Care Patterns and Outcomes of Reunification

Abstract

The length of time children spent in care varied greatly depending on individual circumstances in each case. Of the restored group of children, 64.0 % of children were in care for 6 months or less. Caseworkers perceived the timing of reunification to be appropriate in half of the cases where children were restored. Drawing on event history analysis models two analyses were conducted: one on the primary reason for entering care, and the other on a risk typology based on NCFAS-R. Compared to children with parental health issues, children with parental substance abuse issues, children experiencing abuse and neglect, children experiencing domestic violence issues, and children from high risk social environments had markedly slowly rates of reunification. The rate of reunification with parents is higher for older children, whereas gender or source of referral made no difference to the rate. The overall findings from this analysis are consistent with patterns of reunification observed in reunification studies undertaken internationally. They provide useful predictors for reunification that have implications for assessment and intervention.