Returning to the child welfare system: Understanding the wellbeing, health, education, and placement of children who return

Using longitudinal archival Child Welfare System (CWS) data, this study describes child health and wellbeing at their initial entrance into the CWS and subsequent returns. Associations between child wellbeing, health, placement stability, and frequency of returning to the system were also investigated. Results indicated most children were healthy and developmentally on target. In addition, emotional distress, behavioral concerns, and number of placements in the CWS were significantly correlated with placement stability. Future work should utilize the use of developmental assessments to systematically and reliably document the concerns for children in the system, and investigate factors contributing to stable placements. This study uses longitudinal archival child welfare data from one jurisdiction.Child wellbeing concerns are described across multiple returns to the child welfare system.Child wellbeing concerns in this sample were overrepresented compared to national rates.Emotional and behavioral concerns were correlated with the number of placements.Placement stability is important for continued child wellbeing.