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American Indian/Alaska Native children in child welfare: Changes in behavioral problems and out-of-home placement

Ashley L Landers1, Aimee E Miley1, Suzanne Bartle-Haring1

  • 1Human Development and Family Science Program, Department of Human Sciences, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States of America.

Child Abuse & Neglect
|June 26, 2026
PubMed

Insights

American Indian/Alaska Native children in child welfare face more out-of-home placements. Behavioral problems correlate with placement instability for these children.

Area of Science:

  • Child welfare research
  • Behavioral science
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Children in child welfare systems exhibit high rates of behavioral issues, linked to placement instability.
  • American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are disproportionately affected by behavioral problems, yet the link between these issues and placement instability remains understudied in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between changes in internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and placement instability among AI/AN children involved with child welfare.
  • To compare these relationships between AI/AN children and their White peers.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being II (NSCAW II), including 300 AI/AN and 1757 White children.
  • Employed latent growth curve analysis to model trajectories of internalizing/externalizing behaviors and their association with out-of-home placements.
  • Used group comparison procedures to examine differences in the behavior problem-placement instability link between AI/AN and White children.

Main Results:

  • Children with higher baseline behavioral problems showed greater decreases in these problems over time.
  • Increased behavioral problems were associated with a higher number of out-of-home placements.
  • AI/AN children experienced significantly more out-of-home placements compared to White children.

Conclusions:

  • AI/AN children in child welfare experienced more out-of-home placements than White children, even when controlling for similar levels of behavioral problems.
  • Findings highlight the heightened vulnerability of AI/AN children to placement instability within the child welfare system.
Abstract

Keywords:
American Indian/Alaska NativeBehavioral problemsPlacement instability

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