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Background: Recent research and policy recognize care alumni (i.e., adults formerly in out-of-home care [OHC]) as a population with a high accumulation of disadvantages well into adulthood, often in combination with early parenthood compared to the general population., Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to provide an overview on the impact of parental OHC on outcomes for both parents (i.e. parental adjustment, parenting) and their children (i.e. prevalence rates of OHC or child welfare system (CWS) involvement, adjustment, development), as well as protective and risk factors associated with those outcomes., Methods: Relevant articles were searched in four electronic databases from conception to 16 February 2022 according to PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews; supplemented with hand-searched citations from relevant references. Evidence was synthesized via a qualitative summary., Results: A total of 38 studies were included (19 quantitative, 14 qualitative, and 5 mixed-methods studies). Studies confirm increased rates of early parenthood among care alumni and an elevated risk of OHC among their children. However, most children remain with their care alumni parents, and some parents were met with the needed support to cope with challenging circumstances. Qualitative studies point to a great need for specialized services, including parenting programs that address past trauma and attachment issues. They also highlight potential protective factors., Conclusions: Findings suggest that care alumni parents experience compounding disadvantage, which may increase their children's risk of OHC. More research is needed on child adjustment, and on protective factors that can be leveraged to design effective interventions that decrease transgenerational CWS involvement., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Internationally, there is an increasing trend toward placing children in kinship vs. foster care. Prior research suggests that children in kinship care fare better compared to children in foster care; however, the reasons for this remain unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the hypothesis that kinship care better preserves children's connectedness to caregiver, birth family, culture, and community; which, in turn, is associated with more optimal child outcomes. Thirty-one studies were reviewed that compared children aged 0-18 years in kinship care vs. foster care on levels of connectedness, three of which had outcomes that permitted meta-analysis. Findings indicated that children in kinship vs. foster care were more likely to feel connected to family in general; however, there was not a clear advantage for kinship vs. foster care for caregiver, birth parent, cultural, and community connectedness. While levels of connectedness were generally associated with more adaptive child outcomes for children in both kinship and foster care, no reviewed studies examined the hypothesis that children's connectedness may mediate the relationship between placement type and child well-being and placement outcomes. Results are discussed with respect to limitations and policy implications of the current evidence-base and the need for more rigorous research to help identify how to improve child well-being in home-based care., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Child maltreatment is a global public health issue that has been linked with multiple negative health and life outcomes., Objective: This study evaluates the association between children placed in out-of-home care and neighborhood-level factors using eight years of administrative data., Participants and Setting: Between 2011-2018, 33,890 unique instances of child welfare involvement were captured in a department of child and family services database in a southern state in the United States., Methods: Removal addresses were geocoded and linked to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey to obtain census tract socioeconomic factors. Incidence overall and stratified by individual and neighborhood-level factors was computed. Rate ratios, relative indexes of inequality, and concentration curves quantified disparities in incidence of child welfare involvement by neighborhood-level factors., Results: Incidence of children less than 19 years old placed into out-of-home care was 255 per 100,000 person-years (95 % CI: 252, 258). At the individual level, incidence was highest among children <5 and 15-17 years old, comparable between male and female children, and higher among Black children. At the neighborhood level, incidence was highest in census tracts with lower median household incomes, higher percentages of households below poverty or of female-headed or single-parent households, higher unemployment rates, and fewer residents with some college education or health insurance., Conclusions: Incidence of children placed into out-of-home care is disproportionally higher for those who live in disadvantaged communities. Understanding neighborhood-level risk factors that may be linked to child welfare involvement can help inform policy and target prevention efforts., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Many children and youth with child protection services (CPS) involvement enter out-of-home care. The aims of this study were to examine rates of reentry and risk factors associated with reentry into out-of-home care among children and youth involved in the child protection (reported for abuse/neglect) and youth-in-conflict (reported for behavioral issues) programs. This study used administrative data from Colorado's Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System, which contains information on all children and youth who enter Colorado's CPS. Of the 14,461 children and youth in the child protection program and 2,353 children and youth in the youth-in-conflict program, 14.7% and 35.1%, respectively, reentered into out-of-home care. Families' prior history of CPS involvement and current CPS case characteristics better explained reentry into out-of-home care than child and family demographic characteristics alone. Understanding risk factors associated with reentry into out-of-home care is critical to inform the prevention of child maltreatment recurrence and ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and youth.

Background: A significant proportion of children placed in out of-home care experience placement disruptions in the United States. Placement instability has deleterious effects on children's well-being., Objectives: (a) To measure the time-to-initial placement change in different types of settings, including non-relative foster homes, kinship care, residential treatment centers (RTC), group homes and other types of settings; and (b) To identify predictors of the initial placement change., Participants and Setting: Data were obtained from the State Automated Child Welfare Information System operated by the child welfare agency in a Mid-Atlantic state. The sample included 4177 children who entered into the foster care and were followed over three years., Method: Descriptive, bivariate, and survival Cox regression models were conducted., Results: More than half (53%) of the children had experienced placement change within 3 years. The mean length for an initial change in placement was longer for children in RTC and kinship care compared to children in foster and group homes, and other placements (χ2 = 322.31, p < 0.001). Several factors significantly increased the likelihood of an initial change, including: older children (p < 0.001, HR = 1.01), children with behavioral problems (p < 0.001, HR = 1.26), parental substance abuse (p < 0.05, HR = 1.12), and cases in which the parents voluntarily gave up their parental rights (p < 0.05, HR = 1.12). The type of placement also increased the risk for placement change., Conclusions: Providing early interventions and services to these children and their families is essential to increase placement stability., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Past research has shown that individuals who have had experiences of out-of-home care (OHC) in childhood have increased risks of premature mortality. Prior studies also suggest that these individuals are more likely to follow long-term trajectories that are characterised by economic, work-, and health-related disadvantages, compared to majority population peers. Yet, we do not know the extent to which such trajectories may explain their elevated mortality risks. The aim of this study is therefore to examine whether trajectories of economic, work-, and health-related disadvantages in midlife mediate the association between OHC experience in childhood and subsequent all-cause mortality., Methods: Utilising longitudinal Swedish data from a 1953 cohort (n = 14,294), followed from birth up until 2008 (age 55), this study applies gender-specific logistic regression analysis to analyse the association between OHC experience in childhood (ages 0-19; 1953-1972) and all-cause mortality (ages 47-55; 2000-2008). A decomposition method developed for non-linear regression models is used to estimate mediation by trajectories of economic, work-, and health-related disadvantages (ages 39-46; 1992-1999), as indicated by social welfare receipt, unemployment, and mental health problems. To account for selection processes underlying placement in OHC, an alternative comparison group of children who were investigated by the child welfare committee but not placed, is included., Results: The results confirm that individuals with experience of OHC have more than a two-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality, for men (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.42-3.11) and women (OR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.39-3.59) alike. Approximately one-third (31.1%) of the association among men, and one-fourth (27.4%) of the association among women, is mediated by the long-term trajectories of economic, work-, and health-related disadvantages. The group who were investigated but not placed shows similar, yet overall weaker, associations., Conclusions: Individuals who come to the attention of the child welfare services, regardless of whether they are placed in out-of-home care or not, continue to be at risk of adverse outcomes across the life course. Preventing them from following trajectories of economic, work-, and health-related disadvantages could potentially reduce their risk of premature death.

