NCJ Number
227341
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2009 Pages: 218-228
Date Published
April 2009
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The study examined risk of maltreatment among children exiting foster care in Rhode Island.
Abstract
Findings show that children in foster care due to maltreatment were significantly more likely to be maltreated following reunification. Findings suggest that particular attention be devoted to services for high-risk parents during the first 12 months following reunification. Cases that have a history of repeated foster care placement would clearly represent one such risk group; cases in which neglect was involved also represent such a group, especially since recurrent neglect appears to be a particular risk among subsequent incidents. More research is needed to identify strategies that reduce maltreatment risk among children placed in non-relative placements whether this is through increased opportunities for visitation or utilization of effective family reunification support services. Finally, future research should incorporate more extensive child and family indicators of risk and protection, and explore potential interactions between these characteristics and demographic or placement experiences in predicting the risk of maltreatment recurrence. Data were collected on 3,259 children from Rhode Island Children's Information System (RICHIST) database which houses information regarding foster care placements and child protection investigations. Tables, figure, and references