Infants and Teens More Likely to Experience Foster Care Reentry

This blogpost examines the likelihood of children’s risk to returning to foster care if they are infants, in their early teens, or have experienced a group placement before reunification with their birth families. The blogpost summarizes research on more than 600,000 children in 20 states over a seven-year period, from 2003 to 2010, with follow-up analysis concluding in 2017. Variables assessing the risk of foster care reentry included: children’s race, ethnicity, gender, and age; children’s placement history; and the social and economic context of the placement. Additionally, the blogpost covers how child welfare agencies could identify children who might benefit from Family First Prevention Services Act interventions.