Trajectories for children and young people who experience out of home care: Examining the influences of pre-care characteristics on later wellbeing and placement stability

Abstract

Background: Interplay of risk and protective factors influence longer-term outcomes for children in out-of-home care.

Participants and setting: Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) data were used to explore how child and birth family factors interact to influence wellbeing and placement stability over time.

Methods: Cluster analysis identified three groups of children differentiated on demographic characteristics on entry in care. Latent growth curve modelling was used to compare changes in children's cognitive functioning, socio-emotional wellbeing, and health over time.

Results: There were cluster differences in trajectories for cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes, but not for health. Children who were older at entry to care (mean 7.6 years) showed the poorest socio-emotional and cognitive functioning at Wave 2, and despite improvements by Wave 4, the poor starting point may explain why their cognitive functioning scores never catch up to children entering care younger (mean 1.5 years). Younger on entry children who also tended to come from less socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds showed the most positive cognitive and socio-emotional functioning over study waves, and cognitive functioning for these children improved at a steeper rate than the other clusters. Children with multiple characteristics associated with risk of poorer outcomes showed little improvement in cognitive functioning over time, and the poorest socio-emotional wellbeing by Wave 4. Placement changes between waves were lowest for children who entered care younger.

Conclusions: This study explicates the role of early risk and protective factors on subsequent trajectories for children in care. Understanding how early risk and protective factors impact longer term wellbeing may help to better target placement and support for cohorts of children with different presentations at entry to care.

Keywords: Health; Out-of-home care; Placement instability; Trajectories; Wellbeing.