Propensity Score Matching of Children in Kinship and Nonkinship Foster Care: Do Permanency Outcomes Still Differ?

Autor/inn/en	Koh, Eun; Testa, Mark F.
Titel	Propensity Score Matching of Children in Kinship and Nonkinship Foster Care: Do Permanency Outcomes Still Differ?
Quelle	In: Social Work Research, 32 (2008) 2, S.105-116 (12 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1070-5309
Schlagwörter	Family Relationship; Foster Care; Children; Placement; Risk; Differences; Comparative Analysis; Illinois + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Pflegehilfe; Child; Kind; Kinder; Betriebspraktikum; Praktikum; Risiko; Unterscheiden
Abstract	This study compares the permanency outcomes of children in kinship foster care with a matched sample of children in nonkinship foster care in Illinois. It addresses the issue of selection bias by using propensity score matching (PSM) to balance mean differences in the characteristics of children in kinship and nonkinship foster homes. The data come from the March 1998 to September 2007 six-month files submitted by the state of Illinois to the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting Systems (AFCARS). A longitudinal sample of linked records for 21,914 kin children and 10,108 non-kin children was created, and a random subsample of 1,500 children in nonkinship care was matched to the kinship sample by using PSM. The permanency outcomes and placement stability of children in kin and non-kin foster care in the matched sample of 3,000 are compared with both cross-tabular and survival analysis. Prior to matching, differences in reunification rates, combined adoption and guardianship rates, and placement stability are all significant. After matching, the differences in permanency rates disappear. Children in nonkinship foster homes still show a higher risk for initial placement disruption after matching, but there is no difference in rates of instability within a year compared with children in kinship foster homes. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	National Association of Social Workers (NASW). 750 First Street NE Suite 700, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-227-3590; e-mail: press@naswdc.org; Web site: http://www.naswpress.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10