Sustained engagement in foster care: The relation of child and foster family needs and strengths to placement disruption among high -risk children

Reducing foster care placement disruption has long been recognized as a primary goal of the foster care service system. Though a small number of children account for a disproportionate amount of system-wide placement disruption, no previous study has examined the correlates of disruption among a high-risk sample. This study uses both bivariate logistic regression and discriminant function analysis to explore the association between 44 child and foster family characteristics and foster care displacement within a diverse sample of 1379 children at elevated risk for placement disruption. Results indicate that selected child and foster family characteristics account for a significant amount of the variance in placement disruption observed within the sample. Identified individual predictors include variables related to child behavior problems, child strengths, and foster family characteristics. The implications of these findings along with directions for future research are discussed.