Cohort 2: A Study of Families and Children Entering Foster Care in Oregon 1991-93 (1995)

Research Abstract

Project Summary

The Cohort Studies are research projects that describe the families with children entering Oregon's foster care system. Information gleaned from case records includes the type and severity of abuse/neglect that prompted the child's removal, parental figures in the home, problems of the parents and child, barriers to returning the child home, and why the child did or did not return home. This information is used to profile the families and children served by Oregon's child welfare agency, allocate resources to branch offices, and assess the effectiveness of programs and services provided to abusive and neglectful families.

Methodology

The first Cohort Study involved the review of 1,948 case records of children entering out-of-home care between 1987-1990; 2,200 case records were reviewed for the 1991-1993 Cohort Study. In both studies, a stratified random sample was used to ensure cases from all branch offices were included. The only criterion for children entering out-of-home care is the child must be in care for a minimum of two weeks during the year after removal. Those two weeks could represent the accumulation of days in care over multiple episodes. Case readers gathered the information from case files at each SOSCF branch office throughout Oregon. Data was analyzed by research sttd width ="440"nership between 1993 and 1995.

Key Findings

  • Oregon's child welfare agency is serving a dramatically increasing percentage of severely abused children. The percentage of children in foster care who have suffered from severe physical abuse rose by 86% and those who have suffered from severe sexual abuse rose by 150% between 1987-1990 and 1991-1993
  • The more severe the abuse/neglect, the lower the percentage of children returning home

  • Children entering the foster care system exhibit an increasing number of problems, especially trauma from sexual abuse and the mother's drug or alcohol use during pregnancy

  • The increase in severe abuse/neglect and the severity of children's problems contribute to a growth in the average daily population of children in foster care, the increasing difficulty in finding suitable foster homes and in maintaining the child in care

  • Over half of the families with children entering care have drug/alcohol problems. Many come from families where the parents have one or more of the following factors: single, unemployed, overwhelmed by child care, involved with domestic violence, survivors of abuse/neglect as children, pregnant or have new baby in the home, frequently relocating, involved with multiple companions, socially isolated, and living in inadequate housing

  • Some family characteristics are more common with severe cases of abuse/neglect than with mild cases. Knowledge of these characteristics may assist caseworkers to identify children at greatest risk before the child is victimized. They include: new baby in the household, domestic violence, criminal involvement, and unemployment

  • Parents who attempt to resolve barriers have their children returned at a significantly higher rate than parents who do not resolve barriers

  • The most common treatment services offered to children and parents include parent training (30%), non-SOSCF counseling (25%), and drug/alcohol treatment (24%)

  • Children whose parents have completed or frequently attended the following services have a high rate of returning home: Homemaker services, anger management courses, and SCF family therapy. Attending drug and alcohol treatment can also increase the chances of a child returning home, but rates are lower for parents who do not complete the treatment
Updated 2/4/00
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