Background: Children in out-of-home care are consistently found to have poor mental health compared to children in the general population. However, UK research has so far failed to disentangle the impact of the care system on children's mental health outcomes from the effects of the adverse circumstances that led to their admission to care., Objective: This research investigated the association between care placement and the presence of child mental health problems after controlling for children's pre-care experiences. It also identified factors associated with mental health problems among children in care., Participants and Setting: The sample comprised three groups of children involved with child welfare services due to maltreatment, including children in out-of-home care (n = 122), reunified children (n = 82) and those who had never been in care (n = 159)., Methods: The mental health of the children in the three groups was compared, using information collected from their parents/foster carers and social workers., Results: The odds of a child in out-of-home care having a mental health problem were not significantly higher than those of a child who had never been in care (AOR = 1.24; p = 0.462). However, the odds of a child in out-of-home care having reactive attachment disorder (RAD) were significantly higher than those of a child who had never been in care (AOR=1.92; p = 0.032)., Conclusions: These findings make an important contribution to international debates about whether placing children in care is beneficial or detrimental to their wellbeing, and highlight a range of inter-linking factors associated with the mental health of children in out-of-home care., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives : The Quebec Youth Protection Act was amended in 2007. The main goal of this reform was to improve placement stability for children who are removed from their home for their protection. Among several legal provisions introduced was the establishment of maximum age-specific durations of out-of-home care, after which a plan must be established to provide stability for children placed in substitute care by finding permanent homes for them. The purpose of this study is (1) to examine trends in placement use and placement stability since the reform and (2) to document the current frequency of each type of placement setting, the cumulative time in care before the exit to permanency, and the sustainability of the permanency outcome. Methods: The study relies on 3 entry cohorts of all children investigated who received protection measures in the province of Quebec during 3 specific time frames before and after the reform ( n = 9620, 8676, 8425). Cohorts were observed for a period varying from 3 to 4 years. Administrative data from all 16 child protection agencies were used to track placement trajectory indicators and to compare cohorts. Results : There has been a decrease in the proportion of children receiving protection measures who were placed in care since the reform, and placement in kinship care has become more frequent among children placed. Placement stability improved slightly after the reform. Overall, for infants, the most frequent type of permanency attained is adoption, while reunification is the option most often indicated for older children. Some children are at a greater risk of experiencing unstable placement trajectories: young children have a high rate of reunification breakdown, some wait a long time to be adopted, and adolescents are frequently removed from the substitute care setting where they were supposed to stay until the age of 18. Conclusions : The results suggest interesting avenues for policy makers and service providers to improve the stability of placement trajectories. Advantages and disadvantages of administrative data are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Adoption is one of a range of options that can provide children in out-of-home care with permanency when they are unable to be reunified with their birth parents. This paper reports on how the adoption of children from out-of-home care is understood by professionals involved in making decisions about the permanent placement of children in out-of-home care in Victoria, Australia, where adoption is rarely used. Data were collected through a single, face-to-face semi-structured interview with 21 professionals; eight child welfare specialists, eight adoption and permanent care specialists and five judicial officers. The adoption of children from out-of-home care was primarily understood as a child-centered practice that can afford children stability and a sense of belonging. Adoption was largely viewed as a voluntary process dependent upon the consent of a child's birth parents. Adoption and permanent care specialists were the only group to refer to the dispensation of parental consent as a means of obtaining an adoption order. Most decision makers understood that contact between children and their birth parents is possible following adoption, but this was not understood by all judicial officers or all child welfare specialists. Children's connection to their cultural heritage was viewed as important to the consideration of adoption for children in out-of-home care. This research provides insight into the foundations upon which decision makers may appraise adoption, within a hierarchy of options, as a potential outcome for children in need of permanency., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Over the past 25 years, kinship care placements have risen dramatically, such that when a child enters into care, child welfare agencies must first attempt to identify safe living arrangements with relatives or individuals known to the child before searching for alternatives. Despite the growing emphasis on kinship care, little is known about its impact on child outcomes in comparison to other placement types (e.g., foster family). Therefore, the aim of this scoping review was to evaluate quantitative research on children in out-of-home care from 2007 to 2014 with regard to the following outcomes: (1) permanency (i.e., reunification, reentry, placement stability, and adoption/guardianship) and (2) safety (e.g., additional reports to child welfare). Based on these objectives, the review identified 54 studies that examined permanency and safety among children in two major placement types, namely foster family and kinship care. Across studies, children in kinship care experienced greater permanency in terms of a lower rate of reentry, greater placement stability, and more guardianship placements in comparison to children living with foster families. Children in kinship care, however, had lower rates of adoption and reunification. The findings also indicated that differences in these variables diminish over time. Findings for safety outcomes were mixed. Study methodological limitations and recommendations for future research are considered.

