Placement stability: What role do the different types of family foster care play?

BACKGROUND

Placement stability is a major concern after a child enters foster care. Several studies have focused on the different factors associated with the risk of moving the child. However, the role and effect of the type of family foster care is less clear.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of children and their biological mothers, which are associated with initial type of care (non-relative foster care (NRFC), kinship foster care (KFC) and foster-to-adopt family (FAF)), and to examine the association between the type of care and placement stability.

METHODS

Case files of 361 Canadian children aged <12 years (X = 4.64; SD = 3.75) were reviewed during the window period of five years after their first out-of-home placement (NRFC n = 156; KC n = 155; FAF n = 50).

RESULTS

Our results show that children in FAF and KFC are initially placed at a younger age than children in the NRFC group. They also indicate that children placed in NRFC have a more significant accumulation of problems than the other two groups (FAF and KFC). Also, boys are placed in NRFC more often than girls, who are more frequently placed in FAF. Multivariate analysis revealed that children placed in FAF are less likely to face a high number of movements, even after controlling for the child's age, gender, and cumulative problems.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the role of foster care type at entry into foster care. It supports clinical discussion for an optimal response for neglected and maltreated children, as well as better services for foster parents, according to their specific needs.

Foster family assessment: The assessor's perspective - A qualitative study

Children in foster care are more likely to exhibit emotional, behavioral, social, and developmental problems. Accordingly, foster families should provide them with a safe family environment that promotes their development. Therefore, to ensure that foster families adequately meet children's needs, it is crucial for youth protection services to properly assess prospective foster family applicants. However, the specific assessment methods are understudied. This study aims to capture the experiences of caseworkers and the challenges they face in assessing and selecting potential foster caregivers, as well as their needs for support to perform the assessments. Focus groups were held in child protection services agencies in the province of Québec (Canada). Three group interviews with a total of 15 caseworkers were transcribed and subjected to content analysis using NVivo 11. The caseworkers identified nine most important dimensions for assessing prospective foster families, notably motivation and engagement. Differences in the assessment process between caseworkers were observed, particularly for the type of foster family assessed. The caseworkers reported certain common needs for assessment training, primarily in interview techniques and the handling of multicultural issues. They also complained of lack of time allocated for clinical support during assessments. The results call for collaborative efforts between researchers and practitioners to provide appropriate training and tools to support the assessment process.

Contact with biological parents following placement in foster care: Associations with preschool child externalizing behavior

Externalizing behavior problems are a salient issue in the context of child protection services, where associations with placement stability and caregiving behavior have been documented. Moreover, although research on the association between contact with biological parents and foster child externalizing behavior problems is scarce and has yielded mixed results, several studies have shown links between the two variables. The purpose of this study is to determine the association of face-to-face contact with biological parents and externalized behaviors, while taking into account placement instability and foster parent interactive sensitivity. Fifty preschoolers and their foster parents were visited at home. Child externalizing behavior problems were self-reported by foster parents, foster parent sensitivity was measured via play observations, and information relative to placement was collected through interviews with biological parents and gathered from social services data. Results reveal that more frequent contact with biological parents and lower levels of foster parent sensitivity are independently linked to greater levels of externalizing behavior problems even after controlling for placement instability. Discussion focuses on the importance of children's relationship experiences during foster care and the necessity to investigate their role to more clearly understand foster child socioemotional development.

Les contacts parent-enfant suite au placement en famille substitut : liens avec la stabilité du placement

Cadre de la recherche :Les enfants d’âge préscolaire sont moins susceptibles de retourner dans leur milieu d’origine suite à une mesure de placement et ont généralement des trajectoires de placement plus stables. Or, nous en connaissons peu sur les facteurs associés à la stabilité du placement chez les enfants d’âge préscolaire et plus particulièrement, sur le rôle des contacts parent-enfant sur la trajectoire de placement de ces enfants.

Objectifs :La présente étude examine les liens entre les contacts parent-enfant et trois indices de stabilité de la trajectoire de placement : les perspectives de réunification familiale, la survenue d’un échec de la réunification et le nombre de milieux substituts où l’enfant a été hébergé suite à son placement.

