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Article
Does family-centered out-of-home care work? Comparison of a family-centered approach and traditional care.
Social Work Research
  • Cathleen A. Lewandowski, Cleveland State University
  • Lois Pierce, University of Missouri - St Louis
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2004
Keywords
  • child welfare,
  • foster home care,
  • runaway children,
  • families
Disciplines
Abstract

This research assessed the effectiveness of a family-centered approach to out-of home core in reunifying children with their families by comparing differential exit rates of children whose families received family-centered services with children whose families received routine child welfare services. The sample included 472 children who were in foster care from 1994 to 1996 in Missouri. Survival analysis was used to calculate the probability that a child would he reunified with his or her family at a particular time and to compare the differential exit rates for the children who experienced subsequent placement during the study period. The authors used Cox regression analysis to compare the likelihood of reunification between the two groups. Findings indicate that during the latter part of the study, family-centered out-of-home care counties reunified children at a faster rate than comparison counties.

Citation Information
Cathleen A. Lewandowski and Lois Pierce. "Does family-centered out-of-home care work? Comparison of a family-centered approach and traditional care." Social Work Research Vol. 28 Iss. 3 (2004) p. 143 - 151
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/cathleen_lewandowski/2/