Limited attention has been given to the concept of place in social work research and practice. This paper draws on the national evaluation of social work practices (SWPs) in England undertaken between 2009 and 2012. SWPs were pilot organisations providing independent social work services for children in out-of-home care in five sites. One factor distinguishing some of these pilots was their attention to place. The evaluation employed a mixed methods approach and we use data from interviews with 121 children and young people in out-of-home care, 19 birth parents and 31 interviews with SWP staff which explored their views and experiences of the SWP offices. Children and young people were alert to the stigma which could attach to social work premises and appreciated offices which were planned and furnished to appear less institutional and more 'normal'. Daily interactions with staff which conveyed a sense of recognition and value to service users also contributed to a view of some SWP offices as accessible and welcoming places. Both children and parents appreciated offices that provided fun activities that positioned them as active rather than passive. Staff valued opportunities for influencing planning decisions about offices and place was seen to confer a value on them as well as on service users. However, not all the SWPs were able to achieve these aspects of place, and engaging children and families in place was less likely when the service user population was widely dispersed. Recognising the importance of place and how place is constructed through relationships between people as well as through the physical environment appeared to be key to creating offices that combated the stigma attached to out-of-home care. Those leading and managing children's services should explore ways of involving local communities in planning social work offices and turn attention to making these offices accessible, welcoming, places., (© 2015 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Aim: This study aims to identify the health needs of children placed in out-of-home care in regional Queensland and to compare them with the needs of similar children in metropolitan Queensland., Methods: Retrospective chart review and subsequent analysis of data from the first assessments of the children placed in care from January 2005 to April 2011. Health needs based on assessment recommendations were then compared with needs and recommendations from a similar clinic in metropolitan Brisbane., Results: Two hundred thirty-nine first assessments were reviewed. The average number of health referrals arising out of each assessment was 2. 72% children were between 2 and 12 years of age and accounted for 76% of the health referrals made. The 10-13% of the children needed referrals for medical and surgical specialties, audiology, speech pathology, dental, and ophthalmology/optometry, each. A percentage of 30 needed ongoing paediatric care. The 15% needed immunisation catch up, 35% counselling and behaviour management, and 15% formal mental health referrals. These were comparable to the health needs identified in out-of-home care children residing in metropolitan Queensland., Conclusion: Children in care who live in a regional setting have similar health-care needs compared with urban children. Given restricted health services in regional settings, there is difficulty in accessing services to meet these needs., (© 2014 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2014 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).)

High child protection caseworker turnover diminishes care quality. While burnout is acknowledged, the impact of protective factors is unclear. This study examines caseworkers' burnout, individual resilience's protective role, and strategies for curbing turnover and preserving work-life balance. Results indicate that personal, work, and client-related subscales correlate highly. The moderating effect of resilience on burnout was significant yet marginal. Maintaining boundaries was the primary core theme reported in relation to strategies to maintain work-life balance. The results of this study highlight potentially modifiable factors likely to reduce caseworker turnover. Findings support the need for a collective re-evaluation of resilience as an individual responsibility to something that can be supported and fostered within the workplace for increasing employee retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicts are common in adolescent friendships and romantic relationships. The ways girls in care navigate conflicts in close relationships have implications for their resilience, since their family relationships are compromised. We employed qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore the conflicts in the friend and romantic relationships of 37 girls in care. They completed an interview about the conflicts with their best friend and boyfriend and a measure on the positive and negative quality of the friendship and romantic relationship within which the conflicts took place. Thematic analysis indicated the girls experienced more intense and volatile conflicts with their boyfriend than best friend. However, the intensity of these conflicts was mitigated by their positive perceptions in their quantitative reports. Despite conflicts, the girls reported significantly higher levels of positive than negative relationship quality within their romantic relationships and similar levels of negative quality between the two relationships. Findings highlight the girls' struggles with their romantic relationship compared to their friendship and especially their attempts to interpret conflict within a more global assessment of relationship quality. The findings provide a nuanced understanding of the girls' relational patterns, which can be used to inform interventions to support their development of healthy relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal children are overrepresented in Australia's child protection system, and limited tools are available to assist with connecting these children to their culture. The Stitching Our Future Together (SOFT) Program, developed in consultation with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, services, and other specialists, is used within the Department of Communities' Child Protection and Family Support (CPFS) Division in Western Australia to address big emotions and safe behaviours with Aboriginal children in care. This study used phenomenology and social constructivism to explore CPFS staff's perspectives and experiences of the SOFT Program. Seven semistructured in-depth interviews took place with CPFS staff. Five themes were identified: the SOFT Program and its use, culturally responsive practice, facilitating relationships, communication, and recommendations and implementation challenges. Participants expressed that the SOFT Program fostered an understanding of, and communication about, pertinent issues such as family and domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, mental health, and child neglect and abuse. The findings show how staff described the program's capacity to help them navigate complex situations, highlighting the need to incorporate more culturally centred and creative-based work into child protection practice. IMPLICATIONS The SOFT Program positively supports culturally responsive practice and facilitates relationships and communication for child protection workers and children in care. The integration of creative and legislated practices assists with personalising and enhancing the effectiveness of child protection work with children in care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically examines safety and innovation in out-of-home care, with a particular focus on addressing the entrenched overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in the child welfare system. Grounded in the practical insights of safe house workers and managers, the purpose of this article is to share an innovative practice case study—the Tangentyere Safe House in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. As a case study within an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation, Tangentyere Safe House emerges as a site for understanding the confluence of cultural safety, familial connections, and strategies to mitigate overrepresentation. Key themes explored include promoting cultural safety and supporting connections with the family of origin. Through a methodological lens that privileges practice-based knowledge, this article captured the on-the-ground experiences of those actively engaged in child safety. The findings underscore the innovative practices employed by Tangentyere Safe House in navigating out-of-home care within an Indigenous context to argue for a holistic and culturally informed approach to child protection interventions, drawing attention to the practical strategies employed by safe house workers. The article showcases the central role of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations in providing care alongside families in out-of-home care. IMPLICATIONS The innovative approach of the Tangentyere Safe House highlights the importance and unique role of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations