The story behind kinship care caseload dynamics: An analysis of AFCARS data, 2000–2003

Vericker, Tracy; Macomber, Jennifer Ehrle; Geen, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.10.014

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…However, permanency may be constrained if family is limited only to nuclear family or even biological family. Foster care practice and research has affirmed the importance of extended family and fictive kin (e.g., Testa, 2008a;Testa, 2008b;Testa & Slack, 2002;Vericker, Macomber, & Geen, 2008). This study also showed the potential positive contribution of relative or kin placements.…”

Section: Social Work Theorymentioning

confidence: 52%

Predictors of foster care exits to permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption

Akin

2011

Children and Youth Services Review

187

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Nearly 800,000 children spend time in foster care each year, with many children experiencing lengthy stays and exiting without a permanent family. The main objective of this study was to identify which child and placement characteristics were significant predictors of foster care exit to three types of permanency: reunification, guardianship, and adoption. A nonexperimental longitudinal design was used to observe an annual entry cohort of 3,351 children who entered Kansas foster care in state fiscal year 2006. The sample was observed for 30 to 42 months. Data sources were two state administrative databases, one which tracks all children in foster care and one on mental health services. The primary data analysis was competing risks survival analysis. Study findings showed that children in foster care exit to different types of permanency at different rates. Reunification occurs the most quickly, followed by guardianship, and then adoption. While patterns of predictors varied by type of permanency, three major categories of important permanency predictors were identified: 1) demographic characteristics of age at entry and race, 2) clinical needs related to child disabilities and mental health problems, and 3) continuity and connections represented by kin placements, sibling placements, early stability, and absence of runaway events. Implications suggested that social work practice be age-differentiated and culturally appropriate, and that children's needs related to disabilities and mental health problems be addressed with thorough assessment and evidencebased services. Social work practices should also strive to keep children connected to family and in stable placements. The major social work theory implication suggested that permanency theory balance the primordial solidarities principle that stresses family connections with the bureaucratic institutions principle that emphasizes structures for ensuring stability. In addition, ii this study's findings indicated the need to improve and expand timely permanency for more children. Policy implications included: using guardianship as a viable permanency option for more children; revising federal policy to promote the discovery and implementation of new, creative approaches to permanency; and, reforming the current financing structure to be more flexible and better aligned with the promotion of permanency outcomes.iii

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Section: Social Work Theorymentioning

confidence: 52%

Predictors of foster care exits to permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption

Akin

2011

Children and Youth Services Review

187

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The Impact of Data Suppression Rules on Data Access and Re-Identification Risk in Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System Annual Files

Eiermann

2024

Child Maltreat

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One of the most widely used data sources for research on foster care and adoption is the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). County identifiers in AFCARS are suppressed for all counties with fewer than 1000 cases to prevent the re-identification of vulnerable children, but this also impacts researchers’ ability to study smaller communities and analyze how local environments may affect out-of-home placements. This study uses non-public AFCARS datasets to assess, for the first time, how data suppression rules impact data access and re-identification risk. It compares the long-standing 1000-case threshold against a wide range of potential alternatives and finds substantial data access gains coupled with moderate risk increases for thresholds between 400 and 700. Adopting a 700-case threshold leads to a 50% increase in the number of identifiable counties while also keeping the percentage of fostered children who face an elevated risk of re-identification below 1%. Making data from a substantial number of rural counties available to researchers requires much larger threshold changes, which in turn increases re-identification risks.

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The story behind kinship care caseload dynamics: An analysis of AFCARS data, 2000–2003

Cited by 2 publications

References 12 publications

Predictors of foster care exits to permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption

Predictors of foster care exits to permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption

The Impact of Data Suppression Rules on Data Access and Re-Identification Risk in Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System Annual Files

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