The Impact of Group and Residential Care Experiences on Permanency Outcomes for Adolescents in Out-of-Home Care

Background and Purpose:

Finding a permanent home is the goal for all children in out-of-home care, but this goal may be elusive for adolescents who experience group or residential care. Qualitative studies suggest that adolescents who experience group care and residential treatment are substantially less likely than children experiencing other types of out-of-home care to reach permanent homes. Possible explanations include the emotional and behavioral difficulties that lead youths to be placed in group care and difficulties associated with group care itself, such as reduced contact with potential permanent caregivers. This is the first empirical study to examine the magnitude of the disadvantage that youths in group care have in achieving permanence while controlling for potential confounds including the child's age and behavior.

Methods:

The data for this project are derived from a well-being study conducted for the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The data represent children age 11 and older who were in out-of-home care in the State of Illinois on 12/31/2004. Data were drawn from interviews with youth and from the DCFS administrative database. Complete data are available for 109 youth. Measures used include the Youth Self-Report and the Violence Exposure Scale (Revised) as well as self reports of delinquent behavior, substance use, and sexual activity based on instrumentation used in NSCAW I. DCFS administrative data were used to verify race/ethnicity, age, and time in care and to determine history of placement in a group or residential care facility (excluding hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and detention) prior to the time of sampling and permanency outcomes as of 12/31/2007 (or prior to youths' 18th birthdays, whichever came first). Permanency was defined as reunification with biological parents, adoption, or subsidized guardianship. T-tests, Pearson ÷2 tests, and survival analysis were used to examine the relationships of age, gender, and race/ethnicity of the youth, time in care, behavior, exposure to violence, and history of group or residential care to permanence.

Results:

18.8% of children with histories of group or residential care reached permanent homes compared to 46.4% of children without such histories. Adolescents who self-reported delinquent behavior, substance use, or sexual activity were less likely to reach permanent homes, as were older adolescents and youth of minority race or ethnicity. A survival analysis model demonstrated that children 11 years of age and older without group or residential care experiences are 2.7 times more likely to experience permanency outcomes than children with such histories controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and risk behavior.

Conclusions and Implications: Youths with histories of group or residential care had a reduced likelihood of reaching permanent homes, even when identified covariates were taken into account. The lower permanency rate for youths over the age of 11 who have experienced group or residential care is thus not simply a function of their age, time in care, or emotional or behavioral difficulties. Future research should explore specific explanations, including availability of permanent caregivers and group and residential care staff members' attitudes and skills in permanency planning for this population.