in out-of-home care. The role of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations should be formally recognised in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle hierarchy. Frontline safe house workers' knowledge and expertise regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care can inform all stakeholder involvement including police interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For children entering out-of-home care due to child protection concerns, meaningful connections to family and culture are important and necessary. In this article the complexities of promoting cultural connections for culturally and linguistically diverse children in out-of-home care are explored. Through the use of the settlement, ethnicity, language and faith (S.E.L.F) cultural framework, practitioners and leaders working in the child and family sector can consider the cultural elements of the children in their care. The framework provides questions to explore what culture may mean for families and encourages practitioners to self-reflect on their own cultural assumptions. The framework development has been informed through community of practice reflections and learnings by the authors who have held multiple practice, leadership, and research roles in the child and family sector. IMPLICATIONS The S.E.L.F. framework encompasses curiosity questions that guide the collection of information from children and families to aid in better understanding and enhancing cultural connection practices and to build organisational cultural competency. The framework promotes practitioner critical thinking and reflection on their own cultural bias and assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people in Australian foster or kinship care are separated from their siblings for a range of reasons. These may include issues that are behavioural, sibling-related, the capacity of carers to host multiple children, or policies that enforce a one-child-per-bedroom rule. This study investigated strategies enhancing stability and meaningful connections among siblings within the Mockingbird Family, a social network model of foster and kinship caring. Case examples, network mapping, and visualisation of the Mockingbird Family networks are presented alongside results from thematic analysis of qualitative data. The findings suggest that the Mockingbird Family facilitates meaningful contact and sibling connections, even when coplacement was not possible. Sibling coplacement and contact provide crucial benefits such as emotional support, stability, shared experiences, and a sense of belonging, contributing to children's and young people's development, healing from trauma, and overall wellbeing. IMPLICATIONS Keeping sibling groups connected and in contact can reduce placement breakdown and contribute to their overall wellbeing. The Mockingbird Family model of foster care provides a range of options for keeping siblings meaningfully connected through coplacement within the same constellation and opportunities for other siblings to join in Mockingbird Family activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (respectfully referred to hereafter as "Aboriginal") children in the child protection system is a concern in Australia, with Aboriginal children placed in out-of-home care at a rate 11 times that of non-Aboriginal children. This study utilised linked administrative data to determine the longitudinal child protection pathways from birth to age 10 years for a cohort of 15,815 Aboriginal children born in Western Australia between 2000 and 2006. In total, 9,269 (59%) children did not have any contact with child protection between one year prior to birth and their 11th birthday. Conversely, 6,546 (41%) Aboriginal children were involved with child protection during the study period, with 1,405 (9%) children placed in out-of-home care. Infants who had a child protection notification were more likely than other age groups to have a substantiated notification of abuse and neglect and placed in out-of-home care. More than half (56%) of all children were predominantly placed in kinship care; however, only 22% had their first placement with kinship carers. Aboriginal-led strategies together with the support and commitment of all levels of government are required to reduce entry into care and improve outcomes for Aboriginal children in care. IMPLICATIONS Aboriginal-led strategies and wholistic responses can reduce the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children reported to child protection systems, and support families and communities. Infancy stands out as a key point of system involvement. This stage offers an opportunity where early intervention and family support strategies may prevent first time involvement with the child protection services and promote kinship placement, reunification with parents, and community-led supportive care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored how day-to-day social work practice with children and families in Wales responds to poverty, building on case studies already published in the other three UK nations. A case study design was used. The sites were locality teams in two local authorities, differing in their children looked after rates and trajectories of these over time. Qualitative research methods included practice observations; interviews with staff; focus groups; mapping of decision-making processes; and a sample of family case narratives. In one local authority, the range of data was similar to the other UK nation case studies. However, in the second, data collection was adapted to the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) lockdown context. Some evidence was found of narratives that emphasised the cultural, rather than material, aspect of poverty, and blamed parents for making inappropriate spending choices. Poverty alleviation was generally seen as outside of social workers' control and requiring earlier help before social services involvement. In one of the local authorities, there was some awareness shown of the impact of poverty on parenting. In the other, that took part in the study during 2020, the exacerbating effects of families in lockdown were described, including the lack of family support due to pandemic restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infants have the highest rate of admission into out‐of‐home care in Australia, with rising rates of entry to care occurring around the world. Our previous research identified children who entered care as infants as having high levels of developmental vulnerability. The objective of this study was to determine the child protection and developmental trajectories of children who entered care as infants and whether meeting developmental needs through service provision improves trajectories and outcomes for these children. This is a prospective cohort study using three waves (2011–2016) of survey data from the New South Wales Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study which includes standardised assessments (Age and Stages Questionnaire, Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment and the Child Behaviour Checklist), as well as linked administrative child protection and health data. Our findings suggest that children who entered care as infants predominantly remained in the care system and had a high level of developmental vulnerability as infants. A large group had positive physical and cognitive developmental trajectories with service provision increasing over time; however, early service provision is needed. Another group was identified as having early social–emotional concerns and displaying worsening social–emotional trajectories. Intervention for this group is an important priority to reduce risk of ongoing poor mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was designed to understand the roles and challenges of child protection services (CPS) employees in arranging out-of-home care for children with minority and immigrant backgrounds in Rogaland, Norway. Findings from the six in-depth interviews with CPS employees showed that, guided by existing laws and policies, they follow three phases from investigation to the care order decision. The premium they place on “best-interests-of-children” can be contested in relation to the rights of the family. CPS employees day-to-day challenges include understanding minority families cultural backgrounds, finding foster families, and communication. Based on the findings, policy and practice recommendations are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critique that child welfare services (CWS) are primarily focused on neglect cases resulting from poverty is longstanding and reemerging from discussions about how to address America's racial history and structural oppression which begets poverty. Understanding how poverty and CWS involvement operate requires testing relationships between poverty and other factors influencing placement. Drawing on NSCAW II, we identify families (n = 445) investigated for neglect, with children younger than 15, and remaining home upon investigation at the study's baseline. This study uniquely allows for distinguishing the contribution of poverty and