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Children with Behavioral, Non-Behavioral, and Multiple Disabilities, and the Risk of Out-of-Home Placement Disruption

NCJ Number
237023
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 35 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 956-964
Author(s)
Jesse J. Helton
Date Published
November 2011
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined the disruption effect of out-of-home placement on children with behavioral, non-behavioral, and multiple disabilities.
Abstract
Findings from the study indicate that about 25 percent of children placed in out-of-home care experience some form of disruption, and that being placed with kin decreased the likelihood of disruption for the majority of the children. In addition, the study found that children with different types of disabilities were no more or less likely to disrupt when placed with kin, and that regardless of placement, older children with either a behavioral disability or both a non-behavioral and behavioral disability were more likely to disrupt compared to younger children. This study examined the disruption effect of out-of-home placement on children with behavioral, non-behavioral, and multiple disabilities when placed in kin or non-kin settings. Data for the study were obtained from a sample of adolescents (n=315) who participated in the baseline and 36-month follow-up of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. The data were analyzed to determine the degree to which disruption rates were affected by the child's relationship to the caregiver (kin versus non-kin) and the disability status of the child (no disability, behavioral, non-behavioral, or multiple disabilities). The findings suggest that children placed in out-of-home care with relatives will have the same level of stability regardless of the existence of a disability. Tables and references