Who are the infants in Out-of-Home Care? An Epidemiological and Developmental Snapshot

1. Brief description of the study

This article assesses the infants in out-of-home care. The article argues that infants are a distinct population with very different vulnerabilities and strengthswhen compared with the older children in out-of-home care. This brief discusses 5 key factors that distinguish infants from older children. Data was collected from 14 states in all regions of the country. The data collected from the Multistate Foster Care Data Archive covers a time spanning from January 1, 2000 till December 31, 2008. The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being also supplied information covering a 15-month period beginning in October 1999.Additionally, existing research on developmental vulnerabilities in infants and toddlers was used in regards to assessing possible developmental issues.

2. Findings

• Infants enter care at a higher rate than older children, but are also adopted at higher rates.
• Infants spend more of their time in foster homes as opposed to group homes which are common for older children.
• Infants entering care are exceptionally vulnerable to delayed development.
• The most common form of maltreatment that results in removal from birth family for older children was lack of supervision; while for infants the most common was physical neglect.
• Kinship care increased from 20% in 2000 to over a third in 2005 and 2008.  Infants and older children appear to equally utilize kinship care.
• 28% of infants suffer from chronic illness when entering care as opposed to only 14% of older kids entering care.
• Families of infants and older children were similar in regards to social support systems and poor parenting skills.

2. Possible application in Hawaii

• Family compilation and structures in Hawaii may differ from those areas studied. For example, hana`i families are common in Hawaii and could add a different component to the findings.
• This study would indicate that screening the youngest children for medical concerns and developmental delays when entering care is very important.
• The trend toward kinship care apparent in Hawai`i is also present elsewhere.

3. Limitations

• Infants entering into care were more likely to be African American at 39%. Older children were more likely to be White at 48%.The racial profiles of those studied vary from the general racial breakdown of children in the Hawai`i foster care system.
• Though caregivers reported that older children had more behavior issues than infants, it may be due to the likelihood that caregivers had greater expectations of the older kids as opposed to the expectations of the infants.

Who are the infants in Out-of-Home Care? An epidemiological and

Developmental Snapshot

Wulezyn F., Ernst, M. & Fisher, P. (2011), Chicago: Chapllin at the University of Chicago