family adversities on foster care placements among neglecting families. Families were followed for 36 months, to observe placements into out-of-home care. Poverty levels were not strongly related to subsequent placement. Children in families with high levels of adversity – especially arrests and domestic violence – were most likely to be placed into foster care. Employment at initial contact was associated with less later foster care placement even when income levels were generally low. The findings add to the evidence that placement into foster care may most significantly result from an accumulation of adversities. Intervention that might help reduce foster care placements for neglected children who begin receiving services at home are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify latent classes of child welfare placement histories, with a focus on entry to residential treatment settings (RTS), and how youth behavior and development are associated with the probability of latent class membership. This study utilized secondary child welfare administrative data. The study found that a four-class model was the best fit for the data. The four latent classes were defined by instability while in family settings, stability in kinship care, movement through congregate care settings, and stability in non-kinship foster care. Youth behavior and developmental period were significantly associated with latent class membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just as archival scholarship has increasingly engaged in conversations around care and holistic considerations of the agency of records subjects, the child welfare systems of the modern Western world have been moving towards conversations that aim to centre and celebrate the voice of the child in new and important ways. However, too often are these conversations held back by the enormity of the issue and the overhaul that would have to take place for philosophy to match with practice. In this paper, I suggest that part of the problem is that we have been trying to make these changes philosophy first, placing a new way of thinking on top of an old way of doing—an approach that will never generate change. Leaning in to using speculation to imagine what the new recordkeeping of a caring system might look like, I propose that the act of recordkeeping is the fulcrum that could make caring child welfare a reality and illustrate some of the avenues through which we might pursue instigating the systemic changes needed if we are to see the agency and perspectives of children prioritised in child welfare and protection practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Research has demonstrated children in out-of-home care have experienced trauma and a significant proportion are in need of behavioral health services (e.g. Casaneuva et al., NSCAW II baseline report: Child well-being, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, 2011). Accessing services requires interagency coordination between child welfare and behavioral health professionals; however, challenges to coordination and collaboration may result in lack of service utilization for many youth (Hanson et al. 2016). Utilizing a mixed methodological approach, this paper describes the results of a study conducted five years after full state-wide implementation of processes designed to promote the use of evidence-based practices to inform decision-making for youth dually served by the child welfare and behavioral health systems. Outcomes from the study were used to develop strategies to address programmatic concerns and reinforce implementation supports. Study findings may aid organizations seeking to reinforce data-informed practices and employ strategies for addressing barriers at the worker and agency level.

In Australia, on any given day, about 45,000 children and youth aged 0–17 (about 1 per cent of Australian youth) are in the care of the state, often cared for through delegation‐funded child welfare organisations. Many of these children are in out‐of‐home care of such organisations for brief periods of time, but a substantial number remain in care until their mandatory emancipation. About 3600 youth a year are obliged to leave care at 18 years of age, due to child protection orders ending before their 18th birthday. Many advocates in the field, including former youth in out‐of‐home care represented in the CREATE Foundation, believe that this is much too young to be out on their own. Founded in 2016, Home Stretch is a national advocacy campaign to extend the leaving care age for young people in out‐of‐home care from 18 to 21 years in all Australian jurisdictions. Prior to the Home Stretch movement, no Australian state, territory or federal government (with the partial exception of the ACT) had indicated any action, interest or desire to extending its services to children in state care past 18 years. Yet, extended care in varying forms has been found recommended in various government enquiries over the past several decades. Seven years after the Home Stretch launch, extended care is now offered in all eight Australian jurisdictions, and at last count, over 4200 young people are in extended care arrangements to 21 years across the country. This is a remarkable social policy about face by the Government in a relatively short space of time. In this article, we describe the advocacy strategy employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article brings together the experiences of parents whose children are placed in out‐of‐home care (OHC) with the theoretical concept of moral injury. The findings are based on empirical data from a research and development project conducted in seven Swedish municipalities with the aim of developing support for such parents. This article draws on a data set of qualitative interviews with 40 parents, 30 mothers and 10 fathers, with children in OHC. The interview transcripts were analysed thematically, with an abductive approach to theories and the empirical data. The findings illustrate how parents of children in OHC experience moral injury in relation to seven aspects: professionals' morally problematic and distressing behaviour, problematic services, an adversarial system, systemic bias, parent's actions, children's withdrawal and feeling excluded. The injuries are related to events in several periods—prior to the child's removal, during the execution of removal and during OHC—and tend to last for many years. These findings stress that the social services must be aware of the injuries parents experience and must minimize the possible harm and moral injury. We also suggest that parents of children in OHC should have an appointed social worker as a means of support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous international research indicates that social workers may lack the competence to comfortably involve children in child protection processes. Implementation of stricter competence requirements for child welfare staff has been discussed to address shortcomings in child welfare practice. In Norway, this implementation is scheduled for 2031, and subject to ongoing discussion. Through multivariate robust linear regression analysis of data collected in five Norwegian urban settlements (n = 135), this study explored the association between social workers educational level and attitudes toward child participation in cases concerning contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth parents. The results indicate a significant difference in attitudes toward children’s involvement in cases concerning contact with birth parents when comparing social workers with master’s degrees to those with bachelor’s degrees, whereas social workers with master’s degrees exhibit more positive attitudes. Social workers are generally found to have positive attitudes toward participation; however, the findings indicate concerns regarding participation in cases related to contact, particularly due to potential loyalty conflicts that might cause stress to the child. