Breakdown of teenage placements in Danish out‐of‐home care

Abstract

A B S T R AC TThis study deals with the problem of breakdown in out-of-home placements for Danish teenagers. How often are these placements prematurely terminated against the requests and intentions of the child welfare authorities? Which factors seem to increase and decrease placement breakdown? The sample consists of 225 youths and 367 placements during the years 2004-2008. Among the 225 youths, 44% experienced a breakdown, and 33% of the 367 placements ended with a breakdown. A large proportion of the placement breakdowns (20%) occurred before 4 months, and within the first year, 62% of the placement breakdowns had taken place. Replacements took place in 61% of all placement breakdowns. The analysis showed that type of placement and number of youth at the same placement had significant association to placement breakdown, but variables based on the social worker's clinical assessment showed no association to breakdown. However, while the logistic regression model was significant, it explained only 6% of the variance. Earlier studies have indicated that breakdown is a substantial problem of child welfare in several other western countries, Denmark is no exception. These corresponding breakdown rates point out that no child welfare system yet have found a method to reduce breakdown substantially.

Providing Foster Care for Adolescents: Barriers and Opportunities

“…When foster parents felt services were lacking, some cited this as a reason for not choosing to foster a teen. It is essential that pre and post-placement services prepare parents and teens for placement and remain involved to provide support throughout the process (Farmer et al, 2001;Olsson et al, 2012). This is an issue that foster parents continue to face as they provide placement for children and as some move forward with adoption, however, more attention to the needs of children and families involved in the child welfare system on a systemic and policy level is critical.…”

“…This could be related to having a stronger informal support network, more training or education, an ability to respond to the "emotional age" of the foster youth, or expected monitoring of activity outside of the house based on past experience (Farmer, Lipscombe, & Moyers, 2005). Foster placements with the opportunity for preparation and initial visits are less likely to disrupt (Ellingsen et al, 2011;, and active involvement of the adolescent in choosing a foster family has also been shown to increase success of the placement (Hedin et al, 2011;Olsson et al, 2012).…”

“…Youth who feel supported and included are less likely to be destructive or delinquent, as compared to youth who feel rejected or ignored (Ungar, 2004). Placement decisions involving adolescents are more likely to meet their developmental needs as well as set up acceptable expectations for the youth and foster family (Olsson et al, 2012), but this can be challenging in situations where placements are needed in a short period of time.…”

“…Youth who have supportive adults and ongoing social networks are more likely to have improved psychological and sociological outcomes (Collins et al, 2010;Munson & McMillen, 2009). Inclusion in decision-making has consistently been identified as important to strengthening social bonds and placements, as well as helping prepare adolescents for future relationships (Ellingsen et al, 2011;Hedin, Höjer, & Brunnberg, 2011;Olsson, Egelund, & Høst, 2012).…”

Reforming child institutional care in the Post-Soviet bloc: The potential role of family-based empowerment strategies

“…Placement instability is a common concern for foster care children and has adverse effects on children's psychosocial functioning (Fisher, Stoolmiller, Mannering, Takahashi, & Chamberlain, 2011;Leathers, 2006;Ryan & Testa, 2005). Almost half of teenagers (44%) placed with foster families in Denmark experienced disruption of placement (Olsson, Egelund, & Høst, 2012) and similar rates, 30-53%, were found in the UK, Sweden, Norway and Canada (Perry, Daly, & Kotler, 2012).…”