Factors That Influence Foster Youth Placement in One-Parent Versus Two-Parent Foster Homes

Background and Purpose: In order to ensure that children develop in a healthy, safe and stable environment, social workers are often called upon to intervene when a child is at risk. Assuring the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in the child welfare system is the pinnacle of best practice. To reach these goals, child welfare practitioners are routinely tasked with making difficult decisions for children in foster care. One of these difficult decisions is that of an appropriate foster care placement. While existing studies have considered type of placement setting (foster care vs. residential or kinship vs. non-kinship), as well as foster youth behaviors and characteristics, few studies have focused on the composition of foster families in making decisions for placement. Considering the composition of the foster home and the needs of foster youth, this study sought to examine various factors that influence a foster youth’s placement in a one-parent or two-parent foster home.

Methods: Data and Sample: In this study, we used data from the national child welfare database Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS). We examined all children who had exited the child welfare system in 2013 in order to capture all the factors related to their involvement in foster care. We were interested in examining the various factors that influence the decision of placement into a one-parent versus a two-parent foster home.

Measures: Using binary logistic regression, we examined which factors increased the odds of a child’s placement into either a one-parent or two-parent foster home. Additionally, we examined whether any interactions between those variables had a significant combined effect on placement.

Results: We found that as a child ages, they are more likely to be placed in a single parent, versus a two-parent foster home. Additionally, children who have been removed from their home more than once, who are non-white, or who have certain diagnoses are more likely to be placed in a one-parent home. Further examining diagnoses, children whose healthy development is complicated by a severe health condition are more likely to be placed in a single-parent foster home, with the odds increasing if the child is non-white.

Conclusion and Implications: This study contributes to the existing child welfare literature by examining various factors that influence a foster youth’s placement in a one-parent or two-parent foster home. Results determined that foster youth with harder to place characteristics (older age, minority status, diagnosis and special needs) are more likely to be placed in a single-parent foster home. This demonstrates a system-wide need for single-parent foster families who are willing to take placement of these youth. Recruitment and retention strategies, along with training curriculums, should include the unique strengths and needs of single-parent foster families. Not only should future child welfare policy address the importance of single-parent foster families, social workers should advocate for the elimination of any potential bias against these foster families in child welfare policies.