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family group conferences (FGCs) in child welfare share decision-making with family members by bringing the immediate and wider family together to make a plan to meet a child's needs. This paper reports survey findings on FGC provision in the UK in 2022 and explores whether in England the presence of an FGC service and the rate of FGC provision is associated with the rate of children in care, entering care, in kinship foster care and leaving care. Seventy-nine per cent (n  = 167) of local authorities in the UK provided FGCs to families, and 14 per cent (n  = 29) did not. Services that were more established offered a more diverse range of FGCs. The introduction of FGCs in English local authorities was associated with a higher rate of children in care, but also higher rates of kinship foster care, a key goal of FGCs where it is not possible for children to stay with their parents. Higher rates of FGCs were associated with more children leaving care, possibly due to reunification with birth families. To understand in more detail, the circumstances of children in and leaving care in local authorities with FGCs, individual data linkage studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black youth have consistently reported that when they are transitioning from out-of-home care (OOHC) into independence, they are not supported or included in decision-making, and they feel isolated and vulnerable as they face an uncertain future. Previous research has documented the ways in which Black youths' experiences in care are characterized by unpredictability and loss, but then care ends—and they continue to struggle. For Black youth in care, this transition can be exceptionally difficult as they are contending with the additional strain of doing so within the child welfare system and larger social context characterized by a loss of community and the persistence of anti-Black racism. Presently, there are no empirical studies in Ontario that investigate Black youth's narratives transitioning from OOHC; this manuscript seeks to fill this gap in knowledge. Employing Adultification and Anti-Black Racism Theory as theoretical frameworks, this qualitative study investigated the narratives of 27 Black youth with lived experiences navigating OOHC in Ontario's child welfare system. This study utilized narrative inquiry as a methodological approach. Three main narratives were identified: (1) the need for finances and a financial literacy; (2) narratives of aging out and (3) the challenges of navigating funding. To better support Black youth in their transition out of care and in independent living, recommendations for policy and practice include earlier transitional support, ensuring youth have a practical understanding of financial literacy, and educating youth about resources and their rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has demonstrated children in out-of-home care have experienced trauma and a significant proportion are in need of behavioral health services (e.g. Casaneuva et al., NSCAW II baseline report: Child well-being, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, 2011). Accessing services requires interagency coordination between child welfare and behavioral health professionals; however, challenges to coordination and collaboration may result in lack of service utilization for many youth (Hanson et al. 2016). Utilizing a mixed methodological approach, this paper describes the results of a study conducted five years after full state-wide implementation of processes designed to promote the use of evidence-based practices to inform decision-making for youth dually served by the child welfare and behavioral health systems. Outcomes from the study were used to develop strategies to address programmatic concerns and reinforce implementation supports. Study findings may aid organizations seeking to reinforce data-informed practices and employ strategies for addressing barriers at the worker and agency level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than three decades, official and independent enquiries have documented the poor outcomes experienced by many young people transitioning from out‐of‐home care (OOHC) in Australia, known as care leavers. Yet, until 2017, most of the state and territory governments cut off financial support to these vulnerable young people at no later than 18 years of age and failed to provide them with the ongoing material and relationship assistance into early adulthood guaranteed to most of their non‐care peers. Australia was regarded internationally as a leaving care laggard. This paper examines the remarkably effective advocacy strategies used by the Home Stretch campaign, formed in 2016, to persuade all Australian jurisdictions to extend OOHC until 21 years. By the end of 2022, every state and territory had agreed to introduce some form of extended care, and Australia was recognised as a global leader in leaving care policy and programmes provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large numbers of children in Australia are in long-term out-of-home care (OOHC). Legal frameworks available for their care are long-term foster care, guardianship, and plenary adoption. Views of individuals with OOHC or adoption experience on these legal frameworks were explored via an online survey. A legal framework called simple adoption, which makes children legal members of adoptive families without legally excising them from birth families, was also considered. The respondents (N = 1019) evaluated aspects of these frameworks as strengths or weaknesses from which scores were calculated. Overall, simple adoption had the highest strength score, followed by plenary adoption, guardianship, and long-term foster care. The highest weakness score was for long-term foster care, followed by guardianship, plenary adoption, and simple adoption. That simple adoption enabled enduring familial relationships between children and their adoptive families while retaining legal identity and legal connection with birth families contributed to its favourable evaluation. IMPLICATIONS The legal severance of children from birth families and the supplanting of legal identity that occurs in plenary adoption makes this form of adoption unacceptable to many. Simple adoption, allowing for children to be full legal members of both their adoptive and birth families and preserving legal identity, makes it attractive to individuals with a variety of experience backgrounds. An exploration of legislative reform to allow for simple adoption in Australia should be undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: There is a growing recognition of the urgency to enhance health outcomes for children and young people residing in out-of-home care (OOHC). Research underscores the need to establish effective pathways to quality health care for children and young people who have been exposed to trauma. Child protection (CP) practitioners should play a vital role in proactively improving health outcomes and navigating the intricacies of healthcare systems. Their involvement in initiating and collaborating on healthcare interventions is pivotal for the well-being of these vulnerable children and young people. However, challenges associated with poor health literacy and the complexities of healthcare systems hinder collaborative service delivery in the Australian context. This review explores how CP practitioners support the health care of children and young people in their care. Design/methodology/approach: A scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley's framework, employing a narrative synthesis to assess the selected studies. Findings: Health outcomes for children and young people in OOHC remain under-researched and potentially under-resourced within the realm of CP practice. There is room for enhanced practices and system integration in CP service delivery to better address health needs and prevent further health and well-being disparities. Originality/value: Through this scoping review and involving industry experts in the discussion of findings, this study contributes valuable insights to the existing knowledge base regarding the active participation of CP practitioners in addressing the healthcare needs of vulnerable children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Children in families affected by substance use disorders are at high risk of being placed in out‐of‐home care (OOHC). We aimed to describe the characteristics of parents who inject drugs and identify correlates associated with child placement in OOHC. Method s : We used baseline data from a community‐based cohort of parents who inject drugs (SuperMIX) from Melbourne, Australia. Participants were recruited via convenience, respondent‐driven and snowball sampling from April 2008 to November 2020, with follow‐up until March 2021. To explore correlates associated with child placement to OOHC, we used multivariable logistic regression and assessed for potential interactions between gender and a range of relevant covariates. Results: Of the 1067 participants, 611 (57%) reported being parents. Fifty‐six percent of parents reported child protection involvement. Almost half (49%) had children in OOHC. Nearly half of the parents lived in unstable accommodation (44%) and many of them experienced moderate–severe levels of anxiety (48%) and depression (53%). Female or non‐binary gender, identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, experiencing assault and having more children were associated with child removal to OOHC. Of the 563 participants who reported their own childhood care status, 135 (24%) reported they had been removed to OOHC. Discussion and Conclusions: We identified high rates of child placement in OOHC among parents who inject drugs. There is a need for targeted health and social services, that are gender and culturally responsive, in addition to systems‐level interventions addressing social inequities, such as housing, to support parents to care for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children of color—especially Black and Indigenous children—are disproportionately overrepresented in foster care and experience barriers in accessing services and receiving physical and behavioral healthcare compared to their White counterparts. Although racial disparities in mental health outcomes of children in foster care have been examined systematically, less