Citation

Helton JJ. Child Abuse Negl. 2011; 35(11): 956-964.

Affiliation

Children and Family Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1010 West Nevada Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.06.004

PMID

22074756

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the relative risk of placement disruption for 3-10 year-old children placed in out-of-home care based on the biological relatedness of the placement caregiver and child disability status: no disability, a non-behavioral disability only, a behavioral disability only, or both a non-behavioral and behavioral disability. METHODS: Data were used from the baseline and 36 month follow-up of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a national probability study of children investigated for child abuse and neglect in the United States. Disability status was derived using several different nationally-normed measures of language development, daily-living skills, social skills, and behavioral problems. RESULTS: Around 1 in 4 children placed in out-of-home care experienced a disruption. Placement with kin decreased the likelihood of disruption for a majority of children, and children with different types of disabilities were no more or less likely to disrupt in kinship care compared to children with no disability. Older children with a behavioral disability only or both a non-behavioral and behavioral disability were more likely to disrupt compared to younger regardless of placement. CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that maltreated children placed with kin will be afforded the same stability provided to children without a disability.

Language: en