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When children cannot return home: adoption and guardianship.

Mark F Testa1

  • 1Children and Family Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.

The Future of Children
|April 10, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Child welfare agencies have significantly increased adoptions and legal guardianships for children in foster care. Innovative approaches are crucial for achieving permanent family placements and improving child well-being.

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Area of Science:

  • Child Welfare
  • Family Law
  • Social Work

Background:

  • The child welfare system's primary goal since the 1970s has been securing permanent families for children unable to return to their birth parents.
  • Significant progress has been achieved in facilitating permanent homes through adoption and legal guardianship.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze trends in adoption and legal guardianship for children in foster care.
  • To identify factors contributing to successful permanent family placements.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of adoption and guardianship data from state child welfare systems.
  • Examination of trends relative to federal government established baselines (1995-97).

Main Results:

  • A majority of states have doubled their adoption rates from foster care since the 1995-97 baseline.
  • State-level legal guardianship initiatives have provided permanence for thousands of children.
  • Children exiting foster care to adoption are generally younger than those exiting to guardianship.

Conclusions:

  • Post-permanency services and supports are vital for the long-term success of adoptive and guardianship placements.
  • Creative strategies for recruiting adoptive parents and legal guardians could revolutionize foster care.
  • Transforming foster care requires child welfare agencies to innovate in serving families and children.

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