Adoption Discontinuity in Intensive Out-of-Home Care Settings

This study sought to understand previous adoption experiences of youth placed in residential, group, and treatment foster care settings. A secondary analysis of an existing point-in-time prevalence study of 869 youth in 38 private residential, group home, and treatment foster care facilities were conducted. Gender, race, number of placements, and having a developmental disability were variables that significantly explained adoption disruption while placement histories and race/ethnicity significantly explained adoption dissolutions. Findings suggest the need for ongoing worker, provider and caregiver training and the importance of understanding a youth’s adoption history.