is known about racial disparities in their physical health outcomes. This systematic review aimed to examine disparities in physical health outcomes (i.e., general health, developmental delays and disability, chronic illness, health-compromising behaviors, all-cause mortality) of children in foster care by their race and ethnicity (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021272072). Systematic literature searches were conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Of the 6,102 unique studies identified, 24 met inclusion criteria: peer-reviewed journal article; published from 1991 to 2021; written in English; involved children in the U.S. foster care system; children were primarily in family-based placements; included health outcomes; included children's race and ethnicity; conducted quantitative analyses; and had an observational study design. There was limited evidence to suggest racial disparities among physical health domains examined, in part, due to the small number of studies, variability across study measures and designs, how race and ethnicity were categorized, and how related results were reported. Research that disaggregates results by more nuanced race and ethnicity categories, goes beyond including race and ethnicity as control variables, and uses more robust study designs to understand where racial disparities lie is necessary to inform practice and policy efforts to attain race and health equity in child welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that individuals with out-of-home care (OHC) experience tend to have lower educational attainment than their peers in young adulthood, and a number of interventions have been implemented to increase their higher education outcomes. However, the timing of their higher education completion, and whether they experience educational recovery over the life course, is largely unknown. Using longitudinal Swedish data from a birth cohort of more than 13,000 individuals, this study examined OHC experienced individuals' chances of having a higher education, here defined as a record of postsecondary education of two years or more, in midlife (age 50) and whether the timing of completion differs between them and a group of individuals who had child welfare contact (CWC) without being placed, and a group of general population peers. Results from multivariable logistic regressions corroborated prior findings that individuals who have been placed in OHC were less likely to have completed higher education compared to their general population peers. However, among those who did, they were more likely to have completed it later in life. Overall, there were no differences between the OHC group and the CWC group, both groups may thus not only benefit from specific support but also from more general inclusive education policies that allow for life-long learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people who are currently or were previously in state care have consistently been found to have much higher rates of mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties than the general youth population. While a number of high‐quality reviews highlight what research has been undertaken in relation to the mental health of young people with care experience and the gaps in our knowledge and understanding, there is, until now, no consensus, so far as we aware, as to where our collective research efforts should be directed with this important group. Through a series of UK wide workshops, we undertook a consultative process to identify an agreed research agenda between those with lived experience of being in care (n = 15), practitioners, policy makers and researchers (n = 59), for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience, including those who are neurodiverse/have a neurodevelopmental difficulty. This consensus statement identified 21 foci within four broad categories: how we conceptualize mental health; under‐studied populations; under‐studied topics; and underused methodologies. We hope that those who commission, fund and undertake research will engage in this discussion about the future agenda for research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children in out-of-home care have a developmental need for safe and secure relationships to meet their long-term social, emotional and physical needs. Permanency has been a guiding principle in child protection since the mid-1970s, with the focus on creating legal and residential certainty. Permanency is a complex felt and lived experience for children and young people that cannot be reduced to a single dimension, such as legal permanency. A critical gap exists in understanding the perspective of young people and using research methods such as Photovoice that facilitate expression of intangible concepts. Eleven care-experienced young people aged 16 to 25 years took part in participatory research in New South Wales. Participants used photography to explore literal and metaphorical experiences of permanency and thematic analysis was used to interpret visual and textual data. The results present a more nuanced picture of permanency as an internal state and reveal that young people actively cultivate the felt sense of security and belonging in their lives through connection with nature, people and culture. Photovoice empowers participants as co-creators of knowledge and presents new insights to inform public discourse and policy and practice developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rate of children in care in Wales is one of the highest in the world and has increased considerably in the past two decades. Whilst many factors may be driving these increases, there is considerable variation between local authorities. This article presents findings from a survey completed by children's social care workers in Wales (n  = 792). It compares the views, values and responses to case study vignettes of workers in authorities with increasing to those with decreasing care rates over five years (2016–2020). Statistically significant differences were found relating to the values and the practices of workers, with workers in local authorities with reducing rates having stronger pro-family values, less risk averse responses to case vignettes, more confidence in the decisions made in their local authority and being more positive about support for practice. The findings indicate that variations in local authority values and practices may influence the rate of children in care and that some with significant social problems seem able to avoid the large numbers of children in care found in other authorities. The challenge faced in Wales and the UK is how local authorities can learn from one another to ensure consistency and quality in services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are integrated into child protection and out-of-home care (OOHC) systems via the connection element of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (ATSICPP). This article focuses on cultural connection in Australian child protection and OOHC systems over time, from its inception to its contemporary use to improve health and wellbeing and ameliorate cultural disconnection. An expanded understanding of cultural connection in Australian OOHC systems is articulated where cultural connection is theorised as a process of culturally connecting, while a critical position concerning the risk of cultural disconnection in OOHC is held. Indigenous cultures are fundamental to individual and community health and wellbeing. However, cultural connection in Australian OOHC systems risks becoming a site of bureaucratic policy compliance to ameliorate the effects of cultural disconnection produced by disproportionate First Nations child removals. This article illuminates this critical position while theorising how culturally connecting can be better understood in OOHC. IMPLICATIONS Cultural connection for First Nations children and young people is important for health and wellbeing, but is poorly understood in child protection and out-of-home care contexts. Cultural connection includes a community element, where culture acts as a point of distinctiveness to show that Indigenous peoples are surviving. At this juncture, cultural connection is a tool to resist the assimilatory impacts associated with ongoing child protection removals. Cultural connection can be understood as a complex journey of connecting for First Nations children and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high prevalence of maltreatment, abuse, neglect and the onset of subsequent trauma has been well-documented among both young people with disability and young people residing in foster and kinship care. However, no uniform policies or guidelines currently exist for the delivery of trauma-informed models of care to build the capacity of foster and kinship carers in responding to and supporting the complex needs of children and young people in their care with disability who may have been exposed to trauma. While no evidence of the application of trauma-informed models of care for this cohort exists, some evidence of trauma-informed models of care to support people with disability beyond the scope of out-of-home care has recently