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Ten percent of children worldwide live in households without a biological parent, and 5.4 million children live in residential care institutions. This study describes a participatory, child-informed process of developing a multidimensional measure of child subjective well-being tailored towards the priorities of children who have lived in residential care.
Eight focus groups were held with n = 49 adolescents reunified with family after living in residential care in Kenya and Guatemala and six focus groups were held with n = 29 young adults who had lived in residential care…
Introduction:
Although the majority of adoptive families remain stable, some of them break up prematurely.
Research objectives:
The goal of this study was to understand the participants` experiences throughout the adoption and disruption process and the challenges they encountered in their journey with the child or siblings entrusted for adoption.
Specifically, our objectives sought to:
(1) explore the motivations to adopt a child from the HtAC list; (2) analyze how they appreciated their preparedness for the process; (3) identify the challenges the…
Research shows that youth who leave foster care to live independently are often at risk of homelessness, less education, unemployment/poverty, and mental health issues. There are a number of reasons for this increased risk. A variety of aftercare services for youth leaving foster care are designed to help address these risks.
The purpose of this study was to examine trends in participation and understand the experiences of youth transitioning from foster care who were involved in the Iowa Aftercare Services Program. The authors examine trends in participation, services received,…
SUMMARY
A comprehensive survey of kinship care policies identifies increasing efforts by states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to promote kinship care and support kinship caregivers of children and youth who are known to the child welfare system. Read the policy data and analysis in a five-part series of briefs released throughout early 2024. The survey, fielded in 2022, was conducted by Child Trends for the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
THE SURVEY
To help build an understanding of the full landscape of kinship policies across states and to identify needed…
SUMMARY
This brief, the first in a five-part series, shares the findings of a comprehensive survey of state-level kinship care policies.
Kinship care is an important option to consider for kids moving through the child welfare system. A timely placement with relatives or close family friends can reduce the trauma a child experiences from being separated from their parents, siblings, friends, communities and even social support resources, such as schools and churches.
The survey results presented…
Transition-age youth with foster care involvement (TAY) face significant risks for food insecurity and other hardships in early adulthood. Using representative survey data of youth transitioning out of foster care in California, the authors examine the prevalence and predictors of food insecurity. They find that about 30% of study participants were food insecure at ages 19, 21, and 23.
They also identify multiple risk and protective factors associated with being food insecure, such as TAY’s sexual identity and receipt of public benefits. The results of their study offer life-stage-specific…
The purpose of this U.S.-based study was to examine two intervening variables, self-care and formal support that affect the relationship between children with behavioural issues and caregiver depression. Specifically, this study examines whether self-care can mediate the relationship between children's behavioural issues and caregivers' depression levels and whether formal support can moderate the relationship between children's behavioural issues and caregivers' depression levels. Data from this study were collected from Qualtrics survey in 2020. A total of 136 participated in the survey,…
Abstract:
The prevalence of grandparents assuming the caregiving responsibilities of their grandchildren has been increasing. Approximately 7.9 million children in the USA live with their grandparents or relatives. Around 2.5 million grandparents raise their grandchildren formally through the child welfare/foster care system; the remaining children are raised informally by their grandparents. Grandparents also assume caregiver roles when the parents are absent due to other commitments, including work, or when they are part of a multigenerational household. Supplementary and…
This article analyses the search strategies of first families in Bolivia contesting the separation of their children through transnational adoption. These first parents’ claims to visibility and acknowledgement have remained largely ignored by adoption policy and scholarship, historically privileging the perspectives of actors in adoptive countries, such as adoptive parents and adoption professionals.
Filling in this gap, the authors discuss the search strategies employed by first families in Bolivia who desire a reunion with their child. Drawing on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s feminist…
Close attention should be given to the increased reliance on kinship care to provide out-of-home care for vulnerable children and youth because although these families have various strengths, they also frequently face financial instability and experience material hardship. Living in poverty and experiencing material hardship are linked to an array of negative outcomes, including physical and mental …