Méthodologie :Cinquante-quatre parents biologiques et 43 parents substituts responsables de jeunes enfants âgés entre 12 et 43 mois sont rencontrés. Les informations liées au contexte socio-démographique et aux modalités de contacts sont recueillies lors d’une entrevue individuelle avec le parent biologique et l’engagement parental est évalué à partir d’une grille d’observation.

Résultats :Les résultats indiquent que les contacts parent-enfant sont associés ou tendent à être associés aux perspectives de réunification familiale et ce, même après avoir contrôlé pour des caractéristiques écologiques potentiellement confondantes. Ces résultats indiquent également qu’au-delà des modalités de contacts, l’engagement du parent biologique envers son enfant contribue aux perspectives de réunification familiale.

Conclusions :Ainsi, les résultats de cette étude confirment le rôle de l’engagement parental suite au placement en famille d’accueil et soutiennent l’élaboration d’interventions favorisant cette composante de la parentalité.

Contribution :Cette étude offre un éclairage pertinent sur les rôles distincts de l’engagement parental et du maintien des contacts parent-enfant sur les perspectives de réunification familiale et soutient les travaux de recherche futurs dans ce domaine.

The relation of environmental contaminants exposure to behavioral indicators in Inuit preschoolers in Arctic Quebec

Although lead (Pb) exposure has been identified as an important risk factor in child behavioral development, less is known regarding the relation between child behavior and exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury (Hg). Inuit children are particularly exposed to these chemicals and the aim of this study was to investigate the association between prenatal and postnatal exposure to Pb, PCBs, Hg and several aspects of behavioral function in Inuit preschoolers. The sample consisted of one hundred and ten 5-year-old Inuit children from Arctic Quebec. An umbilical cord blood sample was used to document prenatal exposure to Pb, PCBs and Hg. Child blood samples were collected at age 5 and the same contaminants were measured. A modified version of the Infant Behavior Rating Scale from the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II was used to assess child behavior through examiners' ratings. Furthermore, attention, activity and emotional outcomes were assessed through behavioral coding of video recordings taken during fine motor testing. Pb exposure during childhood was associated with examiners ratings of greater impulsivity, irritability and with coding of observed inattention. Prenatal exposure to PCB 153 correlated with the examiners ratings of increased state of unhappiness and anxiety during the testing session, which was corroborated from video coding since cord PCB 153 was related to fewer manifestations of positive affects. No association was found with Hg exposure. These data corroborated those from previous Pb cohort studies and revealed an association between prenatal PCBs exposure and emotional outcomes in preschoolers.

Neuromotor functions in Inuit preschool children exposed to Pb, PCBs, and Hg

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of prenatal and postnatal chronic exposure to mercury (Hg), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead (Pb) on the neuromotor development of preschool children. The study population consisted of 110 preschool Inuit children from Nunavik (Canada). Blood Hg, PCBs and Pb concentrations were measured at birth (cord blood) and at the time of testing. Gross motor functions were evaluated and a neurological examination was performed. Fine neuromotor performance was assessed using quantitative measures of postural hand tremor, reaction time, sway oscillations, as well as alternating and pointing movements. Potential covariates were documented including demographic and familial characteristics, other prenatal neurotoxicants (alcohol, tobacco) and nutrients (selenium (Se), Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA)). Hierarchical multivariate regression analyses were performed, controlling for significant covariates. Gross motor development was not linked to prenatal exposures. However, significant associations were observed between blood Pb concentration at testing time and changes in reaction time, sway oscillations, alternating arm movements and action tremor. For some of these outcomes, neuromotor effects of Pb exposure are observed at blood concentrations below 10 microg/dl. Negative effects of PCBs on neuromotor development were not clearly observed, neither were the potential beneficial effects of n-3 PUFA and selenium. Tremor amplitude was related to blood Hg concentrations at testing time, which corroborate an effect already reported among adults.