emerged. The authors discuss this emerging work and recognise an opportunity to leverage this evidence to guide the practices of foster and kinship carers. Clearly, there is an opportunity to work towards improving the development and wellbeing of children and young people with disability in foster and kinship care through the development, implementation, and evaluation of a tailored trauma-informed model of care that is co-designed and grounded in the underlying theoretical principles of disability and trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider some possible reasons for the relatively high rate in Wales of children looked after by local authorities. Design/methodology/approach: Selected potential explanations for Wales having higher rates were tested against aggregate data from published 2021 Government statistics. Wales was compared with England and English regions for area deprivation, local authority spending, placements at home and kinship foster care. Descriptive statistics were produced, and linear regression was used where appropriate. Findings: Wales has higher overall children looked-after rates and a bigger recent increase in these than any English region. Deprivation in Wales was higher than in most English regions. However, a smaller percentage of Welsh variation in local authority looked-after rates was explained by deprivation than was the case for England. Spending on preventative services has increased in recent years in Wales whilst decreasing in England, and there was not a clear relationship between spending on preventative services and the looked-after rate. Wales had a higher rate of care orders placed at home and more children per head of population in kinship foster care than any English region. Some of the explanations that have been suggested for Wales's particularly high looked-after rates seem to be supported by the evidence from aggregate data and others do not. Practice variation is likely to also be an important part of the picture. Originality/value: This is an original comparison of Wales, England and English regions using aggregate data. More fine-grained analysis is needed using individual-level data, multivariate analysis and qualitative methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The passage of 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act reflects a shift in child welfare policy, prioritizing in-home services in the hope of preventing children from entering out-of-home care. This study aims to examine service use patterns among families and children involved with child welfare system, and to investigate associations between class membership of service use and the subsequent out-of-home care. Data were from Waves 1 (baseline) and 2 (18 months follow-up) of the second cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well Being. This study included measures on the following service types at Wave 1: (a) employment assistance, (b) adult mental health, (c) child mental health, (d) family mental health, (e) caregiver substance abuse treatment, (f) domestic violence, (g) legal assistance, (h) housing assistance, and (i) parenting support. A latent class analysis with the BCH Method and regression auxiliary model was used to examine the research questions. Findings showed the following four classes of service use: (1) housing services, (2) family-focused services, (3) parent-focused services, and (4) no services. When services were only focused on parents, particularly mental health and parenting services, children were more at risk of out-of-home care than when there were no services received. However, there was no difference in out-of-home care risk comparing the family-focused service group and the no service group. Mental health services for parents may be more effective in reducing risk of out-of-home care if combined with mental health services for children and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legislative provisions for accepting unborn child reports into the child protection system in Australia have coincided with a noticeable rise in the number of infants entering care. This article collates information on the child protection process during pregnancy based on a desk review of relevant public primary sources. The effectiveness of child protection during pregnancy in reducing statutory intervention at or following birth and avoiding unintended consequences is also explored through an examination of relevant child protection data, reviews, and research. The summary revealed some differences in the process of making, accepting, and responding to an unborn child report across Australia. The knowns about child protection during pregnancy include a high rate of unborn child reporting, a high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and a disproportionate representation of Indigenous children in these statistics. The knowledge gaps include the circumstances of parents involved in unborn child reports who are approached by child protection and when; parents who refuse to engage; parents who are provided advice and support; and the outcome of these cases. Some aspects of child protection practice during pregnancy, including information sharing, risk assessment and case planning, and parental engagement and partnership throughout the process represent further knowledge gaps. IMPLICATIONS Attention to the high rate of unborn child reporting to child protection in Australia and to the differences in procedures for responding across the states and territories is needed. The high proportion of children involved in unborn child reports who are subsequently admitted to care, and the disproportionate number of Indigenous children who are represented in unborn child reports, substantiations, and care entries during infancy need to be addressed. There is a need for further research on child protection practices during pregnancy and case outcomes to maximise safe pregnancy journeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maltreated and child welfare-involved youth are over-represented in juvenile justice systems. These youth are at a greater risk of serious offending and justice system entrenchment relative to their non-maltreated peers. Understanding gender differences in the pathways to justice involvement and the nature of offending among maltreated children is critical for informing policy and practice. Yet, this body of evidence is fragmented. This scoping review identified and narratively synthesized evidence from studies reporting on gender differences in the individual characteristics, maltreatment experiences, child protection involvement and offending profiles of maltreated youth who offend. A comprehensive search of four databases generated 11,568 publications, from which 180 met the review's inclusion criteria. These primary studies included participants aged 8–21 years with a history of childhood maltreatment and youth offending and reported at least one gendered analysis. Some consistent findings were reported across studies. A greater level of child welfare involvement and maltreatment exposure (particularly sexual abuse and multi-type maltreatment) was found for justice involved girls, relative to boys. Maltreated and child welfare-involved boys appear more likely to offend than girls, but findings about how gender moderates the maltreatment-offending relationship were inconsistent. Child welfare systems involvement (particularly foster care and residential care) appeared to be an important moderator for girls, and school performance mediated outcomes for boys. Across this body of evidence, few studies accounted for under-reporting of abuse and neglect when using youth self-report measures of maltreatment. Future research is needed which explicitly explores how gender moderates the maltreatment-offending relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact visits, or family time, enable children in out-of-home care to sustain relationships with their birth families. In Australia, direct contact including face-to-face visits is typical for children on long-term orders, including guardianship and open adoption. Caseworkers are charged with supporting relationships between children's birth family members and carers and ensuring contact is safe and child-centred. This article describes how people with lived experience of family time in out-of-home care have collaborated with researchers to co-design practical resources, in the context of an action research study aimed at changing caseworker practice. These resources include a book for young children and a book for older children and adolescents, which both use trauma-informed language and empower their audiences to know their rights and ask for what they need. Additional resources include co-designed tip sheets for family members and carers. People who have personally experienced the care system have unique insights into the experience of family time in out-of-home care and how it can be improved. In partnership, researchers and people with lived experience can identify the gaps in knowledge and practice resources, and co-design resources that integrate lived experience and research findings, underpinned by theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]