed factor analysis of variance to assess (i) the quality of schools attended by elementary-aged US foster children living in a large, urban school district (n = 683); (ii) their rates of school mobility; and (iii) differences between the quality of schools located in their birth parent vs. foster placement neighbourhoods. Results indicate that these foster children were attending poor performing schools and had high rates of school transfers. For the sample as a whole and specifically for African-Americans and Hispanics, schools located in placement neighbourhoods were higher performing than schools in birth parent neighbourhoods. For white children, however, birth parent schools outperformed placement schools. These findings highlight the importance of considering school quality, not just continuity, when making educational decisions for children in out-of-home care. (Publisher abstract)