Exploring placement stability for children in out-of-home care in England: a sequence analysis of longitudinal administrative data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

To monitor stability of care, the proportion of children in England who have experienced three or more placements in the preceding 12-month period is published in government statistics. However, these annual snapshots cannot capture the complexity and heterogeneity of children's longitudinal care histories.

Objective

To describe the stability of care histories from birth to age 18 for children in England using a national administrative social care dataset, the Children Looked After return (CLA).

Participants and setting

We analyzed CLA data for a large, representative sample of children born between 1992 and 1994 (N = 16,000).

Methods

Using sequence analysis methods, we identified distinct patterns of stability, based on the number, duration, and tim

SUBMITTER: Mc Grath-Lone L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7613165 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature