Permanency outcomes of children in kinship and non-kinship foster care: Testing the external validity of kinship effects

Family matters? The effect of kinship care on foster care disruption rates

“…Still, studies focusing explicitly on stability seem to agree that children placed in kin experience higher degrees of placement stability and better mental health functioning (Iglehart, 1994;Knudsen, 2009;Koh, 2010;Perry, Daly, & Kotler, 2012;see, however, Font, in press). These children are also at lower risk of experiencing foster care reentry compared with children placed in other types of care (Koh & Testa, 2011), a difference which reflects higher placement stability, child characteristics, and the deliberate efforts of social service agencies and courts to prevent reentry.…”

Is higher placement stability in kinship foster care by virtue or design?

“…Moreover, given that many OHC episodes involve 2 or more placement changes, it cannot be assumed that a disparity in the hazard rate for a first placement is equal across all subsequent placement changes. Indeed, prior research suggests that the disparity between NRFC and KC in the time to a first placement change is much larger than in subsequent placement changes (Koh, 2010). To account for the occurrence of multiple failures (multiple placement changes per episode), and the likelihood that the baseline hazard is affected by past failures, the estimates are stratified by risk set (placement number).…”

“…Studies differ in their generalizability, rigor in accounting for social selection, and length of observation. These differences in measurement and study methods lead to somewhat different conclusions, though nearly all studies suggest greater stability in kinship care, at least in the short term (Chamberlain et al, 2006; Koh & Testa, 2008; Koh, 2010; Koh, Rolock, Cross, & Eblen-Manning, 2014; Strijker, Knorth, & Knot-Dickscheit, 2008; Usher, Randolph, & Gogan, 1999; Webster, Barth, & Needell, 2000; Winokur, Holtan, & Valentine, 2009). …”

“…The difference in the risk of placement disruption between kinship and non-relative foster care is generally highest for the first placement, and smaller for all subsequent placements (Koh & Testa, 2008; Koh, 2010), perhaps because most placement moves occur within 6 months of entering foster care (Wulczyn et al, 2003). However, children who remain in care longer are more likely to experience multiple placements, irrespective of the type of placement in which they were first placed (Usher et al, 1999).…”

Do Specialty Courts Achieve Better Outcomes for Children in Foster Care Than General Courts?

“…For example, several studies have found that children removed from a single-parent home were less likely to be reunified than children removed from a two-parent home (Shaw 2010). Some research suggests that youth placed in kinship care exit to reunification or adoption at a slower rate than youth in other living environments (Koh 2010).…”