Abstract: State Investment in Title-IV E Stipend Programs and Placement Instability: A National Study (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

Schedule:

Thursday, January 15, 2026

Independence BR H, ML 4 (Marriott Marquis Washington DC)

* noted as presenting author

Catherine LaBrenz, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington

Scott Ryan, MSW, MBA, PhD, Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, TX

Hui Huang, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, TX

Yao Wang, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX

Lacey Jenkins, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Damone Wisdom, Doctoral Student, University of Texas at Arlington, TX

Background and Purpose: Placement instability, which refers to frequent changes in caregivers or living environments while in foster care, has been linked to undesirable outcomes for children and youth in foster care. In parallel, for the past three decades, Title IV-E stipend programs have provided financial incentives for students and child protective service employees to further their education, with the goal of retaining a specialized workforce and improving outcomes of children and families involved in the child welfare system. While a recent scoping review highlighted the positive workforce outcomes, such as increased retention and job satisfaction, among Title IV-E recipients, few studies to date have examined the impact of Title IV-E programs on child and family outcomes.

Method: This study utilized data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), child files for the FY 2016 – 2019, to track outcomes of children who entered foster care in the United States in FY 2016 over the next three years. The sample included 250,671 children from all 50 U.S. states plus Washington DC. Using the merged data, we conducted a series of multi-level models to examine the relationship between states with Title IV-E stipend programs and placement instability, while controlling for various child-level factors (e.g., race/ethnicity, age at removal, mental health needs). A subsequent two-level linear regression was conducted to examine the relationship between states with Title IV-E stipend programs and placement stability, while controlling for other child and state factors.

Results: Over the course of the study, children experienced an average of 2.55 placements (SD = 2.70). The unconditional model had an intraclass coefficient of 0.028, indicating that approximately 2.8% of the variance in placement stability occurred at the state level. After adjusting for child-level factors, children in states with Title IV-E stipend programs experienced 0.24 fewer placements on average than their peers in states that did not have Title IV-E stipend programs. There were racial/ethnic disparities observed, in that children who were Black, American Indian/Native American, Multiracial, or Hispanic experienced a higher number of placements compared to their white peers. Age and emotional disturbance were positively associated with the number of foster care placements a child experienced while in foster care.

Conclusions and Implications: This study contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between Title IV-E programs and outcomes of children and youth in foster care. The findings indicated that children and youth from the states which have Title IV-E programs experienced less placements. Our findings emphasize the need for ongoing evaluation of Title IV-E stipend programs to strengthen the evidence and ensure they effectively achieve the intended impact on children and families in the child welfare system. Additionally, many states that do not offer Title IV-E programs could benefit from such evaluations to access potential benefits and inform policy decisions.