A Comparison of Foster Care Reentry After Adoption in Two Large U.S. States. (February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rolock, Nancy; White, Kevin R.; Ocasio, Kerrie; Zhang, Lixia; MacKenzie, Michael J.; Fong, Rowena
• Other Names: Palacios Jesús guest-editor.; Rolock Nancy guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Research on social work practice. Volume 29:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 153
• Page End: 164
• Publication Date: 2019-02
• Subjects: adoption -- field of practice -- postadoption -- foster care reentry -- survival analysis -- postpermanency discontinuity -- foster care -- child welfare -- quantitative -- methodological article; Social service -- Periodicals; 361.3205
• DOI: 10.1177/1049731518783857
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1049-7315

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines foster care reentry after adoption, in Illinois and New Jersey. The provision of services and supports to adoptive families have garnered recent attention due to concern about the long-term stability of adoptive homes. Method: This study used administrative data to examine the pre-adoption characteristics associated with post-adoption foster care reentry. Children were tracked longitudinally, using administrative data, for five to fifteen years (depending on their date of adoption), or the age of majority. Results: Results indicated that most (95%) children did not reenter foster care after adoption. Findings from survival models suggested key covariates that may help to identify children most at risk for post-adoption reentry: child race, age at adoption, number of placement moves in foster care, and time spent in foster care prior to adoption. Conclusion: Study findings may help identify families most at-risk for post-adoption difficulties in order to develop preventative adoption service.