Family support services and reunification across diverse racial/ethnic groups: A survival analysis utilizing administrative child welfare data

Background/Objective: Contrary to their intention, family support services may increase the likelihood of foster care placement. Yet, few studies have examined what happens to children placed into care after receiving these in-home services, which is particularly concerning for children of color who often face disparities in successful outcomes. Using data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), this study examined the relationship between family support service utilization and reunification across diverse racial/ethnic groups.MethodData for this study come from the AFCARS and the NCANDS. All children who entered foster care in 2015 in states that reported utilization of family support services (29 states and DC) were included in this analysis (n = 178,366 children) and were tracked for four years. We conducted multivariate survival analyses to examine the likelihood of reunification depending on family support service use and race/ethnicity, among other covariates.ResultsApproximately half of the sample (50.51%) reunified during the study period. White, Hispanic, and Multiracial children had the highest utilization of family support services. After adjusting for other factors, family support services (HR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.94-0.96) decreased the hazards of reunification. The interaction between race/ ethnicity and family support services was not significantly associated with reunification. DiscussionFamily support services are not achieving their intended goal either prior to, or after removal, regardless of racial/ethnic identity. Implications are explored for policy related to reunification and for future research to explore the relationship between receipt of family support services and reunification.