From Child Abuse to Foster Care: Child Welfare Services Pathways and Placements

More than two million child abuse reports are filed annually on behalf of children in the United States. Each of the reported children becomes a concern, at least temporarily, of the professional who files the report, and each family is assessed by additional professionals. A substantial number of children in these families will subsequently enter foster care. Until now, the relationships between the performance of our child welfare system and the growth and outcomes of foster care have not been understood. In an effort to clarify them, Barth and his colleagues have synthesized the results of their longitudinal study in California of the paths taken by children after the initial abuse report: foster care, a return to their homes, or placement for adoption. Because the outcomes of child welfare services in California have national significance, this is far more than a regional study. It provides a comprehensive picture of childrenrs"s experiences in the child welfare system and a gauge of the effectiveness of that system. The policy implications of the California study have bearing on major federal and state initiatives to prevent child abuse and reduce unnecessary foster and group home care.Richard P. Barth is dean of the School of Social Work and professor at the University of Maryland. He is the author or editor of numerous books in The Child Welfare Challenge and Adoption and Prenatal Drug Exposure.Mark Courtney is director of research and development and the Ballmer Endowed Chair for Child Well-Being at the University of Washington School of Social Work.Jill Duerr Berrick is Zellerbach Family Professor and co-director, Center for Child and Youth Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.Vicky Albert is associate professor of social work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is the author of Welfare Dependence and Welfare Policy.

Richard P. Barth is dean of the School of Social Work and professor at the University of Maryland. He is the author or editor of numerous books including The Child Welfare Challenge and Adoption and Prenatal Drug Exposure. Mark Courtney is director of research and development and the Ballmer Endowed Chair for Child Well-Being at the University of Washington School of Social Work. Jill Duerr Berrick is Zellerbach Family Professor and co-director, Center for Child and Youth Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Vicky Albert is associate professor of social work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is the author of Welfare Dependence and Welfare Policy.