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Infants entering out-of-home care: Health, developmental needs and service provision
Fernando Lima1, Stephanie Taplin2, Miriam Maclean1
1Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
Insights
Infants in out-of-home care show high rates of developmental vulnerability. Early intervention services are crucial for these vulnerable children to improve health and social-emotional outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Child development
- Public health
- Social services
Background:
- Infants entering out-of-home care face increased risks of developmental delays and health issues.
- Child protection concerns are leading to a rise in infants entering care.
- Early research indicates a higher susceptibility to vulnerability in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence of developmental vulnerability in infants placed in out-of-home care.
- To determine the extent and likelihood of service provision for developmental needs.
- To investigate the relationship between vulnerability and service access for infants in care.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study utilizing the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) data.
- Inclusion of linked administrative child protection and health records.
- Standardized developmental assessments (Age and Stages Questionnaire, Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment) and logistic regression analysis were employed.
Main Results:
- A significant proportion of infants in care were identified as developmentally vulnerable (70% by assessment, 36% by health indicators).
- Only 17% of infants in care received services for developmental delay.
- Service provision was low even for those identified as vulnerable (20% and 15% for assessment and health-related vulnerability, respectively).
Conclusions:
- Developmental assessment is critical for infants in out-of-home care to identify vulnerability and delays.
- Early intervention services are essential for optimizing health and socio-emotional outcomes in this high-risk group.
- Addressing service gaps is crucial for supporting the developmental trajectory of infants in care.
Background:
There are rising numbers of infants entering out-of-home care due to child protection concerns. Research has found that infants entering care are at higher risk of developmental vulnerability and poor health problems.
Objectives:
To determine the prevalence of developmental vulnerability for children who entered care as infants, and the extent and likelihood of service provision in relation to their developmental vulnerability.
Participants And Setting:
This study includes children who entered care before the age of 1 year for the first time between May 2010 and October 2011 in New South Wales, Australia, and who received final Children's Court care and protection orders by 30 April 2013.
Methods:
This is a prospective cohort study using interview data from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) as well as linked administrative child protection and health data. This study used standardised assessments (Age and Stages Questionnaire and the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment) included in the POCLS. Simple and multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the likelihood of infants receiving professional services for developmental delays since placement.
Findings:
A high proportion of children who entered care as infants were identified as developmentally vulnerable through health indicators (36 %) and standardised assessments (70 %). Only 17 % of infants in care received services for developmental delay, with 20 % and 15 % of those identified as developmentally vulnerable through standardised assessments and health-related variables receiving services, respectively.
Conclusions:
The findings point to the importance of developmental assessment of infants in care and the identification of developmental vulnerability and delays. The provision of early intervention services is essential for this group of high-risk infants and will be important in optimising their health, as well as social and emotional outcomes.
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