Using Congregate Care: What the Evidence Tells Us

This report focuses on children who are entering group settings for their first child welfare placement. The study reviewed data on children – by age, gender, race and ethnicity, and urbanicity – with an initial out-of-home placement from 2012 to 2019 to determine how or if these factors played a role in their group care experience. They found a significant relationship between age, race and ethnicity, and the utilization of group placements. The study also explored how these factors are best understood within the context of the local child welfare system and its local service offerings.